is an influential Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, and important figure in Japanese popular music.

Yoko Yazawa

Yoko Yazawa

is a Japanese singer-songwriter, formerly the lead vocalist of The Generous. She is Eikichi Yazawa's eldest daughter, and her mother is one quarter American. While she was 12, she went to school in Los Angeles at the Ojai Valley School and Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. In 2010, she made her...

 of The Generous

The generous

The Generous is a Japanese musical duo consisting of yoko on vocals and Katsumi Ohnishi on guitar. The song "Dream Star" from their mini-album released October 29, 2008 is featured as the first opening theme for the anime Skip Beat!.-Albums:...

 is his daughter.

Biography

Yazawa formed the band Carol in 1972, a rockabilly group which became a legend in Japanese music. After the band broke up in 1975, Yazawa flew to the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to start his solo career. His first solo album, I Love You, OK, was recorded

Recording

Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....

 at the A&M Studio

A&M Records

A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...

 in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 and produced by Tom Mack.

In 1977, he was the Japanese first solo rock artist to perform at the Budokan

Nippon Budokan

The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded...

 hall in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, to a full crowd of over 13,000 people. He now holds the record of most performances at the Budokan hall, having performed there over 100 times (the hundredth being on December 16, 2007).

1978 was a greatly successful year for Yazawa. His fourth studio album, Gold Rush, went to #1 in the charts. He also held a hugely successful performance at the Korakuen baseball stadium (now the Tokyo Dome

Tokyo Dome

Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...

) for over 40,000 people.

In 1980, Yazawa signed a contract with the Warner Pioneer

Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...

 (present Warner Music Japan) record company and moved to the West Coast of the United States

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

. He recorded the albums Yazawa (featuring members of American rock bands Little Feat

Little Feat

Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....

 and The Doobie Brothers

The Doobie Brothers

The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band. The group has sold over 40 million units worldwide throughout their career. The Doobie Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.-Original incarnation:...

), It's Just Rock n' Roll (also featuring members of The Doobie Brothers

The Doobie Brothers

The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band. The group has sold over 40 million units worldwide throughout their career. The Doobie Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.-Original incarnation:...

 and several songs written by John McFee

John McFee

John McFee is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist, and long time member of the Doobie Brothers.-Biography:...

 and Bobby LaKind

Bobby LaKind

Bobby LaKind was a conga player, vocalist, songwriter and occasional live backup drummer with The Doobie Brothers. He was originally a lighting roadie for the band...

), and Flash in Japan, all of which were released worldwide, but were not very commercially successful compared to his Japanese releases. In 1988, he signed to EMI Music Japan.

In 1996 Yazawa appeared in a string of commercials for such products as "Boss" coffee. His commercials typically were of him in various comedically unfortunate situations (such as a salaryman

Salaryman

refers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...

 running while eating or a accidentally toppling a group of bicycles), with his new songs serving as background music and his own voiceovers rather than on-camera talking.

In 1998, Yazawa was swindled out of about 3.5 billion yen (approx. 35 million US dollars) for a huge building construction project in Australia. It took him several years to pay off the debt.

In December 2005, Yazawa ran a sold-out Japan tour of "live houses" (Japanese-English for a live-music club) as a part of his "back to roots" approach to his 30th anniversary as a solo artist, following the breakup of rock band Carol in 1975. 'Ei-chan' delighted fans with a rendition of "Whiskey Coke," a hit from that year (and a Karaoke library mainstay), as well as numbers from his 2005 album, "Only One".

In 2007, Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki

, usually known simply as is a Major League Baseball right fielder for the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro has established a number of batting records, including the sport's single-season record for hits with 262...

 (Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

), a major league

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 player, chose his "Tomaranai Ha~Ha" as a AT-BAT MUSIC of 2008 with Ringo Shiina's "Yokushitsu" and "Identity".

In 2008, Yazawa left the Emi Music Japan and established his independent record label

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 Garuru Records. After the releases of two singles "Loser" (opening theme for Yakuza 3

Yakuza 3

Yakuza 3 is a PlayStation 3 video game, originally released in Japan as , the sequel to Yakuza 2 and the fourth installment in the Yakuza series. It is developed by Sega Japan's CS1 Team and published by Sega...

) and "Cobalt no Sora", he released his first original studio album under the label, Rock 'n' Roll, on August 5, 2009. The album debuted at #3 on the Japanese Oricon

Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 weekly album charts, selling about 54,000 copies in its initial week.

On December 31, 2009, Yazawa performed on the popular New Year's Eve TV show, 60th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen

60th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen

The , referred to from hereon as "Kōhaku", was aired on December 31, 2009 from NHK Hall in Japan.-Performers:The singers, announced on November 23, 2009, are ordered below according to the gojūon....

 in Japan as a surprise guest, singing "Jikan yo Tomare" and "Cobalt no Sora". His performance followed the scheduled performance by Arashi

Arashi

is a Japanese boy band formed under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates, which announced the formation of the group on November 3, 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii...

.

His albums have sold over 12 million copies in the Japanese market, and he has had a strong influence on modern Japanese rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

.

He was invited to perform at Wembley Stadium alongside Robert Palmer, Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

, and Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart

Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....

, and often performs live aid concerts. Seven of his albums were produced by Andrew Gold

Andrew Gold

Andrew Maurice Gold was an American singer, musician and songwriter. His works include the Top 10 single "Lonely Boy" , as well as the singles "Thank You for Being a Friend" , and "Never Let Her Slip Away" ....

.

Singles

• I Love You, OK (September 21, 1975) (March 21, 1976)
• Hikishio (ひき潮) (September 21, 1976)
• Kuroku Nuritsubuse (黒く塗りつぶせ) (June 21, 1977)
• Jikan yo Tomare (時間よ止まれ) (March 21, 1978)
• I Ssay Good-Bye, So Good-Bye (April 1, 1979)
• This Is A Song For Coca-Cola (March 10, 1980)
• Namida no Love Letter (涙のラブレター) (May 10, 1980)
• Love That Was Lost (抱かれたい、もう一度) (April 25, 1981)
• You (September 25, 1981)
• Yes My Love (February 20, 1982)
• Lahaina (April 10, 1982)
• Rockin' My Heart (October 9, 1982)
• Misty (June 29, 1983)
• Last Christmas Eve (November 16, 1983)
• The Border (March 10, 1984)
• Toubousha (逃亡者) (July 10, 1984)
• Take It Time (June 25, 1985)
• Believe in Me (May 25, 1986)
• Flash in Japan (May 13, 1987)
• Kyohansha (共犯者) (July 6, 1988)
• New Grand Hotel (ニューグランドホテル) (September 21, 1988)
• Kuchizuke ga Tomaranai (くちづけが止まらない) (November 30, 1988)
• Somebody's Night (April 26, 1989)
• Itoshi Kaze (愛しい風) (July 19, 1989)
• Ballad yo Eien ni (バラードよ永遠に) (October 11, 1989)
• Pure Gold (May 23, 1990)
• Yume no Kanata (夢の彼方) (April 19, 1991)
• Last Scene (ラスト・シーン) (May 31, 1991)
• Big Beat (December 11, 1991)
• Anytime Woman (June 3, 1992)
• Anytime Woman -English Version- (June 17, 1992)
• Tokyo (東京) (February 10, 1993)
• Tasogare ni Sutete (黄昏に捨てて) (October 27, 1993)
• Ari yo Saraba (アリよさらば) (April 27, 1994)
• Itsuno Hi ka (いつの日か) (May 25, 1994)
• Natsu no Owari (夏の終り) (February 8, 1995)
• Aozora (青空) (May 24, 1995)
• Maria (May 16, 1996) incl. vocals by Zeeteah Massiah
  Zeeteah Massiah
  Zeeteah Massiah is a singer who is known in the United States as the lead vocalist on the Arizona US No. 1 Billboard Dance Chart track "Slide On The Rhythm" from 1993. She has recorded several dance / house tracks throughout the years...
  
  
• Mouhitori no Ore (もうひとりの俺) (November 7, 1996)
• Still (September 3, 1997)
• Anohi no Youni (あの日のように) (November 7, 1997)
• Chinatown (チャイナタウン) (July 29, 1998)
• Oh! Love Sick (June 30, 1999)
• The Truth (August 9, 2000)
• Tonight I Remember (October 25, 2000)
• Senakagoshi no I Love You (背中ごしの I Love You) (August 29, 2001)
• Kusari wo Hikichigire (鎖を引きちぎれ) (July 26, 2002)
• Only One (August 24, 2005)
• Natsu no Owari (夏の終り) (September 5, 2007)
• Loser (February 25, 2009)
• Cobalt no Sora (コバルトの空) (June 3, 2009)

Albums

• I LOVE YOU, OK (September 21, 1975)
• A Day (June 21, 1976) (April 21, 1977) (June 1, 1978)
• KISS ME PLEASE (June 21, 1979)
• KAVACH (June 10, 1980)
• YAZAWA (August 5, 1981)
• RISING SUN (October 25, 1981)
• P.M.9 (July 10, 1982)
• YAZAWA (1981)
• It's Just Rock'n Roll (December 4, 1982)
• I am a Model (July 20, 1983)
• E' (July 25, 1984) (July 25, 1985)
• TEN YEARS AGO (November 28, 1985) (July 25, 1986)
• FLASH IN JAPAN (May 18, 1987) (July 21, 1988) (June 21, 1989) (July 31, 1990)
• DON'T WANNA STOP (July 5, 1991)
• Anytime Woman (June 24, 1992)
• HEART (March 31, 1993)
• the Name Is... (July 6, 1994) (July 5, 1995)
• MARIA (July 3, 1996)
• YES (August 8, 1997)
• SUBWAY EXPRESS (September 8, 1998)
• LOTTA GOOD TIME (August 6, 1999)
• STOP YOUR STEP (September 27, 2000)
• YOU, TOO COOL (September 7, 2001)
• SUBWAY EXPRESS 2 (September 4, 2002) (September 1, 2004)
• ONLY ONE (September 14, 2005)
• Rock 'n' Roll (August 5, 2009)
• Twist (June 9, 2010)

Live albums

• THE STAR IN HIBIYA (November 21, 1976) (November 21, 1977)
• LIVE Korakuen Stadium (December 5, 1978)
• The Rock (November 28, 1980)
• 1982 P.M.9 LIVE (March 26, 1983)
• STAND UP!! (February 15, 1989)
• Anytime Woman LIVE ALBUM (September 30, 1992)
• LIVE! YES, E (April 22, 1998)
• LIVE DECADE 1990~1999 (March 29, 2000)
• CONCERT TOUR "Z" 2001 (March 30, 2002)

Compilations

• THE GREAT OF ALL (July 1, 1980)
• THE GREAT OF ALL VOL.2 (December 1, 1980)
• THE GREAT OF ALL -Special Version- (November 21, 1983)
• THE BORDER (February 15, 1984)
• ROCK'N ROLL (March 25, 1988)
• BALLAD (March 25, 1988)
• THE ORIGINAL (October 31, 1990)
• THE ORIGINAL 2 (December 8, 1993)
• E. Y 70'S (October 1, 1997)
• E. Y 80'S (October 1, 1997)
• E. Y 90'S (October 1, 1997)
• Your Songs 1 (May 17, 2006)
• Your Songs 2 (May 17, 2006)
• Your Songs 3 (May 17, 2006)
• Your Songs 4 (September 26, 2007)
• Your Songs 5 (September 26, 2007)
• Your Songs 6 (September 26, 2007)

External links

• YAZAWA'S DOOR official site
• Nippop Eikichi Yazawa Profile