Southern All Stars
Encyclopedia
, also known by the abbreviations or SAS, is a Japanese pop/rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.

The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata
Keisuke Kuwata
has gained fame as a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and frontman for the Southern All-Stars, as well as his own solo band, the Kuwata band. He has also done significant amount of scoring music for films. He went to Aoyama Gakuin University....

 (lead vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

 and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

s), Yuko Hara
Yuko Hara
Yuko Hara plays the keyboards for Southern All Stars. She is an accomplished vocalist, and writes many of her own songs....

 (vocals and keyboards), Kazuyuki Sekiguchi
Kazuyuki Sekiguchi
plays the bass guitar for Southern All Stars. As a solo artist, he has played ukulele; he is a fan of Hawaiian music. For nearly twenty years, Sekiguchi has worked with Akira Sakuma in the Momotaro Dentetsu video game series as a music producer....

 (bass), Hiroshi Matsuda (drums) and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa (percussion). In addition to the present lineup, former guitarist Takashi Omori had worked in the band until 2001.

After the contract with Victor Entertainment, the band released their top-ten charting debut single "Katte ni Sindbad" in 1977. Since then, Southern has been one of the best-selling music groups in the past 30 years of Japan, selling more than 47 million albums and singles in Japan alone. They have had over 40 top-ten hit singles and 16 number-one albums on the Japan's 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...

 Charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 as of 2008.

Their 1998 compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 Umi no Yeah!! has sold more than 3.3 million copies and became the best-selling double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....

 in Japanese history. Their most commercially successful song "Tsunami
Tsunami (Southern All Stars song)
"Tsunami" is a song by the Southern All Stars, released as their forty-fourth single on January 26, 2000.-Overview:The song was the first number-one single for Southern All Stars since the 1996 single Ai no Kotodama on the Oricon weekly charts. The band used the style of hard rock on the previous...

", released in 2000, has sold over 2.9 million units in Japan alone, and provided the band with honor of winning the 42nd Japan Record Award
Japan Record Award
for outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association, is major music awards show held annually in Japan.- Categories :The Japan Record Award are four awards which are not restricted by genre....

s. The band were also acclaimed and ranked number one in HMV Japan's 2003 list of "100 most influential Japanese musicians". They are also the only group to ever have 44 songs on the Oricon Top 100 weekly single chart simultaneously.

The band has occasionally gone into hiatus while individual members work on solo and other projects, and are planning to do so again in 2009.

Early years

1975 saw a prototype of the band composed of Aoyama Gakuin University
Aoyama Gakuin University
, abbreviated AGU, is a Japanese Christian university in Shibuya near Omotesandō, Tokyo, Japan. Aoyama Gakuin University is part of a comprehensive educational institute called Aoyama Gakuin, which includes a kindergarten, an elementary school, junior and senior high schools, and a women's junior...

 students who belonged to the popular music club "Better Days", formed by Keisuke Kuwata. In their early days, the band changed its name frequently, such as "Onsen Anma Momohiki Band", "Piston Kuwata and the Cylinders", and "Keisuke Kuwata and the Hitchcock Gekijou". Finally, when keyboardist Yuko Hara
Yuko Hara
Yuko Hara plays the keyboards for Southern All Stars. She is an accomplished vocalist, and writes many of her own songs....

 joined the group, they chose a permanent name. Named after the "Fania All-Stars
Fania All-Stars
The Fania All-Stars was a musical ensemble established in 1968 by the composer, Johnny Pacheco, as a showcase for the musicians on the record label Fania Records, the leading salsa record company of the time.-Beginnings:...

" and "Southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...

" by Kuwata's friend.

After several changes of members, they tried for "Yamaha EastWest '77", the contest of amateur musicians by the Yamaha Music Foundation
Yamaha Music Foundation
The Yamaha Music Foundation is an organization established by the authority of the Japanese Ministry of Education for the purpose of promoting music education and music popularization...

. At this contest, Kuwata won a prize for the "best vocalist". When the band participated in this contest, Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki Nozawa, two members who were not Aoyama Gakuin's students joined them, and all the members of the group were then assembled.

On June 25, 1978, their debut single "Katte ni Sindbad" was released from Victor Entertainment. Its title was named after two hit songs in Japan in 1977, "Katte ni Shiyagare" by Kenji Sawada
Kenji Sawada
, nicknamed "Julie" , also-known as vocalist for the Japanese rock band The Tigers, is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and actor. He was born in Tsunoi, Iwami , Tottori Prefecture, Japan, and raised in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto at age 3...

 and "Nagisa no Sindbad" by Pink Lady
Pink Lady (band)
is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...

 In addition, the release date of their debut single was Sawada's 29th birthday. The song featured Kuwata's impressive coarse-grained vocals like a tongue twister. To promote their first single, they appeared on various TV programs. The weird costumes they dressed in and their eccentric performance made an unforgettable impact on listeners. Their single gradually climbed the charts, and peaked at number-three on the Japan's 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...

 singles chart in autumn of the same year.

Because of the sales promotion of "Katte ni Sindbad" and a following single "Kibun Shidai de Semenaide", they were considered performers of novelty songs. However, "Itoshi no Ellie", their third single released on March 25, 1979, was sufficient to overturn their comedic public image. This pop-ballad was highly regarded by many Japanese music critics and artists, including Hiroshi Miyagawa and Kosetsu Minami. The song is regarded as one of the most notable songs by the Southern All Stars. In 1988, a cover version by Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

 was featured in a Suntory
Suntory
is a Japanese brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to sandwich chains...

 Limited TV advertisement. It was released as a single in Japan only, and reached number-three on the Oricon. The cover version by Charles became the best-selling single performed by a Western artist in 1989.

Two months after Southern released their debut single, their first album called Atsui Munasawagi was marketed. The band was not able to devote ample time to recording and songwriting for 10 Numbers Carat, their second album which featured their breakthrough ballad "Itoshi no Ellie", which was released only eight months after their debut album. Kuwata's angry look on the album cover mirrored his exhaustion. Hence, the leader of the band wasn't satisfied with the quality of the album, and has stated that the album was "trash".

The first half of the 1980s

In 1980, the band started a serial project called "Five Rock Show", and released five singles every month. Due to a lack of sales promotion, each single succeeded only moderately. However, thanks to the success of their early singles in the late '70s, they had built up a solid fan base and high popularity on the album chart in Japan. Since Tiny Bubbles, their third album released in 1980, all of their studio albums have reached the top consecutively. That album featured two songs featuring vocals by band members, Yuko Hara's "Watashi wa Piano" and Matsuda's "Matsuda no Komoriuta". The former was covered by girl-pop singer Mizue Takada in the same year, and became a top-ten hit.

On January 24, 1982, the band released the single "Chako no Kaigan Monogatari". Kuwata wanted a commercial hit, and wrote this one more in the typical Japanese kayōkyoku
Kayokyoku
is a Japanese pop music genre, which became a base of modern J-pop. The Japan Times describes kayōkyoku as "standard Japanese pop" or "Showa era pop".Kayōkyoku is Western-style-inspired music of Japan. Music in this genre is extremely varied as a result...

 style. In addition, as a vocalist, he imitated the lisping vocals of Toshihiko Tahara, one of the most popular Japanese male idol singers at that time. Such popular expression generally received favorable reaction from the public, and became the band's most successful single since Itoshi no Ellie. Following the success of the single, their fifth studio album Nude Man was bigger than ever. The album reached number-three on Oricon's 1982 year-end chart, and later became that year's best-selling album. One of the highlights of Nude Man, Natsu o Akiramete was recorded by distinguished comedienne and singer Naoko Ken
Naoko Ken
is a Japanese singer and actress. She is well-known for her comedy roles featuring idiosyncratic looks, and a string of successful torch songs that gained popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s.- Biography :...

 the same year. Her cover version sold 300,000 copies, and became one of her most successful works as a singer.

After the hit of "Chako no Kaigan Monogatari", Kuwata married Hara on his 26th birthday. They invited their fans for their wedding ceremony.

Throughout Southern's career, Kuwata has featured extremely erotic expressions in many of his self-written songs and the band's sales promotions. "I Love You wa Hitorigoto", Kuwata composition released as Hara's first solo single in 1981, was banned due to suggestive lyrics including the term "motel". The cover of the band's 1983 single "Body Special II" featured the breast of a topless woman. Such explicit expression from Kuwata and his band's music has continued to date.

In 1983 and 1984, two albums Kirei and Ninkimono de Ikō were released. Both of these albums featured mainly adult-oriented rock rendition songs. With Miss Brand-New Day, a successful single and one of the highlights on Ninkimono de Ikō, the band gradually built up a definite reputation in the changeable Japanese music industry.

In 1985, the band released double studio album Kamakura, which is now considered one of their best albums. To promote this blockbuster, extensive advertisement including an impressive TV commercial starring distinguished comedian Sanma Akashiya
Sanma Akashiya
is a Japanese TV comedian and actor simply known as Sanma. His real name is . His talent agency is Yoshimoto Corporation.Together with Beat Takeshi and Tamori, Sanma is said to be one of the "Big Three" tarento of Japan. Sanma's nickname is . He is known for his ability to endlessly carry a...

 was used. Such large-scale promotion brought about rumors that the band might break up. In fact, in the process of recording, conflict arose between the Kuwata and Sekiguchi. It is said that they devoted over 1,800 hours to the recording of this album. The process did not always go smoothly, but the end product proved overwhelmingly successful. The album was highly praised by critics and listeners alike, and Kuwata was very satisfied with the favorable reception. In addition, Hara conceived his child the same year, so he suspended the group's career temporarily. Around 1986, he began work on solo projects, including the Kuwata Band. Other band members also began various solo projects.

Projects with Takeshi Kobayashi

"Kanashii Kimochi (Just a Man in Love)", Keisuke Kuwata's successful solo debut single released in 1987, was produced and arranged by Takeshi Kobayashi. Kobayashi started his career in the late '70s, and collaborated with numerous Japanese musicians, including Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...

, Yosui Inoue
Yosui Inoue
is a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, guitarist and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music. He is renowned for his unique tone, eccentric lyrics, and dark sunglasses which he always wears....

, Taeko Onuki, Hiroshi Takano
Hiroshi Takano
is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist, music arranger, guitarist and producer. In the end of 1980s and early 1990s, he succeeded by some records which produced by Todd Rundgren...

 and Kenji Omori. Through the recording of the solo material, Kuwata recognized Kobayashi's abundant and practical ability, and decided to continue this strong combination for his career. In the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Kobayashi participated in many projects with Southern. Kuwata praised Kobayashi's capability as a partner, and joked at a live performance, "Even if he is unwilling to be part of my projects, I'll force him to be involved in my career!"

On June 25, 1988, ten years after Southern debuted, they returned to the Japanese music scene with a single "Minna no Uta" produced by Kobayashi. Their 1989 single Sayonara Baby reached to the top on the oricon's single chart, and it became the first #1 hit on that chart for the band. In same year, 4-CDs box-set compilation entitled Suika was released. Regardless of its size/price, the album reached #1 and sold more than 300,000 units.

1990s

In the 1990s, the Japanese music industry prospered more than during other decades. Southern continued to enjoy commercial success, and remained one of the mainstream groups of Japanese popular music throughout the 1990s.

In 1990, Kuwata directed the film called Inamura Jane. The movie was not well-received, but the soundtrack was very successful, reaching #1 on Japanese chart and selling over 1 million copies, eventually becoming the best selling Japanese soundtrack album of all time. "Manatsu no Kajitsu", a song written by Kuwata was released as the lead single from the album, and climbed to the top 5 on the charts. In 1991, Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000....

 covered the ballad in Chinese, and enjoyed huge commercial success in several Asian countries. Dozens of other cover versions followed, from Asia to Europe; one of these is a Tagalog-language version sung by Donna Cruz
Donna Cruz
Donna Cruz Yrastorza-Larrazabal better known by her stage name Donna Cruz, is a Filipina pop singer and actress. She comes from the Cruz clan which include celebrities Sheryl Cruz, Geneva Cruz and Sunshine Cruz, her cousins....

, entitled "Isang Tanong, Isang Sagot", released in 1997.

The soundtrack also included another highlight, "Kibō no Wadachi". Having appeared on the album only, the song is well-known as one of the Southern All Stars' most significant songs.

Kuwata and his band also released a self-titled studio album in 1990. Following the previous O.S.T. album, it became million-seller.

In 1991, Kazuyuki Sekiguchi left the band temporarily to overcome health problems, not returning until 1995. The next year, 1992, the remaining members released two singles "Shulaba-La-Bamba" and "Namida no Kiss" simultaneously. The latter marked the top of the Oricon singles chart for 7 weeks and sold more than 1.5 million copies. It was their first million-selling single, and finally marked the top five on the Japanese Year-End singles chart for 1992. Two months from the release of those successful singles, their tenth studio album entitled Yo ni Man'yō no Hana ga Sakunari was released. At first, Kuwata planned to release it as a double album, but finally decided to omit some of the recordings, including 1991 number-one hit single "Neo Bravo!!" The album has sold nearly 1.8 million copies.

In 1993, the remixed EP Enoshima was released under the pseudonym project named "Z-Dan". It sold more than 900,000 copies, and won the 8th Japan Gold Disc Award
Japan Gold Disc Award
The Japan Gold Disc Awards for Music sales in the Recording Industry Association of Japan, is major music awards held annually in Japan also released as a CD.- List of the Artists of the Year :************...

's "Compilation Album of the Year" prize. The same year, the band released the second million-selling single "Erotica Seven". Strong partnership between Kuwata and Kobayashi ended in the band's holiday song released as a single "Christmas Love" in the autumn of that year. However, the two have collaborated from time to time after the temporary parting, such as Kuwata and Mr. Children
Mr. Children
, commonly called , is a Japanese rock band formed in 1988 by Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki. As a group, they are one of the most successful Japanese rock artists, having sold over 50 million records and creating the in the mid 1990s in Japan...

's successful charity single "Kiseki no Hoshi" released in 1995.

Throughout 1994, Kuwata worked as a solo artist again, and Southern released no new material. The next year the band restarted with "Mampy no G-Spot", an obscene song released as a single only. From this single, Sekiguchi, who had left the band in 1991, appeared again. "Anatadake o -Summer Heartbreak-", the other song released in 1995 provided the group with their 3rd million-seller single. Later, Kuwata mentioned that Summer Heartbreak is one of his favorites. The next year, the band released two singles Ai no Kotodama -Spiritual Message- and Taiyō wa Tsumi na Yatsu, the former selling over million copies. Young Love, their 11th album featured successful singles including two million-sellers, has sold more than 2.5 million copies to become one of the best-selling albums of 1996. It has remained the band's most successful studio album to date.

Tsunami and Omori's independence

On January 26, 2000, their 44th single, "Tsunami" was released. It was used as theme song of Mirai Nikki III, a popular part of the TBS program called Un-nan no Hontoko!, and made a strong impression on many people. The song reached number-one on the singles chart for five weeks, finally selling more than 2.9 million units. It is the third best-selling single in Japan of the last 40 years. On New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...

 of 2000, Tsunami won the 42nd Japan Record Awards
42nd Japan Record Awards
The 42nd Annual Japan Record Awards took place on December 31, 2000, starting at 6:30PM JST. The primary ceremonies were televised in Japan on TBS.- Award winners :*Japan Record Award:...

. After the enormous success of the single, the band became more conservative. They now release fewer singles and all of them have become hits.

After the concert tour in 2000, Takashi Omori announced a stop in work and he left from the band in August 2001. Omori and his wife were well known as pious and influential Soka Gakkai adherents. This caused various rumors in the press about religious problems between himself and other members and many fans.

By the early 2000s, each member had actively pursued solo projects. Particularly, Kuwata produced three million-selling records and one album around 2001 and 2002.

Recent years

In October 2005, their latest double-album Killer Street was released. The album debuted at number-one on both of the national and the Worldwide Charts, and has sold over a million units to date.

On May 18, 2008, Victor Entertainment announced that Southern All Stars will go on hiatus in 2009, with members still continuing to work individually, as they have done in the past. Victor Entertainment also says that they will return as a band at an unspecified time in the future.

Number one singles

The following songs reached the top of Oricon weekly singles chart:
  • "Sayonara Baby" (さよならベイビー Goodbye, Baby) (June 7, 1989)
  • "Neo Bravo!!" (ネオ・ブラボー!!) (July 10, 1991)
  • "Namida no Kiss" (涙のキッス Kiss of Tears) (July 18, 1992)
  • "Erotica Seven" (エロティカ・セブン) (July 21, 1993)
  • "Anata Dake o" (あなただけを Only to You) (July 17, 1995)
  • "Ai no Kotodama~Spiritual Message" (愛の言霊~Spiritual Message) (May 20, 1996)
  • "Tsunami" (TSUNAMI) (January 26, 2000)
  • "Katte ni Sinbad" (勝手にシンドバッド Willfully, Sinbad) (June 25, 2003) (This is the second version. Original version, released in 1978, didn't reach the top.)
  • "Namida no Umi de Dakaretai ~Sea of Love~" (涙の海で抱かれたい ~Sea of Love~ I Want to be Held in the Sea of Tears ~Sea of Love~) (July 23, 2003)
  • "Aya ~ Aja" (彩 ~Aja~) (April 14, 2004)
  • "Kimi Koso Star da" (君こそスターだ) (July 21, 2004)
  • "Ai to Yokubō no Hibi" (愛と欲望の日々 Days of Love and Desire) (November 24, 2004)
  • "Dirty Old Man ~Saraba Natsu Yo~" (DIRTY OLD MAN ~さらば夏よ~ Dirty Old Man ~Goodbye Summer~) (August 9, 2006)
  • I AM YOUR SINGER (August 6, 2008)

Number one albums

The following albums reached the top of Oricon weekly albums chart: (1980) (1981)
  • NUDE MAN (1982) (compilation, 1982) (1983) (1984)
  • KAMAKURA (1985)
  • BALLADE 2 '83-'86 (compilation, 1986) Southern All Stars Special 61 Songs (box-set compilation, 1989)
  • Southern All Stars (1990) (soundtrack for the same-titled film released as Southern All Stars and All Stars, 1990) (1992)
  • HAPPY! (box-set compilation, 1995)
  • Young Love (1996) (compilation, 1998) (1998) the album of LOVE' (compilation, 2000) (2005)

External links

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