Jun'ichi Inagaki -- Natsu no Claxon （夏のクラクション）

Ahhhhh.....take me away, Perrier...

"Natsu no Claxon" (Summer Horn) was the first Jun'ichi Inagaki (稲垣潤一） song I'd heard. This is a really mellow, Perry Como-friendly ballad about Inagaki enjoying summer in his car and hoping that it would last just a bit longer. With its slow tempo and easy lyrics, it's a karaoke favorite as well....at least for some of us old timers. The song was written by written by Masao Urino（売野雅勇） who wrote several of Akina Nakamori's （中森明菜）early hits, and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）who composed several of Miho Nakayama's（中山美穂）big songs.

Inagaki originally hails from Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture. Influenced by Stevie Wonder, he had a band during his junior high school days called Faces where he was the singer and drummer. Later on, he joined bands which entertained American forces stationed in Yokosuka and Tachikawa near Tokyo before debuting with his first solo song, "Ame no Regret"(雨のリグレット...Rainy Regret) in 1982.

"Natsu no Claxon" was released, appropriately enough, in July 1983 as his 5th single. It was included in his 3rd album, "J.I." released in September of the same year. The single went as high as 25th place on the Oricon weeklies. Of course, any of his Best albums will have it as well.

Chisato Moritaka -- Benkyou no Uta （勉強の歌）

Three things come to mind when I think of Chisato Moritaka（森高千里） in the early part of her career: her cool beauty, the minimalist song titles (The Stress, The Mi-Ha), and the Eurobeat arrangements.

Ahhhh....oh, yes, and one more thing:

                                                                                                      HERE!


Legs that come up to

Anyways, "Benkyou no Uta"(The Study Song) is another one of her infectiously catchy tunes delivered in her high-pitched nasal voice. She frenetically exhorts the kids that it's much better to study than not to study....wow, a truly binary message! It does help that if she actually came into the classroom as a teacher, half of the class at least would listen to her every word.

If "Benkyou no Uta" sounds like it was made for the kids, that's because it was made for the kids. Specifically, it was the opening theme for the anime "Ochame na Futago"(おちゃめなふたご....The Impish Twins).

The song was first included on her 1991 Best album, "The Moritaka" (ザ・森高）; she just loves those definite articles. The single went as high as No. 4 on Oricon.

Nowadays, Moritaka is enjoying life as a still-youthful middle-aged wife (to actor Yosuke Eguchi), mother and pitchwoman for everything from detergent to video cameras. No more high legs, though.

Pink Lady -- Pepper Keibu (ペッパー・警部)

"UFO" may have been the song to launch Pink Lady into space, but they debuted a year earlier with a tune that is also firmly part of the duo's legacy. The title had me scratching my head for years, but I finally did my due diligence and dug for the answers. According to the J-Wiki writeup, once again legendary lyricist Yu Aku （阿久悠）was behind Pink Lady's very first tune with Shunichi Tokura（都倉俊一）as composer, though reportedly he hadn't been too confident in the ladies at first. It had been thought that "Pepper Keibu"(Inspector Pepper) was Aku's commentary on the Lockheed Scandal which had brought down Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka(?!) in the same year of the song's release, although when I took a look at the lyrics, my impression was that it was about a cop's somewhat overzealous interest in the girls. 

Instead, J-Wiki reports that the title may have been influenced from a number of sources: Inspector Clouseau of the "Pink Panther" series, the cola Dr. Pepper which was gaining popularity in Japan, a 1950s kayo kyoku by singer Shiro Sone（曽根史朗） titled "Wakai Omawari-san"(若いお巡りさん....Young Patrol Cop), and even The Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts' Club Band". The report said that "it had been analyzed that...." which hints that it's not the final word on the origin. For me, I'd wondered if Aku had just watched episodes of that old 70s NBC cop show "Policewoman" which starred Angie Dickinson as Detective Pepper Anderson. Seems as good a theory as any.

In any case, after its release in August 1976, "Pepper Keibu" finally cracked the Top 20 on November 29 1976 where it eventually peaked at No. 4. It would end up being the 14th-ranked song of 1977. It was also included in the January 1977 album of the same title.

This is a shortened performance of the song by Pink Lady. There were some criticisms against them due to the height of their skirts....man, those were innocent times.

And as a bit of a bonus for you folks, I've got a medley between the two titans of girl groups, Pink Lady and The Candies on a 1977 episode of Yoru no Hit Deluxe where Mie and Kei once again perform their debut. Enjoy it while you can since the video can be deleted any time.

Kahoru Kohiruimaki -- Hold On Me

I first came across Kahoru Kohiruimaki （小比類巻かほる）on the 1987 Kohaku Utagassen when she performed "Hold On Me", a dynamic pop number sung by this soulful voice which has gotten huskier and better over time.

Kohhy (I'm saving on the typing here) hails from Aomori Prefecture in the north, and debuted in 1985 with "Never Say Goodbye"whose B-side was a cover of an Air Supply song, "Just As I Am". She also provided the ending theme, "Ryoute Ippai no Johnny"(両手いっぱいのジョニー....Hands Full Johnny) to the anime "Gallforce"as her second single. "Hold On Me"is her 4th single and was included in her 3rd album, "I'm Here", released in April.

When "Hold On Me"was released as a single in February, it went as high as No. 15 on the Oricon weeklies and became the 71st-ranked song of the year. Although Kohhy has always been known for covering soul, R&B and funk, her early years tended to be a bit poppier before her voice got that extra timbre. The song was written by Keiko Aso（麻生圭子）and composed by Yoshiaki Ohuchi（大内義昭）.

Ah, I also found a video of a young girl covering "Hold On Me" here. I think her name was Ayumi Hamasaki （浜崎あゆみ）or something. Enjoy!

Toshiyuki Nishida -- Moshimo Piano ga Hiketanara（もしもピアノが弾けたなら）

I first heard this cute little ditty on one of my Japanese school classmate's "The Best 10" videos decades ago with a papa panda-and-cub duo pretending to play on a piano in a sepia-toned salon while Nishida sang (no, I wasn't drinking at the time...."The Best 10"show was always known for giving its all when setting up live performances).

Toshiyuki Nishida's （西田敏行）day job is as an actor who's been in everything from samurai dramas to detective suspense shows. But the Fukushima Prefecture native is best known as Densuke Hamasaki, the fishing-crazy protagonist in the long movie franchise "Tsuribaka Nisshi"(釣りバカ日誌....The Fishing Maniac's Diary), and for those folks who did catch the live-action version of "Uchusenkan Yamato" (宇宙戦艦ヤマト....Space Battlecruiser Yamato), Nishida played Chief Engineer Tokugawa a couple of years ago.

But Nishida also dipped into the music world. He apparently covered a lot of the "Ultraman" themes from the 70s into the 80s (must be a fan), before he found himself a music star in 1981 with "Moshimo Piano ga Hiketanara"(If I Could Have Played The Piano). It was penned by Yu Aku （阿久悠）, who at the time felt sorry for the clumsy if well-meaning bungler in Japanese society (most kind of you, sir), and decided to write a song in support. The title and lyrics refer to one such bungler (Nishida was the perfect choice for that type of role) who wistfully sings his laments about not being able to express his heart to the one he secretly loves. The piano sounds like something Richard Clayderman or John Winston would love to play, and for that, thanks should be given to composer Koichi Sakata（坂田晃一）.

Aku-san received a lyricists' award for this song. The song itself, released in April 1981, peaked at No. 4 on the Oricon charts and ended up being the 25th-ranked song of the year. A Gold Prize was also given at the Japan Record Awards.

Pinky and Killers -- Koi no Kisetsu (恋の季節）

Not too long ago, the Japanese government came up with a campaign called "Cool Japan"to boost up the tourist numbers with Tokyo's geeky Akihabara as the lynchpin. I think the term could've come in vogue decades earlier with this song.

"Koi no Kisetsu"(Season of Love) has got that half-kitschy, half-cool vibe that would've made it at home on any Quentin Tarentino movie soundtrack. The flute and the hoary bass really bring back the 60s. And the band, Pinky and Killers, can go down in history as having one of the most imaginative names. But they settled for having their debut song go down in history as having the most number of weeks at No. 1 (17 weeks)...still unbroken. But it isn't a continuous streak. After the 12th week, it was usurped for one week by another song but came back to the top spot for another 5 weeks. The single sold 2.7 million copies and earned a Japan Record Award before finishing up its magic run as the 4th-ranked single of 1968 and a spot on the Kohaku.

Singer-actress Yoko Kon（今陽子） was Pinky, responsible for that resonant alto while backed up by her Killers. They were quite the Dapper Dans...and Daniella...in their ties and bowler hats.

The band also ended up on the closing credits of some TV show. And they apparently get occasionally invited to reprise the song on some nostalgic music show....which is almost an industry in itself in Japan.

Judy Ongg -- Miserarete （魅せられて）

"Wind is blowing from the Aegean...."

That lyric, plus her billowing winged dress, are my memories of Judy Ongg. The Taiwanese native had been releasing records since 1966, but her big hit finally hit in February 1979, with "Miserarete"(Love Is Talking To Me) her 28th single. And yeah, it was big all right....over 2 million records sold and Oricon No. 1 standing from April 16 to June 11. Plus, there was the Japan Record Award and her very first appearance on that year's Kohaku. This song, plus Saki Kubota's（久保田早紀） Ihojin（異邦人）, released later in October, were the two standout exotic-sounding pop tunes. I wonder if it was the Greek bouzouki or tambouras that had been played.　In any case, "Miserarete"became the 2nd-most successful single of the year. Incidentally, it was given words by Yoko Aki（阿木耀子）, who had written a number of Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）hits.

Apparently, this song was also used for a Wacoal underwear commercial. I guess billowy winged dresses kinda brings up that feeling of freshness.

I just had to show that dress in action. It certainly made an impression. I was at a karaoke contest in a Japanese bar in downtown Toronto nearly 20 years ago when one fellow came onstage in that dress to sing that number. Made all of our days.