The Mops
Encyclopedia
The Mops were a Japan
ese psychedelic rock
/garage rock
group active in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
group similar to The Ventures
, but soon after forming, Mikiharu Suzuki's brother Hiromitsu joined on lead vocals. The group began to play psychedelic rock
at the suggestion of their manager, who had brought home recordings of American hippie
groups such as Jefferson Airplane
from his trip to San Francisco. The group signed to JVC Records, the Japanese wing of Victor Records, and released a single in November 1967 called "Asamade Matenai", which hit #38 on the Japanese charts. In April 1968, the full-length debut, Psychedelic Sound in Japan, followed; the album included covers of "White Rabbit
" and "Somebody to Love
" by Jefferson Airplane, as well as "Light My Fire
" by The Doors
and two songs by The Animals
. They received much press for being the "first psychedelic band" in Japan, and performed with elaborate light shows.
Bassist Murakami quit the group in 1969, and guitarist Miyuki moved to bass. The group then signed with Liberty
/Toshiba
/EMI
, moving to a blues rock sound, and followed with the hits "Gekko Kamen (Moonlight Mask)" and "Goiken Muyo (No Excuse)", both of which charted in 1971. Several albums followed before the group's breakup in May 1974.
After The Mops, Hoshi remained in the music industry, working as an arranger. Hiromitsu Suzuki became a TV personality, and Mikiharu Suzuki embarked on a successful career in artist management. The group achieved a resurgence of cult fandom in America after their "theme song", entitled "I Am Just a Mops", was included on the '60s rarities compilation Nuggets II.
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 psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
/garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
group active in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
History
The Mops were formed in 1966 by a group of high schoolers: Mikiharu Suzuki (drums), Taro Miyuki (guitar), Masaru Hoshi (guitar), and Kaoru Murakami (bass). They began as an instrumental rockInstrumental rock
Instrumental rock is a type of rock music which emphasizes musical instruments, and which features very little or no singing.Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style, most notably Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Link...
group similar to The Ventures
The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
, but soon after forming, Mikiharu Suzuki's brother Hiromitsu joined on lead vocals. The group began to play psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
at the suggestion of their manager, who had brought home recordings of American hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
groups such as Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
from his trip to San Francisco. The group signed to JVC Records, the Japanese wing of Victor Records, and released a single in November 1967 called "Asamade Matenai", which hit #38 on the Japanese charts. In April 1968, the full-length debut, Psychedelic Sound in Japan, followed; the album included covers of "White Rabbit
White Rabbit (song)
"White Rabbit" is a song from Jefferson Airplane's 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow. It was released as a single and became the band's second top ten success, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" and "Somebody to Love
Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane song)
"Somebody to Love" is a rock song that was written by Darby Slick and originally recorded by 1960s folk rock band The Great Society and later by the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane...
" by Jefferson Airplane, as well as "Light My Fire
Light My Fire
"Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...
" by The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
and two songs by The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
. They received much press for being the "first psychedelic band" in Japan, and performed with elaborate light shows.
Bassist Murakami quit the group in 1969, and guitarist Miyuki moved to bass. The group then signed with Liberty
Liberty Records
Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...
/Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
/EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, moving to a blues rock sound, and followed with the hits "Gekko Kamen (Moonlight Mask)" and "Goiken Muyo (No Excuse)", both of which charted in 1971. Several albums followed before the group's breakup in May 1974.
After The Mops, Hoshi remained in the music industry, working as an arranger. Hiromitsu Suzuki became a TV personality, and Mikiharu Suzuki embarked on a successful career in artist management. The group achieved a resurgence of cult fandom in America after their "theme song", entitled "I Am Just a Mops", was included on the '60s rarities compilation Nuggets II.
Discography
- サイケデリック・サウンド・イン・ジャパン/Psychedelic Sounds in Japan (JVC Records, April 1968)
- ロックンロール'70/Rock & Roll '70 (Liberty RecordsLiberty RecordsLiberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...
, June 5, 1970) - 御意見無用(いいじゃないか) (Liberty, May 5, 1971)
- 雷舞 (Liberty, October 5, 1971)
- 雨/モップス'72/Mops '72 (Liberty)
- モップスと16人の仲間 (Liberty, July 5, 1972)
- モップス1969～1973/Mops 1969~1973 (Liberty, June 5, 1973)
- ラブ・ジェネレーション/モップス・ゴールデン・ディスク/Mops Golden Disk (Liberty, October 25, 1973)
- イグジット/Exit (Liberty, July 5, 1974)
External links
- The Mops at Nippop.com
- http://60spunk.m78.com/mops.htm
- http://progressive.homestead.com/japan.html