Bruce Cockburn/Barenaked Ladies -- Lovers in a Dangerous Time

World Atlas via Wikimedia Commons

On this blisteringly hot day, Canada is 159 years old. Happy Birthday to the Great White North! Personally, I'm trying to stay cool in my room with the decades-old electric fan helping me out. 

Of course, being a national holiday and all, Reminiscings of Youth will be having a special article today (along with the regular weekly one tomorrow) to commemorate Canada Day. Glad to read that Ottawa-born singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn (pronounced KOH-bərn...like James Coburn) is with us at the age of 81. Forty-two years ago in 1984, he released his "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" which became a Top 40 hit here and a long resident on the music video charts on television. There were some contrasts here: 1) the contrast of young teens finding fresh new love during a time when the spectre of the Cold War was still looming large and 2) Cockburn's button-down and soothing pop-rock arrangement meshed with a performance video of what I could describe as something quite avant-garde Cirque du Soleil. 

In Canada, "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" reached No. 24 on the RPM charts while on US Billboard, it peaked at No. 56.

Barenaked Ladies was a band born in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. It's nicknamed Scarberia because of how desolate parts of it can look like during the winter (just look at the music video) but it also has a ton of restaurants of all nationalities that can keep people very happy and fed. Anyways, Barenaked Ladies was the same band behind the theme song for the long-running American sitcom "The Big Bang Theory", and they've been a bunch of good local boys who love to rock with a sense of humour. I first found out about them through a friend's car tape-cassette recorder when he was playing a compilation of their stuff which included their cover of "Lovers in a Dangerous Time". 

It's a friendly, folksy and peppy take on Cockburn's original and watching Ed Robertson and the gang perform from the back of a pickup truck while it drives on the streets of Scarborough in the dead of winter is probably one of the most Canadian things I've ever posted on the blog. Their cover first appeared on the 1991 Cockburn tribute album "Kick at the Darkness" and it was released as the band's debut single in 1992.

The original song peaked on August 18th 1984, so why don't we see what was hitting the top of the Oricon charts a couple of days later? Let's go with a scattering of songs here with Nos. 5, 7 and 10.

5. Mariko Takahashi -- Momo Iro Toiki （桃色吐息）

7. Southern All Stars -- Miss Brand-New Day

10. Mari Iijima -- Ai Oboeteimasuka? （愛・おぼえていますか）

Those 14th Singles (Happy 14th, Kayo Kyoku Plus!)

Wikimedia Commons

 

Seeing that today is KKP's 14th birthday, one more thing that I've decided to post to celebrate is a short list of some of our regular singers' 14th singles.

(1982) Southern All Stars -- Chako no Kaigan Monogatari （チャコの海岸物語）

(1983) Seiko Matsuda -- Glass no Ringo（ガラスの林檎）

(1983) Anri -- Kanashimi ga Tomaranai (悲しみがとまらない）

(1986) Akina Nakamori -- Desire

(1994) SMAP -- Ganbarimasho （がんばりましょう）

Southern All Stars -- Hotel Pacific

 

Ah, yes...November. That time of the year between Halloween party enthusiasm and Christmas revelry which is relatively quiet, although admittedly the stores are probably already festooned with Yuletide decorations and products. It's also the second full month of autumn and the leaves are at their peak colours just before they eventually fall and hit the ground to become future mulch. Of course, in Japanese pop culture, that also usually signifies the death of romance.

If you were here last night for the mix of Halloween and City Pop songs at "Kayo Kyoku Plus", you might be shaking your head or eyes at seeing the above photo and the title of the song. Yes, indeed, the photo above is showing what was once The Pacific Hotel Chigasaki（パシフィックホテル茅ヶ崎）, also known as The Pacific Park Chigasaki. I had that up last night at the very end of the final article for Friday which was Bread & Butter's（ブレッド＆バッター）"Hotel Pacific" from 1981.

Guess what? Almost twenty years later, the band Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）also got that inspiration of the memory of the legendary hotel which became their 45th single from July 2000, "Hotel Pacific" (yup, same title, too). However, unlike the melancholy and languid balladry about lost love from Bread & Butter's song, SAS brings their usual upbeat rock and pop with a Latin twist regarding lost love to the Keisuke Kuwata-penned（桑田佳祐） "Hotel Pacific". No lonely man walking forlornly along the beach here; he is running with several other women and a full band!

Not surprisingly, "Hotel Pacific" hit No. 2 and became the 20th-ranked single for 2000, going Double Platinum and selling over 800,000 copies. Album-wise, it first showed up on Southern All Stars' BEST compilation "Umi no Oh Yeah!!"（海のOh, Yeah!!...Oh Yeah of the Ocean） from August 2018. That hit No. 1 for two weeks and ended up as the No. 3 album of the year. Interestingly enough, this particular song wasn't the only one in the SAS discography that referred to The Pacific Hotel Chigasaki. You can check out their 1982 "Natsu wo Akiramete" （夏をあきらめて）.

Gloria Gaynor -- I Will Survive

 

I have mentioned Gloria Gaynor and her definitive "I Will Survive" for one of the regular articles somewhere in KKP but I can't remember which one. However, this time, the song is getting the ROY treatment.

Released on October 23rd 1978, and yep, it is a total coincidence that I'm putting up this disco classic on its 47th anniversary today, I used to first hear this as a track being touted on one of those disco LP compilations that I saw on television all the time. And the first time I heard it in its entirety, it wasn't by Gaynor herself but actress Marilu Henner from the "Taxi" comedy series when she performed it on some TV special. In fact, I have to say that last night was the first time I got to see the entire music video with Gaynor and roller-skating dancers.

It was also interesting to find out that "I Will Survive" is the culmination of folks truly getting over some bad stuff in their lives. For example, according to the Wikipedia article for the song, co-songwriter Dino Fekaris came up with the song after having been suddenly fired from Motown Records following steady work there for many years. Gaynor herself recorded "I Will Survive" while wearing a back brace due to an injury on stage and having gone through the loss of a loved one. This is truly the anthem for defiance and overcoming adversity.

"I Will Survive" managed to reach No. 3 on Canada's RPM and No. 1 on America's Billboard chart where it kept popping up over non-consecutive weeks. Also, coincidentally enough, I managed to find the Top 10 Oricon chart for October 23rd 1978. What was up in the Top 3?

1. Pink Lady -- Toumei Ningen （透明人間）

2. Takao Horiuchi -- Kimi no Hitomi wa Ichi-man Boruto （君のひとみは10000ボルト）

3. Southern All Stars -- Katte ni Sinbad （勝手にシンドバッド）

Southern All Stars -- Body Special II（ボディ・スペシャルⅡ）

 

I remember that one statement by one of the Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）. I forgot who it was...maybe it was leader Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）himself who once declared that if a song didn't have any sex in it, it really wasn't a song. Or at the very least, it wasn't an SAS song.

Well, then, I have an SAS song for you. To be specific, this is their 17th single from March 1983, "Body Special II", a raunchy rock n' roller that was written and composed by Kuwata with some additional arranging assistance from Ichiro Nitta（新田一郎）. Considering the lyrics of hot and heavy stuff going on, any purchaser of the original single would probably have wondered whether there were any existential lip or tongue marks on the cover. Even the cover itself didn't hide any signs of lasciviousness: the photo is of a well-endowed topless woman. According to a 2020 issue of "Shuukan Bunshun"（週刊文春）via J-Wiki, Kuwata now even admits that the cover was perhaps a step too far. Still with any probable torches and pitchforks thrown from the nation's PTAs aside, "Body Special II" was another hit for the band as it scored a No. 10 ranking and an eventual No. 37 ranking for 1983.

Happy 20th Anniversary, YouTube! 20th Anniversary Kayo Picks

 

It is indeed another Hump Day here so why not perk things up a tad? We often celebrate anniversaries such as birthdays here and we're gonna do so once again with Kayo Grace Kyoku and Mr. Calico.

The news was coming that the 20th anniversary of YouTube was near but I hadn't realized that it was actually today. However indeed, on April 23rd 2005, the first YouTube video was uploaded onto the new site with one of the co-founders Jawed Karim putting up a 19-second presentation of his very calm observation of elephants at the San Diego Zoo. Of course, from such humble beginnings, a video empire evolved including tons of music from over the past century, recipe videos from home, soothing ASMR stuff and vicarious drives all over the world among other imaginative ideas. 

Also because "Kayo Kyoku Plus" could only work with the representation of Japanese songs from now and yesteryear existing on YouTube, I have to extend my gratitude to all those uploaders over the years (although perhaps certain companies and artists may not be thrilled). It was always my feeling that a Japanese music blog wouldn't work with just some prose about the songs that I knew and loved; the actual songs just had to be there for listening.

I had actually considered only putting up the Top 10 list of singles for April 23rd 2005 but seeing that most of the top 10 were unknown to me, I quickly ditched that idea. Instead, what I will do is provide songs by certain artists that were released in the 20th year of their time in show business (checked J-Wiki), whether or not they were put out as official 20th-anniversary songs.

(1959) Haruo Minami -- Otone Mujou (大利根無情)

(1967) Hibari Misora -- Makkana Taiyo （真赤な太陽）

(1992) Yumi Matsutoya -- Fuyu no Owari （冬の終わり）

(1985) Hiroshi Itsuki -- Soshite....Meguri Ai （そして。。。めぐり逢い）

(1998) Southern All Stars -- LOVE AFFAIR ~ Himitsu no Date（秘密のデート）

Anyways, congratulations to YouTube on hitting the big 2-0!

Maureen McGovern -- Different Worlds

 

Happy Good Friday to everyone! Hopefully, you are all taking things easy on this statutory holiday. Of course, being a national holiday, I'm doing a special Reminiscings of Youth article today for Urban Contemporary Friday, and you might consider this a sequel or a follow-up to yesterday's ROY posting on that soundtrack from the hilarious "Airplane!" (1980).

Commenter Brian Mitchell and I were exchanging comments for that one earlier today and I realized one big interesting pop culture connection between one of the funniest movies ever made and a short-lived American sitcom that was out at about the same time. In fact, I'll lift a good chunk of my comment to explain things.

Speaking about coincidences regarding planes, I realized that "Airplane!" also had a fairly surprising connection with an American sitcom "Angie" which had a short run from 1979. Robert Hays (Ted Striker) had a co-starring role in that one next to the title character played by Donna Pescow who just happened to dance with John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever". Of course, there was the famous disco scene in "Airplane!" which was accompanied by "Stayin' Alive", the official or unofficial theme for "SNF". And to top it all off, Maureen McGovern who played the nun on "Airplane!" sang the theme song for "Angie".

Indeed, that is indeed McGovern's nun above trying to solace a couple of passengers and failing utterly. That may have been her first foray into acting after starting out in 1967 and being primarily known as a recording artist. She first hit the bright lights when her recording of "The Morning After", the theme song for another serious disaster movie, "The Poseidon Adventure" from 1972, had won her an Oscar. Ironically enough, and to extend the coincidence chain, Leslie Nielsen from "Airplane!" had played the captain of the doomed cruise liner.

According to her bio on Wikipedia, McGovern had still hit some lean times between then and the late 1970s. However, things started looking up with not only the "Airplane!" gig, but also with her recording of "Can You Read My Mind?", the love theme from Richard Donner's "Superman" earlier and then as I mentioned in the comment to Brian, her recording of the theme song for the sitcom "Angie" on ABC.

I did watch a lot of "Angie" during its time between early 1979 and late 1980 because I have to admit  that I had a bit of a crush on Pescow, not knowing for many years that she had that pivotal role in "Saturday Night Fever". I also remember that McGovern had another hit in "Different Worlds", the theme song for "Angie" and it was quite popular on the radio as well as each time that an episode aired on the telly. And listening to it again after so long, those happy-go-lucky disco vibes had me swooning a lot. Strangely enough, I started getting memories of Taeko Ohnuki's（大貫妙子）"Sunshower" and "Mignonne" albums as well.

A single was released in June 1979 which hit No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart while it reached No. 18 on the same organization's Top 100. Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox were the songwriters behind "Different Worlds". Considering the title, I would have thought the song could have been great for "Superman" but maybe it was a little too disco for the Man of Steel. 😁

Anyways, I'm not sure on which day "Different Worlds" was released but to see what was hitting the top of the charts at around that time, let's go with June 4th 1979.

1. Judy Ongg -- Miserarete （魅せられて）

2. Southern All Stars -- Itoshi no Ellie （いとしのエリー）

3. Godiego -- Beautiful Name

Southern All Stars -- Kamisama kara no Okurimono（神様からの贈り物）

 

I remember in the days of those PBS hard-sell campaigns for contributions on TV so that we could still get our episodes of "Doctor Who" and "Sesame Street". It was basically Goldie and Mike in Buffalo New York stating, "We love you all but no money, no Doctor, no Big Bird" and then they waited for the signups via phone.

In Japan, there were no special campaigns. You have a television, you live in Japan, you pay NHK monthly. No ifs, ands or buts. I know that things are different now, but when I was living in Ichikawa, there was always a fellow who came up to the apartment to collect that monthly NHK fee of 3,000 yen. To be honest, I have been viewing much more NHK here on TV Japan and now Jme over the past dozen years that I ever did in Japan. It was more of the private networks such as TBS and Fuji-TV that I was watching than NHK...NHK for me back then was the news and the weekly I-Go program, so you can imagine that I was somewhat grumbly about the NHK fee.

Singer-songwriter Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）and his Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）had their own axe to grind with the quasi-governmental TV network for many years. It was in the first year of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" when I posted the band's "Chako no Kaigan Monogatari"（チャコの海岸物語）that I mentioned the feud that had exploded between them and NHK which lasted for many years with the cold war even including counterprogramming by SAS against the New Year's Eve special, the Kohaku Utagassen. 

But starting from a few years ago, it looks like hatchets have been buried and the Southern All Stars did pop up on the Kohaku again. And certainly, I couldn't have imagined this happening in the 1980s or 1990s, but the band actually showed up to do a special with one of the major announcers of the network to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the network. I saw the special on Friday night and it was rather weird to see Kuwata dressed up like an old Showa era guy in a Showa era living room including an old-fashioned dial and knob television set humbly giving accolades to NHK for providing the kayo kyoku and J-Pop over the decades which also included footage of just about every single that SAS had performed on the network's music programs. Talk about mellowing out. But it was pretty much "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" with SAS coming on board the network celebrations while being able to show off the tracks from their 16th and latest album "Thank You So Much" which was released on March 19th.

So far, the track that has stood out to me is "Kamisama kara no Okurimono" (A Gift from God) which is being used as the theme song for the 100th anniversary of NHK events. It, like the album, is a reflection of Kuwata's appreciation for all of the songs and singers who have come before to influence his own works and how much he loves Japan. For me, it's a very upbeat and nostalgic-sounding tune that seems to have plugged into the early 1970s Motown soul sound. I've got a feeling that Keisuke and the gang will be showing up on the 76th edition of the Kohaku later this year...it's just too tempting, unless SAS decides to flip the script (among other things) again.

Holly Cole -- Talk to Me, Baby

 

Holly Cole has graced the pages of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" before when I introduced her via her seasonal "The Christmas Blues" which she released back in 1989. In fact, it was through a ROY article that she got through and once again, I'm giving her the same treatment here and now.

As I said in that article, in terms of Canadian jazz singers, before Michael Bublé and before Diana Krall, there was Holly Cole. I mentioned there that I had been back in Toronto on vacation during my time on the JET Programme, and most likely through Canada's MuchMusic video channel, I'd seen Cole for the first time through a music video whose song title I couldn't remember at the time.

Well, I remember now. I mean, I certainly remember the video with Cole looking like the ultimate torch song singer in a dramatically black strapless gown on a dimly-lit soundstage as she cooed the song into our ears while backed up by a classy combination of pianist and wood bassist. That song was "Talk to Me, Baby" which was originally written and recorded by singer-songwriter Johnny Mercer and composed by Bobby Dolan back in 1964 for the Broadway musical "Foxy". Cole's sultrier version was recorded onto her 1st full album "Girl Talk" from 1990.

Also, listen to Mercer himself take on his creation. His take has a bit more of the swing orchestra behind him.

Well, since only a year was given for the release of Cole's "Girl Talk", let's show the usual Japanese comparison with a few of the winners at that year's Japan Record Awards -- Pop/Rock Division.

Grand Prize -- B.B. Queens -- Odoru Ponpokorin （おどるポンポコリン）

Rock Gold Disc Award -- Southern All Stars -- Manatsu no Kajitsu （真夏の果実）

Best New Artist -- Tama -- Sayonara Jinrui （さよなら人類）

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts -- I Love Rock 'n' Roll

 

Happy Monday! Today is a statutory holiday here in Canada known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and as is KKP custom, we have a special Monday edition of Reminiscings of Youth.

When I first saw the music video for Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' iconic "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", it was probably through Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" show which I often saw on the weekends. And I got to see it a lot because it was such a hit; the US Billboard chart had it at the top spot (just like in Canada) for seven weeks in a row after its release in January 1982. What stood out for me was that Jett was a lady who looked like she could not only rock hard but could literally rock an opponent hard with her fists and/or her guitar, so I put her alongside the intimidating Pat Benatar. As well, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was pure unadulterated hard guitar rock with no jazz or pop mixed in, which was during a time filled with plenty of synthesizers. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" ended up as the No. 3 song of the year in America and certified Platinum.

As with a number of songs that I've covered in ROY articles over the past few years, I...along with a number of other commenters...am once again surprised to hear that Jett's hit is actually a cover version of an original "I Love Rock 'n' Roll". The British rock band The Arrows released this song back in July 1975 and there really isn't much of a difference in the arrangement. It was also a hard and pulsing rock tune back then as well.

Interestingly enough, the following three Japanese singles were released on the same day: January 21st 1982.

Yoshimi Iwasaki -- Aishite Mon Amour（愛してモナムール）

Southern All Stars -- Chako no Kaigan Monogatari （チャコの海岸物語）

Seiko Matsuda -- Akai Sweet Pea (赤いスイートピー）

Southern All Stars -- Koi no Boogie Woogie Night（恋のブギウギナイト）

 

During my years living in the Tokyo area, my friends and I had walked through the famous or infamous Kabukicho district in Shinjuku in the day and at night. Once, I even walked through the shuttered streets of the area all by myself in the early afternoon since those establishments had more nocturnal business. I remember getting stared at by a few unsavory types and thinking "This will be the last time I stroll on this particular laneway!". 

Although over the years, I've heard students telling me that they try not to go through the area beyond a certain prime-time hour, I've actually walked through Kabukicho at around midnight and it wasn't too bad. There are probably neighborhoods in Toronto and other major cities around the world that are far more dangerous, but obviously one has to keep one's wits about them such as not following the tuxedoed tout into the mystery bar unless one has a major desire to lose a lot of stuff such as money.

Fuji-TV has been showing a comedy-drama established in Kabukicho over the past few months. In fact, according to J-Wiki, it's supposed to be wrapping up tonight. "Shinjuku Yasen Byouin" (新宿野戦病院...Shinjuku Field Hospital) is all about the hijinks and drama of operating a medical facility within one of Japan's wildest neighborhoods, and considering that I first translated the title as "Shinjuku MASH", I was wondering whether there would be the droll humour of the the legendary movie and TV series in America. Probably not.

For something like "Shinjuku Yasen Byouin", the theme song and the band behind it would have to be things that would fit the unfurled chaos and fascination of not only the show but also of Kabukicho. Of course, it would be Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）and their 7th digital single "Koi no Boogie Woogie Night" (Boogie Woogie Night of Love) which was released in June 2024. It's been categorized with the genres of rock, disco and EDM, but for me, I think it's more with funk and pop along with the synths.

Watching the music video, it's pure SAS...Keisuke Kuwata's（桑田佳祐）sultry coolness as the MC of the proceedings along with plenty of sex appeal. He could be the King of Kabukicho himself and the video reflects the area from all angles: traditional, modern, gaudy, straitlaced, sexy. The two stars of "Shinjuku Yasen Byouin" even show up to dance a bit. 

"Koi no Boogie Woogie Night" peaked at No. 3 on Oricon's digital single chart. Although I don't think Kabukicho has ever needed any help in gathering a lot of tourism, I kinda wonder whether the drama has gotten more tourists to see what all the fuss is about.

Southern All Stars -- Ai no Kotodama 〜Spiritual Message〜（愛の言霊）

 

The last time I wrote up on the legendary band Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）was back in late 2022 when I posted their "Christmas Time Forever". After that, there came their "cameos" on Reminiscings of Youth articles, so it's nice to have Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）, Yuko Hara（原由子） and company return to the byline.

Frankly, this SAS song was something that I had forgotten in the years since I first heard it some decades ago. And that's most likely due to the fact that I never saw the NTV 1996 drama "Toumei Ningen"（透明人間...The Invisible Man） starring SMAP's Shingo Katori（香取慎吾）as the title character. I do remember catching the commercials promoting it though because Katori was popping up nude (tastefully, though); I heard rumours that parts of his body had to be insured. Anyways, "Ai no Kotodama ~Spiritual Message~" (The Power of the Words of Love) was the ending theme.

As well, it was also used as the campaign song for au LISMO, the KDDI cellphone service and now as I remember it, "Ai no Kotodama" seemed to be the favourite on that Saturday night celebrity karaoke show, also on NTV. And perhaps that was no surprise since the show depended on the rankings of which one of them was Oricon where it scored a No. 1 following its release as SAS' 37th single in May 1996. It would rank in at No. 7 on the yearly charts. But still, for whatever reason, compared to some of the other hits by Southern All Stars, "Ai no Kotodama" never quite sank into my memories or psyche.

Maybe it was because the song just tried to cram itself with a ton of different influences. Usually I appreciate a mixture of genres but I think it was kinda like listening to the equivalent of a kid tossing everything but the kitchen sink into the closet when he hears his mother storming up the stairs to see if he actually cleaned up his room. "Ai no Kotodama" has got elements of dance club, Japanese festival, Indonesian rap, jazzy scat and English. Plus for the longest time, when I heard the song, I'd been under the impression that Kuwata was singing in French in parts. According to the J-Wiki writeup on "Ai no Kotodama", Kuwata had wanted to trip the light fantastic with his voice via all these different languages and sounds.

In the end, my ears and head were filled with this fruit salad in rum-spiked gelatin that incorporated virtually every single fruit on Earth in existence, and so I kinda went "Well, I'll just have to take it really slowly with this one here...small bites over many days". Basically, it's gonna have to grow on me. But in any case, "Ai no Kotodama" is also a track on the band's 12th original album "Young Love" from July 1996. It was also another chart-topper and like the single, it would also come in at No. 7 on the yearly charts. 

Toni Basil -- Mickey

 

On this week's Reminiscings of Youth series, I'm touching base with one of the touchstones of my view on New Wave and music video in the 1980s. Interesting thing though...I've already made reference to it. Back in the pre-ROY days of 2016 on the blog, I wrote about Gorie's（ゴリエ）cover of "Mickey" and of course, I mentioned the source song by Toni Basil.

Yes, that's right...Toni Basil's "Mickey" from January 1982. That video for the song really struck out at me with Toni as a heavily made-up cheerleader stoically but frantically dancing all around a stark stage with her team as she sang this New Wave serenade to the title guy. Supposedly, the guy was Micky Dolenz of The Monkees but Basil has denied this. Anyways, the song created by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn must have been a radio station's dream: eclectic but approachable, weird but fun, New Wave but pop-catchy. 

"Mickey" has been one of the tentpoles for my education in music video music, alongside The Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star" and Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes". And once again, just like those songs, I have discovered that Basil's magnum opus "Mickey" once had an earlier life. It used to be known as "Kitty" by the New Wave band Racey back in 1979. Well, hello "Kitty". 😻

Not sure when the above footage was taped, but apparently the powers-that-be plus Basil must have gotten a good rate on that empty white stage. In any case, those lyrics by Chapman and Chinn will always have a place in my memory:

Oh Mickey, you're so fine

You're so fine, you blow my mind

Hey Mickey, hey Mickey

Hey, it ended up in a "Doctor Who" episode as said by one of my favourite iterations of the dastardly Master. "Mickey" hit No. 1 in both Canada and the United States.

So, when "Mickey" was blowing everyone's mind, which singles were popping out in Japan in January 1982? Geez, has it already been 42 years?!

Seiko Matsuda -- Akai Sweet Pea (赤いスイートピー）

Southern All Stars -- Chako no Kaigan Monogatari （チャコの海岸物語）

Tatsuro Yamashita -- For You (album)

Queen -- Don't Stop Me Now

 

My own personal listening history with Queen began with "Another One Bites the Dust" which was one of their disco outings in 1980. But then the following year, when all of us kids were heading out to Japan after graduating from Japanese language school, I got to hear my classmate's copy of their classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" (1975) on the plane ride. Then in short order, I got to hear "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions" especially since the NHL's New York Islanders were using that last song as their victory anthem during their dynasty of Stanley Cup wins in the early 1980s. Having finally gotten into music by that point, I got to hear their New Wave "Radio Ga Ga".

"Don't Stop Me Now" from 1979, however, was a song that I wouldn't get to know about for many years and yet it's probably the most preferred hit among many Japanese. Sure enough, I've seen a few commercials there featuring "Don't Stop Me Now" including one where a jet plane is just pulling off all these loops in the sky; can't remember what it was selling...knowing Japanese ads, it was probably life insurance. I can possibly understand its great popularity in Japan, though. With Freddie Mercury espousing pure joyous fun for the sake of it, all those hard-working cogs wouldn't mind throwing their blazers to the wind and going all Wang Chung!

Now of course, any of you who read "Kayo Kyoku Plus" regularly and have their eyes and ears to the music scene in Japan know that I'm posting this special holiday Reminiscings of Youth because Queen and Adam Lambert showed up on last night's Kohaku Utagassen to perform "Don't Stop Me Now". It was great and nostalgic to watch them in San Francisco, but wouldn't it have been something if the band had actually shown up on the Shibuya stage in Tokyo? But the logistics would have most likely overwhelmed the production staff. Still, good to see the guys bring out the goods.

Apparently, it isn't just Japanese pop culture that picked up on the joyousness of "Don't Stop Me Now". When it was originally released in 1979, it didn't do all that well on the charts with the United States for example only having it reach as high as No. 86 on its Billboard. Since then though, it has done a slow persistent burn up to the top of many fans' favourite lists. And in 2018 through Billboard Japan, the song went up to No. 37 and then No. 32 in 2019.

"Don't Stop Me Now" was released in Japan in March 1979 which of course begs the question about which other singles were getting out there in that month.

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Be Silent（美・サイレント）

Satoshi Kishida -- Kimi no Asa （君の朝）

Southern All Stars -- Itoshi no Ellie （いとしのエリー）

Frankie Valli -- Grease

 

Scott of podcast "Holly Jolly X'masu" (and by the way, he has his latest on summer Xmas songs) and I were having a talk the other day, and he mentioned that his family was able to catch Frankie Valli in concert recently. At 89, the man still has it although I'm not sure whether he can still hit those stratospheric heights with his voice. I remember getting to first know Valli and The Four Seasons via those K-Tel record commercials. There was "Sherry" and "Walk Like a Man" from the early 1960s. Just getting back to Valli himself, I remember remarking "Can a guy's voice sound that high?!".

But just when I was thinking that The Four Seasons were going to remain eternally on K-Tel, I ended up watching "Grease" on the big screen. I've already mentioned through a ROY article last year about the late Olivia Newton-John's "Hopelessly Devoted to You", the showstopper ballad that she sang midway through the movie. Well, I found out earlier that the 1950s-set motion picture had also been injected with a disco theme song in the opening credits which were pretty funky itself, to say the least. 

And indeed it was Valli behind "Grease", the theme song for greasers everywhere. I was kinda figuring that the song sounded rather contemporary for an old rock-and-roll flick but hey as the years have passed, even Valli's "Grease" has picked up some of that lovely sepia and nostalgia (especially with those strings). The Barry Gibb-penned single was released in May 1978, and it hit No. 1 in America, Canada, and the Netherlands. In fact, it would end up as the No. 6 single of the year in my country.

So, what else was being released in May 1978 over in Japan?

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Playback Part 2 （プレイバック・パート２）

Hitomi Ishikawa -- Migi Muke Migi （右向け右）

Southern All Stars -- Katte ni Sinbad （勝手にシンドバッド）

Scandal featuring Patty Smyth -- The Warrior

 

Shooting at the walls of heartache...bang, bang

I am the warrior! 😤 (from Lyric Find)

Time for another Reminiscings of Youth song. Another tune that has had me swooning for those old 1980s, I swear that "The Warrior" by Scandal featuring Patty Smyth became a daily tradition on those music video shows for weeks at a time following its release in June 1984. An afternoon didn't go by without the music video for this hit featuring Smyth slowly being transformed into one colourful were-something or other. I hadn't ever heard of Scandal nor Patty Smyth before "The Warrior", and I never heard of them again since that release of the single. But it doesn't matter because they immortalized themselves with this one.

Just imagine a rock song as an analogy for dystopian street battles...maybe this was one of the first examples. As one commenter on YouTube mentioned, "The Warrior" isn't just a hit rock song, it's an anthem for 80s music in general that was created by Holly Knight and Nick Gilder. Everything from the arrangement to Smyth's tough-as-nails delivery is legendary.

Of all the references to that decade of ours in current movies and television shows, wouldn't it be something for "The Warrior" to make its comeback to eyes and ears? It hit No. 1 on Canada's RPM charts and then No. 7 on America's Billboard. 

So, what were two songs to make their appearance on record shop shelves in June 1984?

Mari Iijima -- Ai Oboeteimasuka? （愛・おぼえていますか）

Southern All Stars -- Miss Brand-New Day

Alicia Bridges -- I Love The Nightlife

 

I love the nightlife! I love to boogie! Indeed. Alas, though I knew about disco as a kid, I don't think I was ever quite old enough to partake in the various dances that sprouted up in the 1970s. Moreover, none of those school raffle tickets ever translated into enough money for me to get anywhere close to Toronto International Airport to fly down to Studio 54. I did have the bell-bottoms, though.

Reminiscings of Youth has had a few disco songs in the past such as Van McCoy's "The Hustle" and KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I Like It)" because I often do reminisce about my childhood that way. And another one that comes to mind is "I Love The Nightlife" by Alicia Bridges. And much like those other disco classics, this June 1978 single by Bridges first came to my ears via one of those K-Tel compilations on television.

It's crazy to say this but as high octane as "I Love The Nightlife" sounds, Bridges' magnum opus strikes me as being one of the most relaxing songs of the genre that I've ever heard. The reason for that is that arrangement and the images that it evokes of the time. New York City, once known as the most dangerous city on Earth and on the precipice of financial ruin at the time, was made into a rather contented setting through this song. Just imagine listening to "I Love The Nightlife" while forgetting about the troubles all around and getting gussied up for a disco night. Then it's all-night dancing and drinking and carousing with good friends for a number of hours. OK, I admit that what I've fantasized about is a little too utopian considering all of the drugs and the other stuff that were also bandied about at Studio 54. However, when I see all of the stuff around the world now compared to what it was like back then, it's easy for me to grow those rose-coloured glasses around my head.

In Canada, "I Love The Nightlife" hit No. 3 on RPM while in America, the disco anthem got as high as No. 5. But what else was being released in Japan in June 1978?

Hiromi Go & Kirin Kiki -- Ringo Satsujin Jiken （林檎殺人事件）

Southern All Stars -- Katte ni Sinbad （勝手にシンドバッド）

Pink Lady -- Monster （モンスター）

Southern All Stars -- Christmas Time Forever

 

There have been plenty of Japanese singers usually associated with summer sun and beaches that actually have recorded songs for the Yuletide. For example, Anri（杏里）has done "Christmas Calendar" and of course, Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）has come up with the ultimate J-Xmas tune, "Christmas Eve", as a result of a "Take That" moment against those who had scoffed at him for being just a summer dude.

Therefore, it shouldn't come as any surprise that the band Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）, as summery as they have been, has also come up with their own Xmas songs. For one thing, leader and vocalist Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）created "Merry X'mas in Summer" during his mid-1980s Kuwata Band project. 

Sure enough, Southern All Stars recorded "Christmas Time Forever" as the final track for their hit September 1992 album "Yo ni Man'you no Hana ga Sakunari"（世に万葉の花が咲くなり...Many Flowers Blooming in the World）. It's completely SAS with Kuwata's vocals (he wrote and composed the tune with Tommy Snyder helping out on the English lyrics) and those keyboards by his wife Yuko Hara（原由子）but there are those jingle bells and a certain Xmas hush in the arrangement by Takeshi Kobayashi（小林武史）. Plus, it looks like they brought in the kids as well.

"Christmas Time Forever" was used as the 1992 campaign song for Marui Department Store, but though I couldn't find any sign of that commercial on YouTube. As for the album, "Yo ni Man'you no Hana ga Sakunari" was at No. 1 for four weeks in a row throughout the month of October 1992 and it quickly became the No. 7 album of the year. In terms of Oricon's all-time rankings, the album is currently No. 99. "Namida no Kiss"（涙のキッス）is also a track on it.

Supertramp -- The Logical Song

from Discogs

Since it is a major holiday today in Canada and the United States, I thought that it would be nice to have another special Reminiscings of Youth article up here detailing some of the songs outside of Japan that I heard in my teenage years. 

I think that cover for Supertramp's 1979 award-winning "Breakfast In America" is absolutely iconic. The crazy thing is that though I remember the photo of that really welcoming diner waitress with her orange juice raised up high, I'd always thought that up to an hour ago, the backdrop was truly a photo of Manhattan Island in New York State instead of it actually being a bunch of dining table paraphernalia made up to look like Manhattan. 

By the way, welcome to KKP, Supertramp! The English rock group was a regular on the radio airwaves when I was growing up, and being the kid that I was, I had known them as that band with the fellow with the really high voice. That's about as descriptive as I could get about Roger Hodgson at the time, but his voice did serve as a calling card for me to be able to recognize the band's music...well, that and the Wurlitzer electric piano. 

"The Logical Song" from March 1979 which has been called Supertramp's greatest contribution to music was indeed the lead single from "Breakfast In America", and yep, I heard it all the time on radio. But like the simple mind that is quoted in Hodgson's lyrics, I had no idea of the significance of them until many years later. I thought it had a rather odd title back then and being a budding Trekkie at the time, images of Mr. Spock kept flittering around in my head instead of the debate about what formal education was really worth (to this day, I still don't really know how learning about matrices in math meant anything).

Over the years though, Hodgson's music for "The Logical Song" has gotten increasingly cooler and though I have yet to encounter any official literature about the structure and progression of its melody, it seems to flip between the hecticness of life in the big city and a more dream-like state wondering what life is all about. Then the end with the band members playing their cowbell, castanets and whistle might be showing the protagonist finally going a bit mad.

Certainly my imagination wasn't going mad when it comes to the "The Logical Song" and how often it was hitting the airwaves. It was the No. 1 song in Canada for 1979 while on the US Billboard chart, it scored No. 27.

Well, I might have found a new site providing information on which singles were released in which month and year. And so, I can provide a few singles that did come out at the same time as "The Logical Song".

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Be Silent（美・サイレント）

Satoshi Kishida -- Kimi no Asa （君の朝）

Southern All Stars -- Itoshi no Ellie （いとしのエリー）

Southern All Stars -- Ya Ya ~ Ano Toki wo Wasurenai（あの時代を忘れない）

 

Well, we are on the verge of approaching the summer season so why not put up some Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）to start things off today?

"Ya Ya ~ Ano Toki wo Wasurenai" (I'll Never Forget Those Days) was SAS' 16th single from October 1982 following the high-flying nocturnal fun of "Niji Iro The Night Club" （匂艶「にじいろ」THE NIGHT CLUB） which got onto the record shelves back in May. In contrast to the party-hearty disco City Pop of their 15th single, "Ya Ya" is much more of a solemn and nostalgic ballad bringing in images of old friends gathering once more on the beach of their youth with Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐） heading up the singalong in tribute to those good ol' days.

Written and composed by Kuwata, the arrangement for the song reminds me of a couple of songs from the 1970s including The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There". According to the J-Wiki article on "Ya Ya", the song wasn't just to get listeners thinking about their happy past but also to reveal Kuwata and band's good times when they were attending Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo when they belonged to the music circle Better Days, and the club is mentioned verbatim in the lyrics.

"Ya Ya" hit No. 10 on Oricon and ended up as the 69th-ranked single for 1983, going Gold. It also became a track on a number of Southern All Stars' albums with the first one being "Ballad '77~'82"（バラッド '77〜'82）which was released in December 1982 as the band's first BEST compilation of their slower songs. This particular album stayed up at No. 1 for 8 straight weeks on Oricon's cassette tape chart and became the No. 1 tape release for 1983 while on the regular album chart, it ranked in at No. 13. By the way, the above video has Kuwata singing "Ya Ya" about 25 seconds in; before that, he's involved in some comedic scene. If for whatever reason, the singer hadn't chosen the music route, I think that he would have made for a decent comedian.