The 5th Dimension -- Up, Up and Away

 

Yesterday I gave my thoughts on Tatsuro Yamashita's（山下達郎）1988 album "Boku no Naka no Shonen"（僕の中の少年）in which one of the tracks was inspired by the works of singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb. Well, for this week's Reminiscings of Youth, I bring you a song that was actually composed by the man and it's one of the first songs that I had ever heard regularly as a toddler.

Listening to The 5th Dimension's "Up, Up and Away" once again after so many years, I did get a thrill up my back, I have to admit. It's such an upbeat song about the simple wonder of flying in a hot-air balloon (not that I would ever get in once since I'm terrified of heights) but I think that the lyrics can be extrapolated to mean any sort of wondrous trip, physical or figurative or romantic. 

Just how the members sing "We can FLY!" and the accompanying horns and strings seem to bring in a flood of dopamine, and the crazy thing is that "Up, Up and Away" is surprisingly short at around 2 minutes and 44 seconds. I'm prehistoric enough to remember seeing The 5th Dimension performing this very song on one of the prime-time variety shows on American network TV; it may not have been this particular program above but I definitely remember the performance.

"Up, Up and Away" was The 5th Dimension's third single from May 1967 and from what I know about music, I think that it's probably one of the best examples of Sunshine Pop or even Champagne Soul, the genre name that's been applied to the group's blend of "...pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera and Broadway" according to the Wikipedia article on them. Lamonte McLemore, Marilyn McCoo, Florence LaRue, Ronald Townson, and Billy Davis Jr. were the original members, and I remember McCoo and Davis becoming the later hosts of the 70s and 80s syndicated music ranking show "Solid Gold" after the first host, Dionne Warwick.

The song hit No. 1 on both the American and Canadian singles charts. It was even released in Japan under the odd title of "Beat de Jump"（ビートでジャンプ...Beat and Jump）. In any case, what was also released at around the time of "Up, Up and Away"?

Yoko Kagawa -- Ginza no Maria（銀座のマリア）

Naomi Sagara -- Sekai wa Futari no Tame ni （世界は二人のために）

Yukio Hashi -- Koi no Mexican Rock （恋のメキシカン・ロック）(June 1967)

Yoko Kagawa -- Ginza no Maria（銀座のマリア）

 

Yoko Kagawa（佳川ヨコ）is another one of those singers that I haven't been able to glean a lot of information about, although her discography is listed at "Showa Pops". I don't know where she comes from, how she got into the singing business or whether she's even still alive. What I do know so far is that she made her debut in February 1967 with "Kimi Koso Waga Inochi"（君こそわが命）. Now for those kayo experts, if that title sounds familiar to you, it's because Hiroshi Mizuhara (水原弘) also released the same song in the same month as Kagawa, and it has become one of his trademark tunes. The debate goes on as to who released it first, though, and unfortunately I haven't been able to find Kagawa's version of the song online.

However, Kagawa's star really rose with the release of her sophomore effort, "Ginza no Maria" (Maria of Ginza) later that year according to what I read on one fellow's 2006 blog entry titled "Wasureta koro ni Kagawa Yoko"（忘れた頃に佳川ヨコ...The Forgotten Yoko Kagawa）. This is an interesting song by her in that although it is listed as a Mood Kayo (and I believe that genre choice, too), not only can I still hear some elements of enka in the arrangement and Kagawa's vocals but there is also that twangy guitar twist rock in there as well that I would usually associated with Group Sounds which had its heyday during that time. Give thanks to composer Yasumi Matsuo（松尾安巳）for this somewhat gestalt kayo.

Lyricist Kohan Kawauchi（川内康範）, the same man who was behind the words for the aforementioned "Kimi Koso Waga Inochi", was also responsible for "Ginza no Maria" in which the protagonist, a hostess, has proudly proclaimed herself to be the Mary Magdalene of the glamourous Ginza with her clients all coming especially to her for succor and sympathy. Never did I ever think that religious idioms would be made in this particular neighbourhood, but whether this hostess actually believes her own press or is being rather tongue-in-cheek about it is up to the listener. For me, Kagawa's breathy and varying vocals seem to be giving knowing winks to my ears. Her voice is a mix of Auntie Mame, teasing experienced hostess and traditional enka chanteuse.

Kagawa was regularly releasing singles up to the middle of the 1970s but it looks like "Ginza no Maria" was her one big hit. However, I want to see if there are any more examples of her work on YouTube.