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, the moonlight wasn't too bright over the city lights when I took this picture from Roppongi Hills, but the sentiment is there. It's time to introduce "City Lights by the Moonlight".
I've already introduced Tomoko Soryo（惣領智子）through her "I Say Who" with that Motown feeling. "City Lights by the Moonlight" is more of a straight-ahead nightclub-friendly City Pop number. I can hear the clinking cocktail glasses already. Written by Kuro & Kyozo and composed by her then-husband, composer-arranger Yasunori Soryo（惣領泰則）, the song was released as a single in 1977 and there was even an album with the same title in that year.
In the same year, Yasunori Soryo formed his own group called Jim Rock Singers（ジム・ロック・シンガーズ）in which one of the members was singer-composer Hiroaki Serizawa（芹澤廣明）, someone who also has a fair representation on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Together they put their own version of "City Lights by the Moonlight" onto their 1977 album"GOOD-BYE! GOOD-BYE! GOOD-BYE!".
For me, I like both versions but there is something even more interesting with the version of this song by Yasunori and Jim Rock with that echoing chorus and the added soprano saxophone. In a way, they rather add that appealingly nostalgic sepia tone to this photograph.
I'm risking sounding like a K-Tel TV announcer but for some of us older folks, do you remember Lesley Gore's classic "It's My Party"? A couple of nights ago, I heard a Japanese cover of it on Van Paugam'sYouTube City Pop radio by actress/singer Mao Daichi（大地真央）, and it was pretty darn snazzy. It's just too bad that I can't find a version of it on its own on the platform.
Then there is Gore's song of defiance, "You Don't Own Me" from December 1963 which was created by David White and John Madara. It wasn't ever part of my collection or my father's collection of 45"s but somehow I have been able to hear it a number of times over the decades.
Of course, back in the early 1960s, kayo kyoku included cover versions of American and British pop songs sung by the teen aidoru of the day including Mieko Hirota（弘田三枝子）. And in 1964, Hirota recorded a Japanese language version of "You Don't Own Me" titled "Koi to Namida no Juu-Nana Sai"(Love and a Tearful 17) which seemed to have had a slightly more brassy and orchestral arrangement. You might say that it was perhaps more kayo-esque. However, Hirota's voice sounded quite similar to Gore's.
Several days ago, I got the usual Tower Records advertisement in my inbox touting a number of old albums which included an album by Kaori Tsuchiya（つちやかおり）. At first, I went "Who the heck is that?", and then I remembered that I actually had mentioned her in the blog. Specifically, the song was the technopop "Aishuu no Orient Express"（哀愁のオリエント急行）, her 2nd single from September 1982.
However, her debut single from June 1982 was another cover version of "Koi to Namida no Juu-Nana Sai" whose arrangement was closer to Gore's original although Tsuchiya's voice didn't have quite the heft that Gore's had. The Japanese lyrics for Tsuchiya's version were provided by Reiko Yukawa（湯川れい子）; for some reason, I couldn't find out who the lyricist was for the Hirota cover back in 1964. For that matter, I don't know how the song did on Oricon.
I've made some wonderful discoveries on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" over the 6+ years, a number of them through my fellow collaborators and commenters. Through Marcos V., one band which caught my fancy was Especia, which is sadly no longer around.
When I was first introduced to "Kurukana"（くるかな）back in 2014, I just thought Especia was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Yes, I am exaggerating a tad here, but at the time, I couldn't even imagine a contemporary aidoru group singing songs inspired by the groovier side of City Pop of the 1980s. And yet, "Kurukana" had me at the opening riff.
Its trackmate, "L'elisir d'amore" (Elixir of Love) from their 2014 album"GUSTO", has even included some soul and rap into the groove. Written by mirco and Hitoshi Nambu（ナンブヒトシ）and composed by Schtein & Longer, Especia's singing may be on the aidoru level of things but the melody has got that intoxicating nighttime urban flavour. It's definitely the type of song that I enjoyed listening during the wee hours when I was cramming for exams or furiously trying to complete that essay during high school and university. Groove will always be gold for me.
It's probably the most hip-shaking tune that I have ever heard for a fellow who throws and catches multiple objects in the air but from looking at the lyrics by Naoko Nishio（西尾尚子）, I think "Juggler" doesn't really have anything to do with a juggler.
But, man, is it a catchy song! A bonus track on the CD version of Kengo Kurozumi's（黒住憲五）1982 debut album"Again", it's got that nice melange of disco, Latin and that native Japanese City Pop and Kurozumi, who also composed "Juggler", sounds a lot like Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）here. Well, if you're going to emulate someone, why not emulate the best?
Going back to those lyrics by Nishio, it's all about tripping the light fantastic and painting the town red. I've read through a lot of YouTube comments for a number of those City Pop songs in which folks wish they could go back in time to those early 1980s in Tokyo. Lucky I had my brief experience of Tokyo life in 1981! Wouldn't it be natsukashii to play Space Invaders on one of those tabletop machines in a cafe around now?
As I said, "Juggler" is actually one of three bonus tracks on the CD release of "Again" but unfortunately unless you are willing to pay some good yen on Amazon.jp for the rare album, we may all be out of luck. However, the LP is there at Tower Records Japan at a considerably lower price but without "Juggler" and the other bonus tracks. Still, I may consider investing in the vinyl if tracks like "Pastel Love" are any indication.
Amazing the things that one can learn. All these years that I've still been listening to my old 80s songs from both sides of the Pacific, and I hadn't known that there was an actual term to describe one of the biggest sound cliches in the music from that decade. You can listen to it above.
Yes, I didn't know about the term "orchestra hit". But I certainly heard it all the time in various songs, and I think the go-to tune for me was Yes'"Owner of a Lonely Heart".
When I was reading the J-Wikiarticle for B'z's"Alone", I read that the intro for the recorded version utilized the orchestra hit, which is how I learned of the term.
As for "Alone", B'z could make solitude or loneliness sound really cool. This was the duo's 9th single released in October 1990 with vocalist Koshi Inaba（稲葉浩志）behind the lyrics and guitarist Takahiro Matsumoto（松本孝弘）taking care of the music. According to the J-Wiki article, Matsumoto had long wanted to make a major ballad for a rock band and Inaba said that "...he had always wanted to make this type of song".
There is something very Queen and classical and maybe even regal about "Alone" as Inaba sings about a person who is alone again after the end of a relationship. I think the person is still hurting to an extent, but he/she is also saying that better days are around the corner. Perhaps "Alone" has been the ideal tonic for folks at karaoke to get over heartbreak.
"Alone" is quite the fine title in terms of B'z's success at that time and right now since Inaba and Matsumoto were always at the top alone. The song was yet another No. 1 hit (for 2 weeks) as it became a Triple Platinum million seller and found itself the 10th-ranked single of the year. A year later at the end of 1992, it would still rank at No. 56. "Alone" was also a track on B'z's 5th original album, "In the Life", which came out in November 1991. Not surprisingly, it was also a No. 1 hit, the 2nd-biggest selling album for 1992 and the 77th-ranked album for 1993 and sold over 2 million copies.
Well, I would like to send my best birthday wishes to the United States of America. If I'm not mistaken, the nation is 242 years old today. Will definitely be looking forward to its 250th anniversary...strangely enough, the same year that the 2026 World Cup will be taking place in Canada, Mexico and AMERICA!
I was kinda thinking about what kayo I could put up which would be representative of our neighbour down south, and the 50th State, Hawaii, came to mind. Mind you, the song that I've put up here was created in 1952, about 7 years before Hawaii achieved statehood.
Anyways, "Hawaii no Yoru" (A Night in Hawaii) was the 5th single that the late singer/actor Koji Tsuruta（鶴田浩二）released for Japan Victor. It was used as the theme song for the movie of the same name, and the man is at his crooning best as he gives his loving tribute to Hawaii. Mood Kayo has a good chunk of Hawaii-based songs with the perquisite steel guitar but my impression is that a lot of them have a certain amount of mourning as if someone had lost a love there. With "Hawaii no Yoru", the sense here is that of Hawaii being that exotic land beyond the sea and perhaps with the entire group of islands being the new love. Certainly, Tsuruta makes it enticing with his delivery.
Takao Saeki（佐伯孝夫）provided the lyrics with Junkichi Shi*（司潤吉）as the composer. The ballad makes me wonder what Hawaii was like in the days preceding its entry into the United States.
*The kanji for the composer's last name has at least a couple of readings, so his name could also be Junkichi Tsukasa. However, I have just discovered that this was one of a few pen names for the Korean composer Mongin Son（孫牧人）. One of his other pseudonyms was Akira Kugayama（久我山明）under which he made "Casbah no Onna"（カスバの女）in 1955.
Mizue Takada（高田みづえ）didn't have such a long career (1977~1985) but from listening to the above album last night again, she did dip her toe into a few genres whether it be Latin, City Pop or something with a bit of 50s rock n' roll.
With her 8th single, "Dream on Dream" from January 1979, the 1970s aidoru performed a forceful tune thanks to some Latin pizzazz. Written by Takemi Shima（島武実）and composed by Ryudo Ozaki（宇崎竜童）, the whole song brings together a love affair and an intense tango. The feeling behind "Dream on Dream" including Takada's somewhat more oomph-laden delivery had me thinking of Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）, and Ozaki's participation in the making of the number rather sealed that impression.
"Dream on Dream" managed to peak at No. 42 on Oricon, selling about 33,000 records. It was also the title track for her 3rd original album from February 1979.
The big surprise here was lyricist Shima. I had to be reminded of the fact that he would become a member of two very different bands, The Plastics and NiNa.
