Jackey Yoshikawa & His Blue Comets -- Aoi Hitomi（青い瞳）

Just found out within the last half-hour from this week's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）that drummer and leader of Group Sounds band Blue Comets, Jackey Yoshikawa had passed away on April 20th at the age of 81 in Gunma Prefecture.

For a lot of the kayo fans, the most famous song by Jackey Yoshikawa & His Blue Comets（ジャッキー吉川とブルー・コメッツ）will probably remain "Blue Chateau"（ブルーシャトウ）that was composed at The Lake Louise Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada by band member Tadao Inoue（井上忠夫）, later to become songwriter Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）. However, I wanted to find another song in tribute to Yoshikawa, and noticed in the "Kayo Kyoku Plus" article for "Blue Chateau" that it was the third and final entry in the band's "Blue" series.

The first entry was "Aoi Hitomi" (Blue Eyes) which was released in March 1966 as an English-language single, their 2nd, written by Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）with the late Inoue composing it. As to why it was given English lyrics, from what I could glean from the J-Wiki article for "Aoi Hitomi", apparently there was consternation from someone about why a Japanese song should ever be released from a Western label; the producing company was Columbia Records so the song was made to have English lyrics. If I can give my two pennies, I think that there was perhaps a feeling that if a Japanese band were to release a single in English, there would be a certain cool cachet given to them.

"Aoi Hitomi" the English version is the above video, and the plan did work since it sold over 100,000 records and was seen as the breakout song for Blue Comets. Some four months later in July, the Japanese-language version (below) was released as their 4th single, and it did even better by selling over 500,000 records and becoming a nationwide hit. I can imagine that it would have hit No. 1 if Oricon had existed back in those days.

Becoming famous as one of the foundation blocks behind the whole Group Sounds wave in the late 1960s, I gotta say that both the English and Japanese versions of "Aoi Hitomi" have that 60s "Cool, baby, cool!!" factor in there, especially with that organ. I could easily imagine Austin Powers swiveling his butt to it, and maybe it could have snuck onto the soundtrack for either a Tarentino flick or the first "Ocean's Eleven" movie from 2001 by Steven Soderbergh. "Aoi Hitomi" became such a hit that Blue Comets got their first invitation to play the Japanese version (also written by Hashimoto) on the Kohaku Utagassen that year.

My condolences to Blue Comets and Yoshikawa's family on their loss.

Hiroshi Sato feat. Wendy Matthews/Yukiko Haneda -- It Isn't Easy

Was hoping to return to this album, "Awakening" by Hiroshi Sato（佐藤博）, a release that got the seal of approval by none other than Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）. Most fortunately, I did find a song that I hadn't covered in the original article for Sato's 1982 magnum opus.

After listening to the track "It Isn't Easy", my first and continuing thought was that it really doesn't need Sato's introductory vocal because I think it almost belongs to a different song. Once it hits 22 seconds, though, that's when we get the ironically easy melody (considering the title) by Sato, the musical equivalent of a hammock swaying gently on the beach. Wendy Matthews is back to provide her lovely voice for the English lyrics against the background of some synth-Asian arrangement, rather reminiscent of the material by Japanese-American band Hiroshima. Sato himself adds a brief jazzy element on the piano along with the background vocals. Lorrain Feather came up with the lyrics.

Yukiko Haneda（羽根田征子）is a Tokyo-born singer who was definitely blessed when she first started out in the late 1980s. Her 1988 debut album "Beating Mess" was produced by Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）, and then her sophomore effort in the following year, "Sora", had Hiroshi Sato in the producer's chair.

So it's not surprising then that one of the tracks on "Sora" happens to be a cover version of "It Isn't Easy", given the alternate title of "Renka Senri"（恋唄千里...Love Song Long Distance）. Not sure on my reading of that title although YouTube uploader Keir Hardie's transcription has it as "Renka Chisato" (that first attempt of the second word is based on jisho.org). In any case, Haneda's cover is still within the AOR genre although it tends toward a more soulful arrangement and the singer delivers the song in both Japanese and English; apparently the lyrics in the former language were provided by someone named Yui Masaki（真沙木唯）according to JASRAC.

Haneda has provided 3 singles and 6 albums up to 2008, and according to her website, her full stage name is Johanna Yukiko Haneda, although her real name is Yukiko Ito（伊藤征子）. On finding out that kaz-shin at "Music Avenue" reviewed "Sora", I also discovered that he has proclaimed her 3rd album from July 1997, "Good Times, Bad Times", as an AOR fan's must-have. Therefore, I will have to continue the exploration into her discography.

Yoko Oginome -- Dancing Hero: The Archives by jigenbakuda of "The Tasogare Touch"

Hi there, J-Canuck here! Last Friday, I put up an article introducing a fellow J-Pop blogger by the name of jigenbakuda and his own creation "The Tasogare Touch" where he gives some of his own musical insights into particular songs. By his own admission, he has mainly covered the music of contemporary aidoru but from time to time, he has also looked at the older Showa Era stuff as well.

In the name of good diplomatic relations, jigenbakuda requested whether he could provide a guest contribution to "Kayo Kyoku Plus", and I was more than happy to oblige. His article here is based on the Yoko Oginome（荻野目洋子）megahit "Dancing Hero ~ Eat You Up" originally recorded in 1985, and a 2017 album of various versions of that dynamic aidoru classic. So, without further ado, I will now leave it to jigen!

Tomioka Dance Club’s Bubbly Dance Routine, by Akane

So the song "Dancing Hero" is enjoying a bit of resurgence from its major feature in Tomioka Dance Club’s Bubbly Routine that went viral a while back. It happen to coincide (or maybe it was intentional, but I doubt it) with Oginome's release of the "Dancing Hero" archives.  The repackage is essentially every version of Dancing Hero since 1985, its amazing how many times this song has been redone and its still good every time. The track listing shows where the versions are from and who arranged them.

Tracklisting

1. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up)
2. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) -Special English Version-

     English Lyrics：Marco Bruno

     Album 「ラズベリーの風」CD版に収録。

3. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) -Moderan Version-

     Album 「NON-STOPPER」に収録。再発版「NON-STOPPER+10」にはカラオケ版も収録。

4. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) - '70s mirrorball mix-

     Arrangement ："PARADISE GROOVE" Production's

     Album 「NEW TAKE BEST COLLECTIONS '92」、「ラズベリーの風+5」に収録。

5. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) -Club Mix-

     Arrangement ：須貝幸生、神長弘一、片岡俊彦

     Album 「best hits non stop clubmix」に収録。

6. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) -Euro Mix-

     Arrangement ：Hiroyuki Yasumoto

     Compilation Album「Dance Panic! Presents Euro Panic!」vol.2、3に収録。
7. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) - Extended Euro Mix-
      Arrangement ：Hiroyuki Yasumoto
     上記の「Dance Panic! Presents Euro Panic!」の非売品プロモーション用LP盤に収録。
8. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) -Dancing Beat 2005 Mix-
      Arrangement ：SANDRO OLIVE and DAVE RODGERS
9. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) -Dear Pop Singer Remix Version-
      Arrangement ：小倉ヲージ
      Album 「Dear Pop Singer」に収録。
10. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) -Dear Pop Singer Version-
      Arrangement ：本山清治
      Album 「Dear Pop Singer」に収録。
11. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) -Live-
     From the tour「VERGE OF LOVE【荻野目洋子 武道館ライブ】」中の音声トラックより収録。
12. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) <-Instrumental-> (Original・カラオケ)
13. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) <-Instrumental-> (Up-Tempo)
14. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) <-Instrumental-> (Dear Pop Singer Ver.)
15. ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up) <Accapella> (Dear Pop Singer Ver.)

I linked to the Mirror Ball version because I love love love me some music to vogue to, and this track sounds STRAIGHT out of a 90s New York Ball where they are voguing the old way (read: its my favorite track on the repackage).

The music in "Dancing Hero" is almost identical to the song it covered, Angie Gold’s "Eat you up", a 1985 Italo Disco Hit in Japan. I’ve linked to my favorite version of that song as well. The main difference between the songs is in the lyrics. If you read the translation here, you can see the Japanese lyrics of "Dancing Hero" and the English lyrics of "Eat you up" are quite different, which lead to different levels of enjoyment. I love Angie’s English version, but don’t care for Yoko’s English version. Although overall, I think the Japanese Lyrics are the most enjoyable of all. There are some notable arrangers on the list, but I will point one out. Mr. Dave Rodgers, the king of Eurobeat helps to arrange the dancing beat 2005 version. It is a real treat... The arrangements are all different enough to justify its place on a release with only one song. Including the live version, which includes live instrumentation. What I would give to hear a live version of the mirror ball arrangement...

To briefly go back to the Bubbly Dance Routine, Akane-chan really knows her music and picked some great tunes and representative songs. So "Dancing Hero" came out like middle of the 80’s and "Cant undo this" came out in the middle of the 90’s. They represent the italo disco scene (dancing machine) in the clubs (like Club Maharaja in the late '80s) and the techno scene (can't undo this) in Juliana’s with their fluffy disco fans and girls in that revealing “BodyCon”. From what I can tell, they are the epitome of excess in Japan due to the Bubble, at least musically. And for those who care, you can find a page explaining some of the slang in the TDC's video, here  (In Japanese).

Anyways, I ended up buying Dancing Hero after hearing it on TDC’s Bubbly Routine... I think... it was a while ago, maybe I heard dancing hero first, but it was around the same time. I only wish I could have seen her perform it live in her heyday, but instead I got to see her perform live with TDC on YouTube! Fun times... fun times...

Yoko performing with the young ladies

Noriko Sakai -- GUANBARE

Y'know...I've seen this title for Noriko Sakai's（酒井法子）5th single, "GUANBARE" for a number of years now, but I couldn't really remember the song. Then when I finally heard it, I realized that I did hear it before. It just so happened that I was watching an episode of "The Best 10", and Nori-P was performing this very song on some elaborate set of a house. As she was traipsing through the living room toward the front door, crazy cut-up tall Takaaki Ishibashi（石橋貴明）of comedy duo Tunnels（とんねるず）was lying in wait right by the door, so when the lass stepped outside, he gave her his famous insane leer right in the middle of the song which threw her off. She could only scream and yell "Iya~da~!" in immensely cute fashion, and in all likelihood, that set off tons of hearts to flutter like butterfly wings. Hijinks aside, basically, this is probably the very first song by her that I had ever heard.

"GUANBARE" (Cheer Up) was released in February 1988 with Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）and Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）taking care of words and music respectively. There isn't any J-Wiki article for the song so I can't find out why the title, which would usually be spelled ganbare（がんばれ）, has that extra U. Perhaps it's an affectation for Nori-P's way of pronouncing words.

As for the lyrics, Sakai is singing about standing up from the ground and getting back onto that horse following the end of a romance. There are always plenty of other fish, she's saying. And I'm sure that there were plenty of fans who would have lined up to take the cad's place. Strangely enough, this most Nori-P of aidoru singles "only" got up to No. 7 after her three previous singles peaked at No. 4, but "GUANBARE" will still remain a dear Noriko Sakai song in my heart. ❤

Ichiro Wakahara -- Fukeba Tobu yo na（吹けば飛ぶよな）

Happy Monday to you! Well, while knocking on wood most vigorously, it looks like things just might be turning a positive curve with the pandemic in our province of Ontario since in less than a couple of hours, our Premier will be making an announcement on the timeline for re-opening up the economy. Considering that Doug Ford pounded the slogan "Open for Business" into our heads before COVID-19 hit us, he may be trying to hide some giddiness under that stony face that has been greeting us in daily pressers for the past several weeks. At this point, I think a lot of us will be happy for some good news although a local poll stated that 75% of the population is skittish about opening things up too early.

The surprising thing for me, though, is Tokyo. Despite the Greater Tokyo Area having three times the population of my province, it seems to have only a fraction of the infections that Ontario has been suffering. There are even rumours being bandied about that my old stomping grounds may end up re-opening up a lot earlier although the political leaders and medical experts are insisting that things should be kept under tight control for at least a few more weeks. Well, we shall see (with a healthy dose of skepticism), although if things truly are getting much better there at a much faster rate, they have my envy and gratitude.

In any event, I did PVR another rerun of "Songs of Japanese Spirit" over the weekend which my folks are watching right now. I'm always grateful for the broadcast of these kayo programs from happier times when audiences filled the halls and the singers were all together on stage without the need for remote screens. Not sure how the situation will last on NHK, although according to what I've observed through the previous paragraph, maybe the good ol' days will return soon.

Found this chestnut being performed at the beginning of "Songs of Japanese Spirit", and I think it's one that would be rather appropriate for this time. Titled "Fukeba Tobu yo na" (If You Blow On It, It May Fly) from November 1954, one would think that it's talking about a dandelion seed. However, the lyrics by Juzaburo Tojo（東条寿三郎）relate a happy-go-lucky fellow encouraging the lads that the good times are around the corner if not already here.

The jaunty music is from Masanobu Tokuchi（渡久地政信）who would provide a number of Mood Kayo tunes in the following decade such as Mina Aoe's（青江三奈）"Nagasaki Blues"（長崎ブルース）. However, "Fukeba Toku yo na" has more of a feeling of a cheerful countryside enka although the setting is in the city. And before you think that I've forgotten about the singer, it was recorded by Ichiro Wakahara（若原一郎）who hailed from Yokohama.

Born Nakayoshi Tanokura（田野倉仲義）, the future Wakahara won a prize at the 1948 NHK (Radio) Nodo Jiman（のど自慢）contest, and then made his debut as a singer the following year. According to the J-Wiki entry for Wakahara. "Fukeba Tobu yo na" may have taken its sweet time gaining success since the article states that the song became a hit in 1956! But with that success, Wakahara became a known name in music, and he got his first invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen that year (although he performed a different tune), the first of five consecutive appearances on the NHK special. In the four succeeding appearances, "Fukeba Tobu yo na" was never sung either.

Wakahara would continue releasing singles until 1988 and would pass away in 1990 from liver cancer.

Happy End -- Ayaka-shi no Doubutsu-en（あやか市の動物園）

The current pandemic has turned a lot of things upside-down and that includes zoos. Over the past few weeks, I've read that the Vancouver Zoo was in danger of closing down permanently, so I'm hoping that the situation on the west coast has been alleviated somewhat. Our own Toronto Zoo has been making a plea for help since it relies heavily on parking fees and admission (and those aren't coming in during the lockdown) to help feed the animals, so it's been going on an emergency fundraising mission.

Found this track on Happy End's（はっぴいえんど）debut studio album "Happy End" released in August 1970. I think the title "Ayaka-shi no Doubutsu-en" has some punny intent. From the kanji for this folk-rock tune, it could mean to say "Ayaka City's Zoo" but there is a term ayakashi（あやかし）that refers to a ghost or something eerie. So it can also mean "Suspicious Zoo".

Lyrics by band drummer Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）have that playfully scary intent of walking through a zoo in the dark, so perhaps we may have discovered an early Halloween kayo. On the other hand, the addition of that kazoo near the end may be the aural equivalent of a knowing wink that everything's gonna be OK. Bassist Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）was responsible for the melody, and it's him and guitarist Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）behind the mike here.

SEAGULL SCREAMING KISS HER KISS HER -- Double Life

The temperature may be in double digits for the first time in several days, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Pretty chilly out there and I've shut the window in my room for it.

Anyways, there was a little promotional film made in 1965 for Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" which I've wondered whether it would be considered to be one of the very first music videos ever made. I'd thought that the clip for Billy Joel's "Piano Man" was perhaps the first of its type, but then I caught the one for Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Were Made for Walkin'" and that was released back in 1966.

According to the Wikipedia article for "Subterranean Homesick Blues", a lot of other musicians in the decades since have emulated the video. One that I remember well is the video for "Mediate" by INXS which came right after "Need You Tonight".

The list didn't include it, but the rock band SEAGULL SCREAMING KISS HER KISS HER had vocalist Aiha Higurashi（日暮愛葉）putting her own clever twist on Dylan's video via her song "Double Life". The track was included on the band's 3rd album "17" from September 1998, and this time, it isn't the throwing of placards but the doffing of T-shirts. Looks like there was a pretty intense relationship going on considering some of the pictorial T's near the end. I do hope that Higurashi was at least able to keep the shirts.

One of the commenters for the YouTube video pointed out the way that Higurashi was sitting...in a rather frog-like style. To be honest, when I was much younger, I used to sit that way when I sat on floors. I really don't think that I can do that now but then again, I haven't sat on a floor in many years.