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.
A bit of "Copacabana"for you. Yoshitaka Minami's（南佳孝）6th single in April 1979 was a fun slice of tropical disco. "Monroe Walk" always reminded me of that famous quote in Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot" in which Jack Lemmon described Marilyn Monroe's character as "Jello on springs". Strangely enough, though Minami composed the song, it was lyricist Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ） who came up with the lascivious words as Minami describes a woman down in Jamaica doing that swivel-hipped walk with all the attributes that follow. The arranger was none other than Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）of YMO.
(cover version)
About a year later, aidoru-turning-Casanova singer Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ） had his moment with Minami's song. At the time, Minami had gone overseas on some sort of extended break from singing, so his agency, who also represented Go and wanted to keep the income flowing in, had the title altered to "Sexy You" along with some of the lyrics and gave the go-ahead to Go to go for (yes, I did write that on purpose). The thinking was that none of Go's fans would frankly know the difference, and since Minami was out of the country, after all.... Lyricist Kisugi was reportedly none too pleased, though she and Minami kept their credits.
Still, the agency came out of any turmoil looking pretty shrewd. According to the website blog.oricon.co.jp/kajiyan, the original version peaked at just No. 38 on the Oricon weeklies and sold around 100,000 records; it didn't break the yearly Top 100. However, Go's cover peaked at No. 11, ended up in 73rd-place (admittedly still not a major hit) in 1980 and sold around 200,000 records. Amazing what a heartthrob aidoru and steel drums can do for a song. Yes, it was the first time that steel drums were used in a Japanese pop song, and they were even given the grand introduction on one of the music shows when Go appeared to perform it.
Noriyuki Makihara（槇原敏之） was such a clean-cut young man back then, wasn't he? Anyways, for his 4th single in November 1991, between his breakthrough hit of "Donna Toki mo"（どんなときも）and his second million seller"Mou Koi Nante Shinai"（もう恋なんてしない）, he came up with this up-tempo seasonal tune in November 1991. As is shown in the music video, Makihara is as adept on the harmonica as he is on the keyboards, and the video is a nice piece of whimsy. It debuted on Oricon at 10th place, and peak at No. 5 as it hovered somewhere in the Top 10 for another 2.5 months. "Fuyu ga Hajimaru Yo"(Winter's Startin') would become the 25th-ranked song of 1992.
For me, the song strikes me as the fun-lovin' musical version of a day out having the proper fun of tobogganing and snowball fights, although none of that shows up in the video. C'est dommage!
15 years later, the pop duo Every Little Thing, with vocal Kaori Mochida（持田香織） and guitarist Ichiro Ito（伊藤一朗）, would release their own cover of "Fuyu ga Hajimaru Yo" as the coupling song (CD single equivalent of an old 45" B-side) on their 33rd single"Koi wo Shiteiru"（恋をしている....I'm In Love） on Halloween 2007. Their version is a tad more languid and has that ELT techno sound; Makihara comes in for a bit of an assist in backing vocals.
I decided to include the theme from "Shoten" (Laughing Points) since it's one of the most well-known TV theme songs in Japan. The above is the full version of the theme which isn't currently used for the show itself, but the opening phrase is enough for just about anyone in the country to recognize the song instantly, whether they watch it or not. It has that comedic sense in the form of those off-tune car horns, the muted trumpets and the blustery trombones. The theme was composed by Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）, who was also responsible for Kyu Sakamoto's（坂本九）"Sukiyaki" (already profiled) back in 1961. And it was released in November 1969 as the second theme song for the show.
Probably not even a lot of Japanese now are aware of this, but the theme from "Shoten" actually has lyrics written by Takehiko Maeda（前田武彦）. And for the first little while, it had been sung by Maeda and the actual comedians appearing on the program, but with the change in cast, it switched over to the current instrumental version. I couldn't find the original version but with the help of special guest star, Miku Hatsune（初音ミク）, I can give you the sung version.
Now, what is this "Shoten" all about? Well, it's (according to Wikipedia) the 2nd-longest running Japanese TV variety program, starting in 1966 and continuing every Sunday in Japan at 5:30 p.m. on NTV. So, before the anime hour on Fuji-TV (Chibi Maruko-chan/Sazae-san), I often caught this show. Basically the format is this: six rakugo storytellers in front of their head honcho, himself a rakugo veteran, are given situations for which they have to instantly come up with a funny pun or witticism. There is one more storyteller at the other end by the name of Yamada who seems to just cheerfully give out and take away the zabuton...which brings me to my final point. A storyteller who makes an especially funny joke will earn a sitting cushion, but if he gives a lousy punchline, then the opposite happens. Earning ten zabuton will get that storyteller a prize.
To have a gripping command of the Japanese language to fully appreciate the jokes is a foregone conclusion, and a lot of the time even I can't really understand what's going on. However, I can just enjoy the obvious camaraderie that the rakugo-ka have for each other. And even back here in Toronto, I can still watch the show via TV Japan on Sunday nights at 9:15.
Monday July 2, 2018: I was watching last night's edition of "Shoten" and rather remarked to myself that the episode wasn't exactly a ring-dinger (the episodes come to TV Japan about 3 months late) in terms of amusement. I've been reading that some viewers have been missing the time when host Utamaru Katsura（桂歌丸）had been running things until his retirement in May 2016.
Well, sad to say, but Katsura passed away earlier today at the age of 81. He had been a member of the row of rakugo-ka right from the first episode of "Shoten" in May 1966 right up to 2006 when he became the 5th official host of the program. Even after his retirement, his face was still included in the opening credits. His fellow rakugo-ka had often razzed him about his baldness and age and even his death, but I think for the next little while, there will be a lot of tears shed along with reminiscing laughter.
A bit of a stealth Xmas song since without the jingle bells and the chimes, "Stardust Memories" sounds more like an all-year adult contemporary piece if one doesn't understand the lyrics too well. Speaking of which, the lyrics were written by Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）, the brains behind the 80sOnyanko Club and the current AKB 48.
However, it's Akiko Kobayashi（小林明子）who wrote the music for the second track of her debut album, "Fall In Love"which was released in November 1985. Like a number of Xmas songs I've come across in Japan, the plot seems to involve another person spending the Holidays alone; something strangely masochistic about that, although Kobayashi gives the proceedings a pretty happy lift.
Strangely enough, the final track on the album is another Xmas song, a somewhat more seasonal-sounding ballad titled "Anata ni Suteki na Christmas Present Agetai na"(あなたに素敵なクリスマスプレゼントあげたいな.....I'd Love to Give You a Wonderful Christmas Present).
One of those hits that just makes me think of day-glo headbands and hair metal again. Well, I wouldn't say "Bohemian" is quite in that range of music, but the opening screeching guitar for some reason reminds me of Quiet Riot or Big Country (sounds a bit like bagpipes, don't they?). And then there is that rasping bellow from Yuki Katsuragi（葛城ユキ） herself when she screams out "BOHEMIAN!!!"She stood out in a sea filled with cute aidoru.
The surprising thing I found out about her 6th single was that it had been written by Ryo Aska（飛鳥涼）of Chage & Aska fame and composed by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）. But remembering how the song sounded, I can imagine the lyricist tackling this one as well. Released in January 1983,"Bohemian" peaked at No. 3 on Oricon, and became the 21st-ranking song of the year.
In another cross-Pacific comparison, her voice sounds somewhat familiar to that of Bonnie Tyler (of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" fame). Strangely enough, Katsuragi did cover a couple of her songs: "Sitting on the Edge of the Ocean" and "Holding Out for a Hero".
December 5th 2023:J-Canuck here stating that I've found the original version of "Bohemian".
Basically I know Midori Karashima（辛島美登里）for a few songs only, and one of them is this one, "Silent Eve". Not surprisingly, this was her biggest hit, released in November 1990. Written and composed by Karashima herself, it's a hauntingly beautiful ballad that also served as the theme song for the TBS drama "Christmas Eve"(not to be confused with the Tatsuro Yamashita song). Her 9th single had amazing staying power on the Oricon charts. It hit the No. 1 spot three times before the year was out earning it a ranking of 65 on the yearly charts. But in the following year, "Silent Eve" grew even higher in stature by ending up as the 12th-ranked song of 1991. All in all, it sold 800,000 copies.
I also wanted to show you Karashima (or Sensei as she is often called by friends) herself performing her most famous song. With some of the more frenetic stuff that goes about in the big cities during the Yuletide season, "Silent Eve" helps in toning things down a bit, making sure one has that leisurely cup of coffee. Musically, the song sounds like a quiet afternoon turning into night just after a major snowfall.
Like his wife, Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや） when Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎） got bitten by the Xmas bug, he got bitten big time! For a guy who was one of the pioneers of New Music and then City Pop, he can wear the Yuletide on his sleeve as well as Bing Crosby. Of course, there is "Christmas Eve" which is represented by the English version on his album, "Season's Greetings"; the album was released in November 1993 and peaked at No. 4 on Oricon and sold close to half a million copies.... which would include the one I bought.
The first entry is his cover of the Judy Garland classic from "Meet Me in St. Louis", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". His version is swept up in an epic orchestral arrangement by Katsuhisa Hattori, who had also arranged Takeuchi's take on "The Christmas Song"the year before.
"Season's Greetings" is actually more accurately half a Xmas album. The other half consists of other old standards like "Bella Notte" (the higher of the two videos) from "Lady & The Tramp" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". But it's all covers.... including this version of the 1988 Alexander O'Neal R&B Xmas tune, "My Gift to You". It's done in acapella style....one of Yamashita's favourite musical itches to scratch. The album can also be split into his acapella stuff and the orchestral songs. For me, this is my favourite song on the disc. I've always loved the R&B from the 80s.I've got the original O'Neal version above and I think it's just as gorgeous. Above that is Yamashita's cover.
And there is his acapella take on Der Bingle's"White Christmas" by Irving Berlin. Listening to it, I wondered if Yamashita was channeling either The Osmonds or The Beach Boys. He doesn't quite eclipse Bing here but still, good on him.
