is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 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 record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

. He has been known by his musical style deeply influenced from 1960s American pop and rock music.

Yamashita is best known for the song "Christmas Eve", which was initially appeared on his album Melodies

Melodies (Tatsuro Yamashita album)

Melodies is the studio album recorded by a Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, released in June 1983. It was his first LP issued under the Moon Label which was distributed by the Alfa Records at the time....

in 1983 and later became a hit throughout the decades. It is considered one of the standard Japanese Christmas songs, winning the Special Prize at the 45th

45th Japan Record Awards

The 45th Annual Japan Record Awards took place on December 31, 2003, starting at 6:00PM JST. The primary ceremonies were televised in Japan on TBS.- Award winners :*Japan Record Award:...

 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 20 years after its release.

Career

In 1973, Yamashita formed the band Sugar Babe with the musicians including Taeko Onuki and Kunio Muramatsu, and released their sole album Songs two years later. After the group disbanded in 1976, Yamashita signed to RCA and launched his own career, with release of the solo album Circus Town. Following 1979 award-winning

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....

 album Moonglow gained moderate success, Yamashita rose to fame. In 1980, his song "Ride on Time" peaked at #3 on the Japanese Oricon, and the same-titled album topped the chart subsequently.

As a solo artist, Yamashita has released 17 studio albums, 2 live albums, multiple compilations and over 40 singles. He has been one of the most commercially successful Japanese male solo recording artists in the history of the Japanese album chart, selling approximately 9 million copies albums in total. He also composed for films or television commercials, and worked on the records by other artists. Particularly, he is successful as a musical collaborator for Mariya Takeuchi

Mariya Takeuchi

is a Japanese singer-songwriter.Takeuchi was born in Taisha city in the Hikawa district of Shimane Prefecture. She spent a year studying in the United States while she was at high school. Her musical career started in 1978 while she was studying at Keio University, with the single "Modotte-Oide,...

, who married him in 1982 and had a daughter.

Studio albums

Year	Album	Chart positions (JP 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... )	Label	Notes
1976	Circus Town	27	RVC/RCA	Peaked the chart at the time of 2002 reissue
1977	Spacy	29
1978	Go Ahead!	25
1979	Moonglow	20
1980	Ride on Time Ride on Time (album) Ride on Time is the fifth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, released in September 1980.Ride on Time has been most well-known by its title track. It was used on the television commercial for Maxell's audio cassette starring Yamashita, and released as a single in May 1980...	1	RVC/AIR
	On the Street Corner 1 On the Street Corner 1 -Side one:#"You Belong to Me" #"Close Your Eyes" #"Spanish Harlem" #"Alone" #"Most of All" -Side two:...	13		Expanded edition was reissued in later years
1982	For You	1
1983	Melodies Melodies (Tatsuro Yamashita album) Melodies is the studio album recorded by a Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, released in June 1983. It was his first LP issued under the Moon Label which was distributed by the Alfa Records at the time....	1	Alfa Moon Alfa Records , originally Alfa Music, was established in 1969 by composer and record producer Kunihiko Murai. It was formed into an independent record label known as Alfa Records in 1977.- History :The company faced much hardship in the 1990s...
1984	Big Wave Big Wave (Tatsuro Yamashita album) Big Wave is the soundtrack album for the same-tiled motion picture, produced and recorded by a Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita. It was released in June 1984....	2		Soundtrack for the same-titled motion picture
1986	Pocket Music	1
	On the Street Corner 2	3
1988		1
1991	Artisan Artisan (album) Artisan is the studio album recorded by a Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita. It was released in June 1991, led by a string of hit singles he produced....	1	Moon/MMG
1993	Season's Greetings Season's Greetings (album) Season's Greetings is the cover album by Tatsurō Yamashita, released in November 1993. It is a sort of the holiday album, though some of the songs have nothing to do with christmas or winter season....	4		Christmas Album
1998	Cozy	1	Moon/Warner 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...
1999	On the Street Corner 3	4
2005	Sonorite	2
2011	Ray of Hope	1

Albums recorded with other musicians

Year	Album	Chart positions (JP 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... )	Label	Notes
1975	Songs	3	Elec/Niagara	The only studio album by the band Sugar Babe Peaked the chart at the time of 1994 reissue
1976	Niagara Triangle Vol.1 (with Ei-ichi Ōtaki and Ginji Ito)	63	Niagara/Columbia Columbia Music Entertainment is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as . It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK Columbia trademarks in 1931. The company changed its name to Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. in 1946. It used the Nippon Columbia name until...	Peaked the chart at the time of reissue

Live albums

Year	Album	Chart positions (JP 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... )	Label	Notes
1978	It's a Poppin' Time	28	RCA/Air	Peaked the chart at the time of 2002 reissue
1989	Joy: Tatsuro Yamashita Live	3	Alfa Moon	Double album

Compilation albums

Year	Album	Chart positions (JP 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... )	Label	Notes
1980	Tatsuro from Niagara	37	Niagara/Columbia Columbia Music Entertainment is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as . It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK Columbia trademarks in 1931. The company changed its name to Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. in 1946. It used the Nippon Columbia name until...	Peaked the chart at the time of 2009 reissue
1982	Greatest Hits! of Tatsuro Yamashita	2	RVC/AIR
1984	Come Along II	8
	Come Along	32
1985	Tatsuro Collection	35
1986	Ballad for You	37
	Rock'n Funk Tatsu	59
1990	Best Pack I (1976–1979)	—
	Best Pack II (1979–1982)	—
1995	Treasures Treasures (Tatsuro Yamashita album) Treasures is the compilation album by a Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, released in November 1995.The album mostly consists of his singles released under the Moon Records, a label he signed in 1983....	1	Moon/East West East West Records East West Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, and operates under WMG's Independent Label Group.-History:...
2002	Rarities Rarities (Tatsuro Yamashita album) Rarities is the compilation album by a Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, released in October 2002. The album is mainly composed of the songs which were initially appeared on B-Sides of his previous singles and not included on any albums....	1	Moon/Warner

Other releases

Following materials are not marketed to the record retailers, though they have been available via mail order to his official fan club

Fan club

A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...

.

Album	Label	Footnotes
Add Some Music to Your Day	Wild Honey	Cover album Cover Album -Tracklisting:#Misono to Utaou! Animedley I # #...  that Yamashita and his friends produced and released independently in 1972
The Works of Tatsuro Yamashita Vol.1		Compilation comprises his compositions written for other artists
Tatsuro Yamashita CM Collection Vol.1		Compilation comprises materials originally used in the advertisements and never issued on his official releases
Tatsuro Yamashita CM Collection Vol.2

Singles

Year	A-Side	B-Side(s) / Double A-Side	Chart positions (JP 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... )	Label	Notes
1975	"Downtown"(written and sung by Tatsuro Yamashita)	"" (written and sung by Taeko Ōnuki)	—	Elec/Niagara	Sugar Babe's only single
1976	""	"Dreaming Day"	—	Columbia/Niagara	Collaboration with Ei-ichi Ōtaki and Ginji Ito
1979	"Let's Dance Baby"	"Bomber"	—	RVC/RCA
	" (Let's Kiss the Sun)"	""	—

}"
|"Funky Flushin'"
|align="center"|—
|align="center" rowspan="4"|RVC/AIR
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1980
|"Ride on Time"
|"Rainy Talk"
|align="center"|3
|
|-
|"My Sugar Babe"
|"Daydream"
|align="center"|90
|
|-
|1982
|""
|"Music Book"
|align="center"|12
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|1983
|""
|"Darlin'"
|align="center"|17
|align="center" rowspan="11"|Alfa Moon
|
|-
|""
|"Please Let Me Wonder

Please Let Me Wonder

"Please Let Me Wonder" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for American rock band The Beach Boys.The song was the B-side of the single "Do You Wanna Dance?" which was released by The Beach Boys in 1965 through Capitol Records.-Information:...

"
|align="center"|34
|
|-
|""
|"White Christmas

White Christmas (song)

"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.Accounts vary as...

"
|align="center"|44
|12-inch single

12-inch single

The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...

|-
|1984
|"The Theme from Big Wave"
|"I Love You (Part I & II)"
|align="center"|23
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1985
|""
|"" [Live version]
|align="center"|12
|
|-
|""
|"Mermaid"
|align="center"|22
|
|-
|1986
|""
|"White Christmas"
|align="center"|1
|Reissue, topped the chart in 1989
|-
|1987
|""
|"You Make Me Feel Brand New

You Make Me Feel Brand New

"You Make Me Feel Brand New" was a 1974 hit by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. The song was written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed.An R&B ballad, it was the fifth track from their 1974 album, Let's Put It All Together and was released as a single and reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot...

"
|align="center"|19
|
|-
|1988
|"Get Back in Love"
|"First Luck "
|align="center"|6
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1989
|""
|"The Girl in White"
|align="center"|76
|
|-
|""
|"" [Live version]
|align="center"|22
|
|-
|1990
|"Endless Game"
|"The Theme from Big Wave" [Live version]
|align="center"|5
|align="center" rowspan="8"|MMG/Moon
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1991
|""
|"Morning Shine"
|align="center"|12
|
|-
|" -Turner's Steamroller-"
|"Only with You" [Live version]
|align="center"|30
|
|-
|1992
|""
|"Blow"
|align="center"|18
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1993
|"Magic Touch"
|"I Do"
|align="center"|17
|
|-
|"Jungle Swing"
|Medley: "Bella Notte"/"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics, which has become more common than the original. The song was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane...

"
|align="center"|22
|
|-
|1994
|"Parade"
|"Downtown"
|align="center"|29
|
|-
|1995
|""
|"" [Live version]
|align="center"|24
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1996
|" -Stand in the Light-"
|"" [Live version]
|align="center"|23
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Eastwest/Moon
|Duet with Melissa Manchester

Melissa Manchester

Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....

|-
|"Dreaming Girl"
|"" [Live version]
|align="center"|25
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|1998
|""
|—
|align="center"|10
|align="center" rowspan="8"|Warner

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...

/Moon
|
|-
|""
|""
|align="center"|12
|
|-
|""
|"White Christmas"
|align="center"|56
|Reissue
|-
|rowspan="2"|1999
|""
|"Blow"
|align="center"|88
|Reissue
|-
|"Love Can Go the Distance"
|"When You Wish Upon a Star

When You Wish upon a Star

"When You Wish upon a Star" is a song written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for Walt Disney's 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio. The original version of the song was sung by Cliff Edwards in the character of Jiminy Cricket, and is heard over the opening credits and again in the final scene of the...

"
|align="center"|18
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2000
|""
|"" [Live version]
|align="center"|20
|
|-
|""
|"White Christmas" / "Christmas Eve" [English lyrics ver.]
|align="center"|6
|Reissue
|-
|2001
|""
|"So Much in Love

So Much in Love

"So Much in Love" is a popular song sung by The Tymes that was a #1 song in the United States during the year 1963. It was The Tymes first hit single, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on August 3, 1963, and remaining there for one week...

" [Remix]
|align="center"|15
|
|-
|2002
|"Loveland, Island"
|"Your Eyes"
|align="center"|26
|align="center" rowspan="2"|BMG

BMG

Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

/AIR
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2003
|"Ride on Time"
|""
|align="center"|13
|Reissue
|-
|"" [2003 New Vocal Remix]
|"Phoenix"
|align="center"|16
|align="center" rowspan="9"|Warner

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...

/Moon
|
|-
|""
|"White Christmas" / "Christmas Eve" [English ver, remix]
|align="center"|47
|Reissue
|-
|2004
|""
|""
|align="center"|14
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2005
|"Forever Mine"
|"Midas Touch"
|align="center"|8
|
|-
|""
|—
|align="center"|29
|
|-
|""
|""
|align="center"|49
|
|-
|2008
|""
|"Angel of the Light" / "La Vie en rose

La vie en rose

"La Vie en Rose" was the signature song of French singer Édith Piaf.-Signature song of Édith Piaf:Édith Piaf first popularized La Vie en Rose in 1946. The lyrics were written by Piaf and the melody of the song by "Louiguy" . Initially, Piaf's peers and her songwriting team did not think the song...

"
|align="center"|4
|
|-
|2009
|""
|"Muse" / "" [Live version]
|align="center"|8
|
|-
|2010
|""
|""
|align="center"|13
|
|-
|}

Awards

Japan Record Awards
Year	Title	Category	Personnel
1980 (22nd)	Moonglow	Best Albums	(Performer, composer, arranger and producer: Yamashita / lyricist: Minako Yoshida)
1981 (23rd)	On the Street Corner 1 On the Street Corner 1 -Side one:#"You Belong to Me" #"Close Your Eyes" #"Spanish Harlem" #"Alone" #"Most of All" -Side two:...	Best 10 Albums	(Performer, arranger, producer: Yamashita)
1982 (24th)	For You	Best 10 Albums	(Performer, composer, arranger and producer: Yamashita / lyricist: Minako Yoshida)
1983 (25th)	Melodies Melodies (Tatsuro Yamashita album) Melodies is the studio album recorded by a Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, released in June 1983. It was his first LP issued under the Moon Label which was distributed by the Alfa Records at the time....	Best 10 Albums	(Songwriter, producer, arranger, performer: Yamashita)
1986 (28th)	Pocket Music	Excellent Albums	(Songwriter, producer, arranger, performer: Yamashita)
1988 (30th)	Boku no Naka no Shounen	Excellent Albums	(Songwriter, producer, arranger, performer: Yamashita)
1991 (33rd)	Artisan	Excellent Albums	(Songwriter, producer, arranger, performer: Yamashita)
1993 (35th)	Quiet Life	Greatest Album	(Producer and arranger: Yamashita / Performer and songwriter: Mariya Takeuchi Mariya Takeuchi is a Japanese singer-songwriter.Takeuchi was born in Taisha city in the Hikawa district of Shimane Prefecture. She spent a year studying in the United States while she was at high school. Her musical career started in 1978 while she was studying at Keio University, with the single "Modotte-Oide,... )
2003 (45th)	"Christmas Eve"	Special Prizes	(Songwriter, producer, arranger, performer: Yamashita)

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 :************...
Year	Song	Category	Personnel
1994 (9th)	Impressions	Grand-prix Album	(Producer and arranger: Yamashita / Songwriter and performer: Mariya Takeuchi / arranger: Katsuhisa Hattori / recording engineer: Yasuo Sato)
1998 (13th)	Cozy	Pop Albums of the Year	(Songwriter, producer, arranger, performer: Yamashita)

External links

• Official website (Japanese
  Japanese language
  is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
  
  )
• Artist Page in Warner Music Japan
• An account of Christmas Eve (Made in Japan ONLY) (in English)