I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
Well, yeah, I missed out on putting this one up in the proper month by a few days. But we can't win them all here.
"Ku-gatsu no Episode"(September Episode) is the B-side to 1970s aidoru Saori Minami's（南沙織）May 1978 26th single"Ai Naki Sedai"（愛なき世代）. Compared to the breezy kayo of the A-side, "Ku-gatsu no Episode" takes things into the exotic kayo realm via Brazil and perhaps a European nation or two considering the bossa nova and one particular instrument that I cannot quite identify. It does sound classy and Mancini-esque (the strings are shimmering) which is why I've selected this one to finish off Urban Contemporary Friday. And hey, there is the Fender Rhodes which starts things off. Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）andKoji Makaino（馬飼野康二）provided words and music/arrangement respectively.
I mentioned this a little when I posted the ROY article regarding the iconic James Bond theme by Monty Norman & John Barry but my first several years of 007 exposure was through the frequent Sunday night reruns on ABC. It was on the telly where I witnessed Sean Connery, George Lazenby and Roger Moore punch bad guys out and romance the ladies always opening with that assassin's-view shot of the master spy before he swerved around and shot back. In fact, the first time I actually saw a Bond movie on the big screen was in 1985 when Moore had his final go-around as Bond in "A View to a Kill". By that point, Moore had looked a little long in the tooth.
But today for this 007 Reminiscings of Youth article, I'm going to focus on the theme song of Moore's first foray into Bondlore, the 1973 "Live and Let Die". I'll be honest and admit that the opening credits scared the heck out of me when I saw that woman's head turn into a skull on fire...forget about the nudity. One other point about catching Bond movies on TV is that it was often the case that it had used to take about three to five years before a cinematic release finally made its way to television so I probably didn't see "Live and Let Die" until the late 1970s and by that point, I had already made Jane Seymour's acquaintance through "Battlestar Galactica" the original. Had no idea that she was also the femme fatale in Moore's first Bond movie.
The main reason that I'm covering "Live and Let Die" this week as a ROY is that the guy behind the theme song of the same title, Sir Paul McCartney, had just finished a weekend of thrilling concerts just down the highway from me in the city of Hamilton. For a man his age, he has Time Lord energy coursing through his veins and arteries and it appears that "Live and Let Die" is an essential part of the playlist.
It was Moore's first time as Bond but it was also the first time that a rock song was used as a theme for a 007 flick when compared to the swaggering jazz that had been the music for all of those Bond movies in the 1960s. I didn't quite "get" "Live and Let Die" when I first heard it with that crazy mix of rock and orchestra (which would eventually become the template for future Bond themes by pop and rock acts). At the time, I preferred Carly Simon's"Nobody Does It Better" but I'm good with it now and I think it represents the oncoming storm that is 007 when he's ticked off at somebody. And I have to admit that to see and listen to it live has to be one of the major highlights of a McCartney concert, if not the highlight.
"Live and Let Die" reached No. 2 on both the American and Canadian charts. It was nominated at the Oscars for Best Original Song and won a Grammy for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). The song was released on June 1st 1973 as a single from Paul McCartney & Wings, a few weeks before the movie's American release. What was up at the top of the Oricon charts a few days later on June 4th?
If I'm not mistaken, it's Presidents' Day down in the States while up here in Canada, we're celebrating Family Day. Wherever you are, I hope you are having a good day.
Of course, being a holiday today means that we've got a special Reminiscings of Youth article and in keeping with the family theme, I've opted to go with another one of my fondly remembered TV show themes. I'm not sure if I have remembered this correctly but at one point on the ABC Friday night lineup, it was the sitcom trio of "The Partridge Family", "Bewitched" and "The Odd Couple" that kept my eyes on the screen.
Probably out of the three shows, "The Partridge Family"was the one that has filled me with the most nostalgia because the plot did involve a family-based band led by Shirley Partridge (Shirley Jones) and their brand of pop-rock music along with the fashion of those times (bell-bottom pants, flimsy vests and wide lapels). Of course, the theme song, the gently rock-n'-rollin' "Come On Get Happy" by Wes Farrell and Danny Janssen has been the song from "The Partridge Family" to stick with me all these decades.
In fact, "Come On Get Happy" is so iconic in my brain that I was surprised to find out that Early Installment Weirdness (coined as a trope in "TV Tropes") had also settled into "The Partridge Family" starting with the September 1970 pilot episode when "Together (Havin' A Ball)" was used while the clan was actually performing it.
And then for the rest of the first season, "When We're Singin'" was used as the main theme. If it sounds familiar, it is because the Farrell melody would be used for "Come On Get Happy" but the original Diane Hildebrand lyrics would be replaced by Janssen's words. The theme I've always known would be used from the second season forward from September 1971 until the show's cancellation in 1974.
Well, why don't we go with what was on the Oricon chart on September 27th 1971? I've got Nos. 1, 5 and 6.
More than two years ago, I wrote about the duo NOVA who had appeared on the old local radio program "Sounds of Japan" on CHIN-FM and at the time I was ecstatic about finally able to find something about this 70s and 80s New Music group on YouTube which led to my posting of their 1981 "Aishuu"（哀秋）. On a couple of my dusty ancient Canadian Tire audiotapes, I had two mellow summery songs by them but unfortunately neither of those are up on the platform ("Aishuu" isn't either of them).
There has been precious little information on NOVA anywhere but at least I did get a few more tidbits since then. For one thing, I can finally confirm that Kazunari Kido（木戸一成）was indeed one of the two people in NOVA via J-Wiki and that the duo's history does extend back to 1978 at least. In fact, that information was found in the article regarding Saori Minami's（南沙織）May 1978 26th single"Ai Naki Sedai"(Loveless Generation). Minami's A-side here was actually a cover of NOVA's B-side for their second single"Tokimeki Kisetsufuu"（ときめき季節風...Thrilling Seasonal Winds） which had come out earlier that year in January.
"Ai Naki Sedai" is a bittersweet tune written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）and composed by Kido which tells the tale of a woman forgiving her straying boyfriend although the feeling is that she's not wholly doing this out of love for the cad but simply because she's frankly too tired of tracking down his dalliances. Kido's melody really is lovely and Off-Course-ish（オフコース）but there's also that sense of resignation in the arrangement. The above YouTube video comments state that NOVA recorded three singles with "Aishuu" being their last one in 1981; there was apparently an album as well and maybe my two lost songs on the Canadian Tire tapes are in there.
For the lack of a better word, Minami's cover is bluesier and breezier and seems to possess that feeling of "Oh, you silly man!" regarding all of the cheating. Her "Ai Naki Sedai", which ranked in at No. 74, was included on her 18th album"I've been mellow" (June 1978) whose title track I posted over a decade ago.
I may have mentioned this in yesterday's articles but we did get some snowflakes coming down on Saturday which had some of us grumbling. However, I think the kids probably and literally lapped them up. But yeah, winter is on its way.
This post is based on yet another old episode of "Yoru no Hit Studio"（夜のヒットスタジオ）that I caught recently. 70s aidoru Saori Minami（南沙織）appeared and this time performed a song which had a bit more of a rock punch compared to the calmer tunes I've usually associated her with such as "Soushun no Minato"（早春の港）from January 1973. In fact, "Kizutsuku Sedai" (The Hurt Generation) was the follow-up 7th single that came out in May of that year and as I just noted, it's slightly spikier with Minami frustrated at her very complicated boyfriend in a "can't live with him, can't live without him" relationship. The liner notes from her 30th anniversary memorial CD box collection "Cynthia Anthology" (2000) via J-Wiki stated that the song that expressed the feelings of a generation head-on. That must have been one cranky generation of kids.
It was definitely a popular entry in Minami's discography as it hit No. 3 on Oricon and ended up as the 35th-ranked single of 1973. Written by Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, it's also the title track of her 6th studio album"Kizutsuku Sedai" which was released just a few weeks after the single. It also broke the Top 10 by reaching No. 9. I've also noticed that the song has been placed on just about every BEST compilation that she's put out.
Aidoru group Candies（キャンディーズ）covered "Kizutsuku Sedai" in their debut album from December 1973, "Anata ni Muchuu ~ Uchiki na Candies"（あなたに夢中〜内気なキャンディーズ〜...Crazy for You - Bashful Candies）. One piece of trivia that I discovered in the J-Wiki article is that when Minami appeared on the 1972 edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen to perform another song, a pre-debut Candies, probably without being even named yet, were her backing dancers. Speaking of that album, I've also posted an article on the title track.
The male trios had an original Gosanke（御三家...The Big Three） and then a new Gosanke for the next generation, so the same thing happened with the female trios. In the 1950s, there was the Ganso Sannin Musume（元祖三人娘...The Original Three Girls） starring Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）, Chiemi Eri（江利チエミ）and Izumi Yukimura（雪村いづみ）. But then in the early 1970s came the birth of the Shin Sannin Musume (The New Three Girls) featuring aidoru Rumiko Koyanagi（小柳ルミ子）, Mari Amachi（天地真理）and Saori Minami（南沙織）.
Unlike the original Sannin Musume, Koyanagi, Amachi and Minami never appeared in any rom-com movie, but they did have their opportunities to show up in magazines and TV music shows, including the 1972 Kohaku Utagassen. In the article for the Shin Sannin Musume on J-Wiki, I was even able to find the catchphrases for each of them:
Rumiko Koyanagi: Minna no Koibito（みんなの恋人...Everyone's Lover）
Mari Amachi: Anata no Kokoro no Tonari ni Iru Sony no Shirayuki Hime（あなたの心の隣にいるソニーの白雪姫...The Snow White of SONY, Close to Your Heart）
Saori Minami: Minami no Shima kara Kita Cynthia（南の島からきたシンシア...Cynthia from the Southern Islands）
All of them had their singing debut in 1971 with Amachi having the latest one in October.
Unfortunately, the above photo is a poor one (especially since it was taken in 2019) to illustrate the fact that this autumn has been seen to have one of the more vibrant outputs of colour in recent years. Scientists have placed credit on a seeming perfect storm of meteorological factors. So, I gather for all of those Torontonian photographers, get those shots of trees and leaves when you can since I'm pretty certain that by Halloween, a lot of the flaming foliage will be on the ground...perhaps under some snow.
On last night's episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）, the show did place a bit of emphasis on the fall-themed kayo. And I got to be acquainted with a Saori Minami（南沙織）song that I hadn't heard before or at least hadn't heard in a very long time. "Irozuku Machi" (The Colourful Streets) was featured, and this was the 70s aidoru's 9th single from August 1973.
Written by Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）and composed/arranged by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, it's a light and fairly frisky aidoru tune of the times by Minami who sings about a young girl whose heart is filled with regret after a romantic breakup. Well, autumn is the time for such things, at least according to all of those kayo songwriters. In terms of Tsutsumi's arrangement, I'm gathering that along with the Fender Rhodes of City Pop, the growling electric guitar of contemporary enka and the bluesy saxophone of Mood Kayo, those plucky strings in "Irozuku Machi" have been rather emblematic of those 70s aidoru songs or pop tunes in general during the early part of that decade. Moreover, if I am going to be specific about instrumentation here, then I also have to mention that electric organ and bass in Minami's original song since they lend a certain French swing.
"Irozuku Machi" hit No. 4 on Oricon and ended up as the 37th-ranked single of 1973. It also got Minami to appear on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen for her third of eight appearances on the New Year's Eve special. Her eighth and final appearance in1991, which was her first time on the program in fourteen years, had her sing that same song. It was also a track on Minami's 7th album"Hatachi Mae"（20才まえ...Before Turning 20）from September 1973 which peaked at No. 5 on the album charts.
The J-Wiki article for the song mentioned that it has become a kayo classic throughout the decades with everyone from newbie aidoru to veteran singers covering it. One of the earliest examples of this was via Megumi Asaoka's（麻丘めぐみ）cover in 1974 via her album "Golden Deluxe"（ゴールデン・デラックス）. The arrangement doesn't seem to be all that different from Minami's original version.
However, I did find a very dramatically different cover by smoky-voiced chanteuse Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）through her 1989 album of covers, "Sha"（紗...Silky Gauze）. This time, "Irozuku Machi" has been taken off the autumn streets of Tokyo and whisked off to the romantic settings of Rio as the song is given a bossa jazz treatment. My compliments to the arranger.
Also from the J-Wiki article for "Irozuku Machi", it was learned on a 2000 episode of the NTV newsmagazine series "Super Terebi Jouhou Saizensen"（スーパーテレビ情報最前線...Super TV Information Cutting Edge） that teenager Noriko Kamachi（蒲池法子）had recorded at least some of Minami's trademark tune on a demo tape, just before she made her debut as aidoru Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）. I can only speculate that the year commemorated Seiko-chan's 20th anniversary in show business, thus the revelation. Unfortunately, the video has been taken down.
Yes, believe it or not, we are in September. It's still too early to speak of fall though since not only is it officially three weeks away, the weather will be getting steamy here as we enter the weekend. Yet, NHK's "Uta Con" opted to use the theme of transitioning from the hot and torrid summer to the calmer and cooler autumn for its return to the airwaves after being away for most of August.
I thought there were some nice picks by the "Uta Con" people, and at first, I thought about combining their picks with my own picks of those transitioning songs from late summer into early fall, but the amount would have become unwieldy for Labels at the very least. Therefore, I'll just put up the five that were featured on Tuesday night. Also, since this was "Uta Con" picking them and not any of us on KKP, this won't be an Author's Picks article per se, although I will put up my own list in the next article.
I was most grateful for Leon Niihama（新浜レオン）and Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）for performing this chestnut on NHK, since I very rarely hear it anywhere else. And yet, Toi et Moi's"Dare mo Inai Umi" would have been one of my own choices for my own list of moving between the seasons. I realize that it is a cover by late chanson singer Yasuko Ouki（大木康子）, but I think that this version by Emiko Shiratori and Sumio Akutagawa（白鳥英美子・芥川澄夫）is the definitive one for me.
"Juu-nana Sai" was actually given its tribute by some of the old videotape footage of Saori Minami（南沙織）, but it's always nice to hear her sing this one. After over fifty years, it still sounds pretty fresh to me. I hadn't been aware that it was a trans-seasonal kayo but perhaps pining for love can be considered to be a summer-to-fall thing in the music industry.
It was also nice to hear this one get its due a couple of nights ago, especially with the footage of Circus（サーカス）appearing on the Kohaku Utagassen for their first of two times. A nice touch of jazzy class can be had by listeners while enjoying that glass of Aperol Spritz on the Riviera.
Yup, Martin（鈴木雅之）was the first batter up on "Uta Con" so he performed "Glass Goshi ni Kieta Natsu", his debut single as a solo artist. At the time when I was simply not listening to the lyrics or paying attention to the title all that much, I wouldn't have pegged this as a late summer tune, but of course, looking at those words now, I realize that it is one of the most suitable songs for the seasonal transition as a man realizes that someone he cares about is now going off on a different path.
Actor/singer Kohei Matsushita（松下洸平）performed Tatsuro Yamashita's（山下達郎）paean to the end of summer, and yeah, I figured that this would be a sure fire pick for any such list. It feels just like what a move from August to September would feel like. It's time to head back home to hit the books or work the computer but wow what a nice musical way to finish off the hot season.
It may be a 10th Anniversary Special, but this one isn't quite as sentimental as the previous two articles. The thought that had invaded my head was that since we're celebrating the number of years that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has been in existence in the wonderful world of cyberspace, why not devote one article to the "numbered" kayo? So, as one fellow who I follow on YouTube has said: Let's make this, shall we?
When I first started "Kayo Kyoku Plus" in 2012, it was all about the singers and the bands as they steadily got included in the Labels that you always see at the right of your screen. However, as the years passed toward the end of the decade, I also realized how important the lyricists and the composers were, and then relatively recently, I got that same impression about the arrangers. And so, they were also gradually included in the Labels.
Up to today, I'd not considered producers but earlier this morning on the NHK 9 o'clock evening broadcast and then later on Mixi, I found out about the passing of one of the prolific producers for kayo. Masatoshi Sakaiat the age of 85 a few days ago on the 16th. Born and raised in my ancestors' home of Wakayama Prefecture, after graduating from university, he had initially started working for the film company Shochiku in the early 1960s before jumping ship to the music industry, beginning with Nippon Columbia. For the next 60 years, he would gain a reputation for his uncanny way of discovering new talent and then refining them and their music. From what I've read and heard so far, it looks like he focused a lot on the aidoru of the 1970s and perhaps some of those singers exploring the exotic kayowhich enjoyed their fifteen minutes of fame in the later part of the decade.
Allow me to show a very tiny sliver of some of his contributions.
I'd added a January 2021 PS to the original May 2012 article regarding "Ihojin" in which through one of the NHK variety programs, it was discovered that this exotic kayo bringing up adventurous images of traveling on the Silk Road had originally revolved the more mundane situation of riding on the Chuo Line in Tokyo. Well, if I'm not mistaken, I think that it was Sakai himself who came up with the idea to change the setting.
According to the J-Wiki article for Sakai, Go initially liked the sound of "Oyome Samba" but felt that he wouldn't be able to do it justice. However, the producer took him aside and told him "You're the only one who can sing this as brightly. This song will undoubtedly be continued to be sung at wedding receptions by later generations." Go was convinced.
In addition to the accolades that he received through his songs, Sakai also earned the honour of Person of Cultural Merit both from Wakayama Prefecture and Japan in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
While I was just listening to a YouTube recording of an old Japanese radio music program, I heard this tune that I hadn't heard in decades. I had first heard it as one of the songs featured on an episode of "Sounds of Japan" back on CHIN-FM in the 1980s, but as luck would have it, I lost the listing for the playlist so I couldn't find out who sang it or even what the title was.
However, thanks to the DJ of that old radio music program, I have finally been able to resolve the decades-long mystery. It just happened to be 70s aidoru Saori Minami（南沙織）and the song title was "Hito Koishikute" (Missing You). Released as Minami's 16th single in August 1975, it possesses a distinctive introduction which has haunted me all these years, sounding like exotic Asia. And I guess because of the nature of "Hito Koishikute", I couldn't really peg it as a Minami song at first.
It's a sad folk song about a couple breaking up after a major fight and the woman at least regretting every moment that she's now separated from her one true love. With folk singer Masamitsu Tayama（田山雅充）composing the song, Tsuzuru Nakasato（中里綴）wrote the lyrics for which the first line has stayed with me: "Kuresou de kurenai, tasogare doki wa"（暮れそうで暮れない黄昏どきは...This twilight time when I can despair but I won't）. It resembles a chant. According to Minami's fan website, that entire first line was supposed to have been the title, but the producer for the song, Masatoshi Sakai（酒井政利）, changed it to its current title.
"Hito Koishikute" managed to get as high as No. 8 on Oricon and finished the year as the 52nd-ranked single. It also won Minami a Japan Record Award for Best Performance and got her another invitation to the 1975 Kohaku Utagassen. The album "Hito Koishikute" was released in December of that year, and topped off at No. 19.
For readers of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" in much of North America currently, you may be ardently swooning over summer pictures like the above (although this was actually taken in October). Yes, that Polar Vortex of petrifying cold must be having you feeling lower than a centipede's pot belly. Over the last few days, I've been keeping my errands outside to a minimum. I get out to do one task and then get back inside. The nice thing is that temperatures ought to be rising up to a torrid -1 degree Celsius at least by this weekend, and up to a heavenly 7 degrees by next Monday.
Well, there's always the Fireplace Channel on cable for some of that lovely placebo effect or you can give Saori Minami（南沙織）a try through her 2nd single"Shiokaze no Melody" (Sea Breeze Melody). Released in October 1971 (perhaps the song was trying to keep those happy summery feelings alive), right from Note One, it's all warm winds and sunny sea coast as Minami recounts a romance by the ocean.
"Shiokaze no Melody" was written by Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and had Minami performing it on a number of shows including music programs and even some dramas through cameo appearances, according to J-Wiki. Also, I gotta say that maybe the song provided one of the first music videos for a Japanese singer. The single peaked at No. 7 and ended up as the 91st-ranked song for 1971 and held on for another year to become the 99th-ranked single.
It was also the title track for Minami's first album of cover songs released in December 1971 as it broke the Top 10 at No. 10 on the Oricon weeklies. To end this, I've gotta make this rather bizarre statement and say that Minami on that cover for the album looks a fair bit like actress Chloe Bennet from "Agents of SHIELD".
Took the night off last night since I was extremely tired from some large chunks of translation work that have been landing on me during this month. In fact, I'm still working but I made it a policy to stop at 7pm for sanity's sake. However I'm very grateful to Noelle and Marcos for putting up their respective articles on Wednesday. After reading the two of them, I'm awfully tempted to listen to one album again and buy the other.
Also, just to get my mind off work, I go to one of my hobbies which happens to be this blog.
First off, let me tell you something I do first thing in the morning. No...it doesn't always involve flushing. Actually when I wake up, I often find the TV already on with the channel set to TV Japan, and before NHK's "Newswatch 9", there is an English conversation study program titled "Shigoto no Kiso Eigo"（しごとの基礎英語...Standard English for Work）. It always involves the learning of some business English phrases in the setting of a fictional corporation based in Japan with the mixture of sitcom-friendly native English speakers and Japanese staffers who are fairly fluent in their second language themselves.
Now, the program, and its other cousins, have been on for a few years now at 7:55 am, and with "Shigoto no Kiso Eigo", the star of the show happens to be this fellow named Aki who's not quite as fluent as his comrades in the company. Well, a few days ago, my mother asked me if I knew who he was. As I said, I have been very familiar with Aki since he not only stars in this English conversation show but also appears sometimes as a reporter on the other NHK program "Asaichi"（あさイチ）. So I figured that Mom had some trivia for me.
Well, I got out of my groggy state fairly quickly that morning when she told me that Aki happens to be actor/tarento Akinobu Shinoyama（篠山輝信）. He is the son of famed photographer Kishin Shinoyama（篠山紀信）and former aidoru Saori Minami（南沙織）....yep, the same one who had gotten her fame right from the get-go with "Juu-nana Sai"（１７才）all those decades ago.
So on that note, perhaps it's time to put in a Minami song tonight. Here is "Tomodachi" (Friends), a nice and breezy tune about that familiar pop cultural trope of a girl in love with a guy but, gosh darn it, can't string the words together to tell him how she feels.
Written by Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, "Tomodachi" has that typical early 70s sound of happy-go-lucky. However, those strings sound almost downright disco at times. Gives the song some extra juice, and the horns provide a bit of a comical touch to the proceedings. Although I don't think Minami's 3rd single from February 1972 was ever used as such, it could have become a theme for a family comedy-drama.
A few nights ago, I wrote an article about Chiyoko Shimakura（島倉千代子）and how her song came about due to something that was connected with her personally. Well, the same thing was true about Saori Minami and "Tomodachi". At the time of her stardom, Minami had been living out of hotels and confessed to her staff around her that it was difficult to make close friends. From that spark, "Tomodachi" got its genesis. The song managed to get as high as No. 7 on the weekly charts and would eventually be ranked No. 55 for 1972. It was also included on her 3rd studio album"Junketsu/Tomodachi"（純潔/ともだち...Purity/Friends）which was released later in June. That album peaked at No. 2.
One wonders if Aki's Mom will make a surprise cameo on that English conversation program and show him up!
I was rather surprised that for all of the hits that Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ）supplied throughout the decades, it is his 10th single that has been the only hit that went all the way to No. 1 on Oricon. Written by Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）for release in September 1974, there is a bit of Latin swagger in "Yoroshiku Aishuu"(Suitable Sorrow), along with the usual Go nasal quality, in this song about a guy who's trying his darnedest to grab the heart of a girl but not quite making it.
"Yoroshiku Aishuu" was also used as the theme song for a 1974 TV Asahi (known as NET back then) drama titled "Chotto Shiawase"（ちょっとしあわせ...A Little Happy） starring Go and actress Wakako Sakai. As I mentioned, the song made it all the way to No. 1 and became the 16th-ranked song for the same year. Go has covered it twice since its original release in 1989 and 2005. The 1989 version made it onto his 28th original album in 1991"Junbi Bantan ~ Vingt Ans"（準備万端...Preparations All）. A number of artists have also done their version of the song, including Saori Minami（南沙織）.
Now, Minami was a contemporary of Go's back in the 1970s when they were teens, but her cover of "Yoroshiku Aishuu" didn't come out until June 1994 as her 31st single. It's definitely a more mature and surprisingly epic urban contemporary take on an aidoru song, and it came out under her English name Cynthia. The song was also included on "Cynthia Best ~ Eternity", a compilation of her hits that came out in June 1996.
If there is one thing that I used to tell students when they were inquired about the weather in Toronto, I always said "Predictably unpredictable". Catching the weather forecast every morning is a must. And this week is definitely one of those meteorologically wacky times. We were enjoying some seasonably spring weather but the temps are about to drop like the proverbial rock as we go further into the week, and there may even be snow (shudder). My anime buddy won't even change from snow tires until May, just to be sure.
Anyways, let's bring something a bit more seasonally appropriate here with Saori Minami's（南沙織）"Soushun no Minato" (Early Spring Harbour). It's actually been quite a few years since I've put up one of her tunes. Aside from her really big hit of "Juu-Nana Sai"（１７才）, I never really got to know her all that well, but I decided to listen to the 1973 edition of "Seishun Uta Nenkan"（青春歌年鑑）, and came across this song on Disc 1. There were quite a few of Minami's tunes on this album.
"Soushun no Minato" is another sepia-toned kayo that brings an image of walking along the beach during a breezy and comfy spring day (the sound of waves crashing helps a lot). The Kyohei Tsutsumi-penned melody（筒美京平）including flute and steel guitar just brings that warm and mellow feeling as Mieko Arima's（有馬三恵子）lyrics about that woman pining for that far-off fellow are delivered by Minami in a honeyed voice that sounds a whole lot more mature than her age at that time of 18 or 19 years.
According to the J-Wiki article on the song, the song had had a previous incarnation as "Furusato no You ni"（ふるさとのように...Just Like Home） from a previous 1972 album of hers "Soushun no Harmony"（早春のハーモニー...Early Spring Harmony）, but when it was decided that there would be a version of it coming out as an official single, the powers-that-be revised the lyrics and arrangement. "Soushun no Minato", by the way, was also a track on her 6th album from May 1973, "Kizu Tsuku Sedai"（傷つく世代...The Hurt Generation） which peaked at No. 9.
Released in January 1973, "Soushun no Minato" almost broke the Top 10 by coming in at No. 11 and finished as the 79th-ranked song of the year. Popular folk singer Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎）was so impressed by the song when he heard it on the radio that he penned an answer song over 18 months later with help from Hiroshi Kamayatsu（かまやつひろし）under the title of "Cynthia"（シンシア）which happens to be Minami's English name.
Then we have Hiromi Iwasaki's（岩崎宏美）wonderful cover of "Soushun no Minato" from her 2003 "Dear Friend II"album. If there were anyone who could match Minami or even exceed her with this song, it would be Iwasaki. Her voice here sounds as if it hadn't changed in 20 years, and I guess it's the low and mellow vocals of both her and Minami that sell the relaxation in the song. There's even more of an exotic element in her version with what sounds more like a mandolin than a steel guitar. That beach may have been in Greece rather than Japan. In any case, I could use some more of the sunny countenance in these old kayo to get through some of the rain and cold of this week.
The one definite benefit that I've gotten since starting "Kayo Kyoku Plus" back at the end of January 2012 is that I've been able to notice composers and lyricists a whole lot more. And to a certain extent, I've even been able to discern the styles of some of them.
For example, singer-songwriter Tetsuji Hayashi struck me as being the go-to guy to whip up at least two types of songs: the wistful summery ballad and the happy-go-disco pop song. The Shizuoka-born Hayashi was influenced by American pop music via his older brother, and debuted as a singer-songwriter in his early 20s in 1973 although he wasn't initially all that successful.
However, one of his early compositions was for aidoru Saori Minami（南沙織）. "Ai wa Meguriai kara"（愛はめぐり逢いから...Love Comes From Chance） which was her 21st single from November 1976. I listened to this ballad for the first time today and I could hear the beginnings of his mellow style which has that bit of Carpenters and early Olivia Newton-John. Fumiko Okada（岡田冨美子）was responsible for the lyrics. It peaked at No. 45 on Oricon and was also a track on Minami's BEST album, "Cynthia no Harmony"（シンシアのハーモニー...Cynthia's Harmony） from 1977. Moreover, the song became the theme tune for the TBS drama "Kekkon suru made"（結婚するまで...Until I Get Married）.
As for the happy-go-disco side, there's nothing better than Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）"September". As much as I love the legendary song of the same title by Earth, Wind & Fire, I also adore Takeuchi's cheerful romp on the sunny side of the street, and it is one of my early happy memories from my adventures into Japanese popular music.
Just a few months after Takeuchi's release of "September", there was another Hayashi composition which would become one of the classics of City Pop, "Mayonaka no Door"（真夜中のドアー）. With Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）providing the lyrics, the late singer Miki Matsubara（松原みき）may have exerted a little too much vocal into the recording but every time I hear it, it still takes me back to the time when I was walking through the night time streets of Tokyo as a teenager back in 1981.
One of my very favourite songs from the 80s was also created by Hayashi. "Osaka Bay Blues" from 1982 put the capital 'W' onto wistful as Masaki Ueda（上田正樹）let his emotions seep into the words. The composer has been continuing to create songs well into the new century, but I think it was his time working with lyricist Chinfa Kan（康珍化）during this decade (including this song) that stamped his brand.
And whenever I think of the partnership of Hayashi and Kan, Omega Tribe always pops to mind. To be specific, I think about the incarnation of the band with Kiyotaka Sugiyama（杉山清貴）as the lead vocalist. The songwriters' "Summer Suspicion" from 1983 has just about planted itself in my brain as the theme song for the early Omega Tribe years. Because of the Sugiyama-Hayashi-Kan triumvirate, I'm always gonna imagine white sands and ultramarine sky whenever I hear their songs.
Later in that year, Hayashi came up with another soaring Anri（杏里）classic, "Kanashimi ga Tomaranai" （悲しみがとまらない）which seemed to time warp in from the late 70s. I think it was a foregone conclusion that Hayashi would pair up with one of the queens of summer kayo, and to this day, the words (again by Kan) "I can't stop the loneliness" and that amazing trumpet solo near the end still make the song a nostalgic great in my books.
Speaking about soaring classics, Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）also benefited from the Hayashi-Kan touch with "Kita Wing" from 1984. Considering what I've already put down on the song in its own article, I just wonder if Hayashi had ever wanted to be an adventure travel writer in another life. His ballads may encourage one to take a walk along the beach and sigh, but when he goes uptempo, it's time to get the swimming trunks and the water skis in gear.
As I said at the top, Tetsuji Hayashi is a singer-songwriter, so he has also released his own singles and albums over the decades. One of his own songs is "Touch Me" from his 4th album, "Nine Stories" (1986), and not surprisingly, he's quite the balladeer. Just judging from the above song, I could almost consider him to be the J-David Foster.
I had a chance to buy his second album from 1977 "Back Mirror" when I was at the Shibuya Tower Records last month, but let the opportunity slide. I'll see if I can get it sometime for Xmas, though. And certainly, I'll be taking a look at some of his many, many compositions for other singers as well. Hayashi has continued to make music up to the present day, but I'll always associate his best stuff with the late 70s and 80s.
Ami Ozaki （尾崎亜美） wrote, composed and arranged this song which also has the Japanese title of 『春の予感』or "Spring Premonition". It was never released as a proper single but as a track on her 3rd album, "Stop Motion" released in July 1978. True to its title, it's a mellow ballad...something to listen to on a beach on a lazy afternoon. Along with the previously released "My Pure Lady", it's one of her early classics.
It was also originally created for 70s aidoruSaori Minami （南沙織）as her 25th single (released in January 1978) and as the Spring campaign song for Shiseido Cosmetics. The arrangements for both are quite similar so I'll let you decide who you like better. In any case, the single went as far up as No. 25 on the Oricon weeklies, and was included in Minami's 18th album, "I've Been Mellow" which peaked at No. 39.
Although my very first visit to Japan wasn't until 1972, whenever I hear the June 1971-released "Juu-nana Sai"(17 Years Old), I get very wistful about those days traveling through Osaka. It's a very cheerful song about the typical happy-go-lucky pining for love of a teenage girl, and the combination of strings, tambourine, flute and her voice brings back a lot of flashes of memories walking through the streets of Namba Town in downtown Osaka during that summer. Economically, Japan was going through double-digit growth and things were looking very up, just like Minami-san...at least until the first Oil Shock in 1973.
The song peaked at No. 2 on the Oricon weeklies and ended up being the 11th-ranking song of the year. It would become her biggest hit.
Saori Minami（南沙織）, who was born Akemi Uchima（内間明美） in Okinawa in 1954, was a huge fan of the lead singer of the most famous Group Sounds band in the 1960s,The Tigers' Kenji Sawada（沢田研二）, which got her to try out for show business. She and her parents went up to Tokyo and met with the president of CBS/Sony, who decided to take her on.
The origin of the song is a fascinating one. When Minami first met the composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平） about her debut, he asked her about what she could sing. She responded that she could only do Lynn Anderson's "Rose Garden" which had been released several months earlier in late 1970. Anderson's country/pop crossover tune had been a huge hit worldwide, and so Tsutsumi crafted "Juu-nana Sai" with a similar sound for his young charge's sake. Go ahead....listen to the two songs. Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）provided the lyrics.
Almost two decades later, pop singer Chisato Moritaka（森高千里） did a cover version with a Eurobeat feel. This was her 6th single and was included in her album, "Hijitsuryokuha Sengen"(非実力派宣言...Incompetent Faction Declaration) in 1989. It didn't do quite as well as the original but it still broke the Top 10 at No. 8 and was the 43rd-ranked song of the year.
Moritaka and Minami have something else in common besides this song. They both married celebrities with Moritaka marrying actor/singer Yosuke Eguchi (of "Tokyo Love Story" fame) and Minami wed photographer Kishin Shinoyama.
.JPG)
