Fubuki Koshiji -- Yuki ga Furu（雪が降る）

 

Well, that was the entrance to my building this morning after Snowmageddon 2 walloped the Greater Toronto Area all throughout yesterday. I think we may have gotten as much as two feet of snow by the end and though the main streets have been plowed, the sidewalks were still pretty treacherous (and probably will remain that way for the next few days). 

It was an interesting time at the local mall this morning when I was out doing the usual grocery shopping. Just when I was ready to head for the cashier, the alarm began whooping and then we got the announcement ordering us out of the supermarket immediately. So I was out with my basket of groceries waiting for half an hour outside of the now-sealed store. Apparently, on the other end of the mall, the ceiling collapsed just within the entrance and the fire department had to come in and check the structural integrity for all of the ceiling within the mall so since I couldn't wait, I just returned my groceries to the nearest staffer and headed on home. Meanwhile, there was a three-car collision in the mall parking lot. But hey, at least it was sunny.😎

In commemoration of the second major snowstorm to hit Toronto in the last ten days, I've decided to find something suitable to begin this business week's round of KKP articles. I already spoke on storm-related songs several days ago so I was wondering how I was going to pull this off today when I remembered a lady whose first name literally stands for "blizzard": Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）. 

The late chanson singer released a single that would be perfect for yesterday's sturm und drang. "Yuki ga Furu" (Snow Falls) might sound something of an understatement considering the amounts that we received but I can live with that. Released in 1963, this was a cover of Belgian singer Salvatore Adamo's own hit, "Tombe la neige", from earlier in the year. Originally composed and written by Adamo, both the Japanese version which was given lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）and the original reflect a less stormy and more composed if resigned state of dealing with the loss of a lover...and the winter in Japan at least likes to reflect emotional devastation regarding romance. Parting can be so beautiful and horrifyingly sad.

Of course, over here in Toronto currently, it's not just the snow but the ceiling which falls.

Salvatore Adamo/Fubuki Koshiji/RC Succession/Maki Goto -- Sans Toi M'amie（サン・トワ・マミー）

As I said in one of my articles from yesterday, I was blessed with a large number of kayo singles and albums from my friend Steve in Manhattan through a large package since he wanted to unload his record collection before moving out West. One of the 45s I saw among the records is a Japanese chanson classic, "Sans Toi M'amie" by the Queen of Chanson in Japan, the late Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）.

But before I come to her, "Sans Toi M'amie" (Without You, My Love) was originally created and recorded by Belgium's Salvatore Adamo, a singer that I have already profiled in this blog through his other hit "Tombe La Neige", known in Japanese as "Yuki ga Furu"（雪が降る）. Adamo was only 19 when he sang "Sans Toi M'amie" for the first time in 1962.

A couple of years later in June 1964, Koshiji released her version of "Sans Toi M'amie", and it is the version that I know the best. In fact, I was surprised that I hadn't yet covered it in "Kayo Kyoku Plus". It's one of Koshiji's trademark hits along with "Ai no Sanka"（愛の讃歌）and although it has that hint of grandness that I've come to associate with chanson, the song is somewhat tempered by a certain lightness in the arrangement as if the singer is asking listeners not to take things so seriously. There is that feeling of a boozy waltz, thanks to the laidback instrumental accompaniment, and yeah, I think it can be danced to.

Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）provided the Japanese lyrics to "Sans Toi M'amie". Koshiji herself was invited onto the Kohaku Utagassen of 1964 to perform it.

However, "Sans Toi M'amie" was not left behind as a relic of the music of the 1960s. It has been covered by a number of other artists with their own musical imprint. The band RC Succession gave the song its own rocking beat in their covers album, obviously titled "COVERS" which came out in August 1988. It hit No. 1 and went Gold.

I also like freshly-graduated Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）member Maki Goto's（後藤真希）take on "Sans Toi M'amie" with its relaxing pop sound that has an echo from the past. This was her 5th single from December 2002, and I think it's because I didn't follow her solo career all that doggedly that her more mature delivery stood out all the more to me. Her version peaked at No. 6. It was also a track on Goto's special album for a soundtrack from a musical that she starred in, "Ken & Mary no Meriken-ko On Stage!"（けん&メリーのメリケン粉オンステージ!...Ken & Mary's Wheat Flour On Stage!）from March 2003. It went as high as No. 59 on the album charts.

Salvatore Adamo/Kiyohiko Ozaki -- Yuki ga Furu （雪が降る）

Last week on "Kayo Concert", actor/singer Kanji Ishimaru（石丸幹二）gave this dramatic rendition of a song that I had never heard...or at least do not remember hearing...under the title of "Yuki ga Furu" (Snow Falls). It was originally sung by Salvatore Adamo who also wrote and composed the ballad in 1963. "Tombe La Neige" (the original title) became a huge hit for the singer-songwriter, who is known as Belgium's most successful musician, all over the planet in countries including Spain, France, Latin America and Japan.

I'm not surprised that "Yuki ga Furu" became a hit as well in Japan since the song has that certain shibui quality which envisages a fellow walking totally alone in the midst of heavy snow with only a cigarette in his mouth to keep him company...couldn't get more Mood Kayo than that. Plus, the original is in French, and I think the ladies were just absolutely ga-ga about Alain Delon at the time.

Sure enough, there would be covers of "Yuki ga Furu". And I figured that the big-voiced fellows would have been happy to give their own contributions to the Japanese version which was given lyrics by Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）. Of course, there is the late, great Kiyohiko Ozaki（尾崎紀世彦）who provided his take on the classic as his 4th single in October 1971 accompanied by a saxophone. The song reached No. 68 on Oricon. Adamo's delivery, by the way, reminded me a lot of another leather-lunged singer, Shigeru Matsuzaki（松崎しげる）.

And here is Adamo singing the original French version.