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.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Takao Kisugi -- Goodbye Day



"Goodbye Day" was singer-songwriter Takao Kisugi's(来生たかお) 10th single released in May 1981. Since his debut in 1976, Kisugi has been known for his soothing melodies of which "Goodbye Day"is a representative example. And for this and all of his other songs, his sister, Etsuko(えつこ), has been the lyricist. Takao has stated that his influences have been The Beatles and Gilbert O'Sullivan, and certainly his voice has a passing resemblance to the latter singer. I first came across this song on a compilation tape that I'd bought in Chinatown, and initially pegged him as the Perry Como of Japanese pop music. Even in person, he has that rather relaxed expression that Como had.




There have been various arrangements of "Goodbye Day"over the years. This is one which is a bit more heavy on the strings. I actually prefer the original as depicted in the other video which is somewhat less florid, for a lack of a better word.

"Goodbye Day" wasn't a hit although his fans (me included) acknowledge that this is one of his most famous works. It was also released on his 6th album, "Sparkle", in July 1981. The song was also used as the theme for a police show shown on Fuji-TV in the same year, starring Group Sounds legend, Yuzo Kayama(加山雄三), as a detective.

7 comments:

  1. I didn't know that Jacky Chang's most famous song is originally a Japanese song. Surprise. You mentioned that it's not a hit in Japan but in Hong Kong this became one of the most famous song of all times.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8x_zcC5XPE

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    1. Hi, Larry.

      Yeah, I checked the Oricon singles rankings for that year once again to check if I had overlooked it, but it never placed onto the Top 100 unfortunately. A pity to be sure. But then again, although "Ruby no Yubiwa", a City Pop classic, was the No. 1 song of the year, it seems like a lot of decent songs in the genre went relatively unknown.

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  2. "Nais Ko" sung by Miguel Vera is a Filipino adaptation of this song. I had no idea that that song was originally from Kisugi until a few months ago.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6heiX4Zkho

    There are also some covers such as performed by Anri or Hitomi Go but they are nowhere near as good as the original.

    Hope you don't mind if I ask again for help to identify a song as I usually do from my previous posts. This one was recorded from cruddy tape hence the grim sound with an obvious loss of highs.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT7owWm9FDA

    Thanks again in advance.

    Al

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    1. Hello there.

      Yeah, I think "Goodbye Day" is one of those ballads that probably has been covered by tons of singers but there's no one like Takao Kisugi for the original.

      I don't know the song itself on the old tape but I believe the singer is Taeko Ohnuki. And it's probably somewhere from the mid-80s and later since I've got all of her albums from 1976 to 1984 and none of them have this particular number. But I'll let you know what I find out; I've sent out a request to some of my other kayo kyoku friends. :)

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    2. Indeed. I just recently discovered from a local karaoke bar with a respectable list of Jpop songs, the "Goodbye Day" version playable in the machine is the same from the Sparkle album.

      Somehow I had a feeling that the possible singer could be Ohnuki since the mood it elicits is strikingly similar to "Kuro no Clair" as if watching a drama with some flashes of shock value.

      Hope your friends can help. I look forward to it. :)

      Al

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  3. I am also a fan of Kisugi takao and I like "Good bye day" best. This year is the 40th anniversary of his debut and he published a new album. I bought it on Amazonjapan. a little bit expensive but it's worth to buy for me.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L54fcYe9RoE

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    1. Hi there, Kang. And thanks very much for your comments. Yup, I'm also a big fan of his in terms of both his singing and songwriting. I've been a fan of his mellow style.

      I also understand about how expensive those Japanese CDs can be, but I'm also happy to pick them up as well. :)

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