[Light & perky]
No.92 "Suteki-na flapper" by Maiko Okamoto
Hi. Today's song is "Suteki-na flapper" (A gorgeous flapper) by "Maiko Okamoto".
This is an '80s cheerful pop music by a young idol star, wishing the power of song can change the grey sky into blue.
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Index
1. Song data
| Title | Suteki-na flapper (A gorgeous flapper) |
|---|---|
| Artist | Maiko Okamoto |
| Album Title | Maiko Okamoto collection |
| Catalog Number | VICL-61323 |
| Track No. | 14 |
| Duration | 3:51 |
| Released | 1987 |
| Publisher | Victor Entertainment |
| Lyricist | Masumi Kawamura |
| Composer | Hideya Nakazaki |
| Arranger | Kei-chi Oku |
- About the creators
Masumi Kawamura
Masumi Kawamura is a popular lyricist in J-pop active since mid '80s.
She has written hundreds of songs for the various J-pop singers, but she is particularly well known as a writer of a big hit song "My revolution", sung by "Misato Watanabe" in 1986.
This song has been covered by numerous artists, and being a standard number now a days.
"My Revolution"(1986)
by "Misato Watanabe"
(You can still listen this song by clicking the banner. Please select track No.3 once the page is open.)
(Ref: Wikipedia, Masumi Kawamura)
Hideya Nakazaki
Hideya Nakazaki is a composer, arranger and music producer active since 1980.
He has written so many nice pop musics to the various artists, and quite a few of them became a smash hit.
(Ref: Wikipedia, Hideya Nakazaki)
Kei-chi Oku
Kei-chi Oku is a keyboardist, composer, arranger and a former member of a famous brass rock band "Spectrum" active since 1979.
He had a good academic background of music, since he received a special education from his childhood.
He however chose to quit the master course at the musical college, and joined the brass rock group "Spectrum" to participate the most up to date and popular instrumental ensemble.
The time he could have had in "Spectrum" was short, since the band lasted only for 2 years.
It was a rather early break up of the band in 1981 though, he has been active as a composer & arranger in various field of pop music until now.
Cover art
- Sound impressions
Light & buoyant
This is a very perky and buoyant pop song in comfortable middle speed.
The listeners might remember a beautiful and refreshing sunny summer day.
The drums, rhythm box, bass, synthesizer, and the electric guitar start the introduction together, and the male chorus also joins.
2-3 different sounds of the synthesizer appears alternatively, and add a colorful tone to the melody.
Maiko Okamoto was a pretty good singer among the young idol stars of that time.
Her singing was above average at the point of debut, but there were further improvement in 2 years time to this track.
Normally, we cannot expect much for the singing of the idol stars. Because it is not their priority.
But Maiko Okamoto seemed an exception, since her song quality was already reached at the satisfactory level as a professional, as far as we saw.
Listners can enjoy her songs in a relaxed way.
- Reference
- About the artist
Juicy age
Maiko Okamoto debuted in 1985 with single "Ai-tte ringo desuka"(Is love an apple?). Since then, 7 singles, and 2 original, and 1 best album have been released until now.
"Juicy age" was a catch phrase given for her when she was debuting at 14 years old. The sound of "juicy" is close to the "14" in Japanese(Juu-shi). So it is a kind of pun.
(Ref: Wikipedia, Maiko Okamoto)
Child actress
Maiko Okamoto began her acting career in 1974 when she was only 4 years old.
In 1982, she appeared on a morning TV variety show as a mascot of the program. And this made her name more public.
Since then, she was challenging various activities in the entertainment business, and in 1985, she finally debuted as an idol star from Victor.
Debut
1985 was a rare good harvest year of new idol stars.
Quite a few of competent newbies are debuted, and surprisingly, a lot of them still maintain their popularity even now.
Smooth progress
Among those strong rivals, our Maiko Okamoto made a good start, and was well-positioned.
She wasn't a top idol at that time, but gained enough popularity, and showing a smooth progress as an idol star.
People had no doubt that she was a promising new singer.
Sudden retire
Therefore, her sudden retirement in 1987 was a shock for everyone.
In fact, it was a timing just after her first featured movie was released. (Producing a featured movie usually meant the person was on the fast track.)
We don't know why she made such a decision, but it was regrettable since she was a talented singer & idol star.
- Samples from online music stores
About the samples
Please go to the page below, and just play or click track No.14.
Trial button is on the left side of the song title.
Tight supply
The New CD of this album seems out of stock now, and the availability of the 2nd hand is tight too. Sorry for that.
We will let you know if we found any news on this.
AD : Free listening samples
Amazon JP(en)
billboard-japan.com
hmv.co.jp
neowing.co.jp
8. Japanese Letters
| Song Title | 素敵なフラッパー (Suteki-na flapper) |
|---|---|
| Artist | 岡本舞子 (Maiko Okamoto) |
| Album Title | 岡本舞子コレクション (Okamoto Maiko collection) |
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