The World Popular Song Festival, also known as Yamaha Music Festival and unofficially as the "Oriental Eurovision", was an international song contest held in 1970-1989. It was organised 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...

 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...

, 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...

 from 1970 until 1989. The first edition of the World Popular Song Festival (WPSF) took place on 20, 21 and 22 November 1970 with 37 participating countries from all continents.

Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 was represented at the 1970 edition by Daliah Lavi

Daliah Lavi

Daliah Lavi is an Israeli actress, singer and model.Born in Shavei Zion, British Mandate of Palestine, she studied ballet in Stockholm, Sweden, where she appeared in her first film Hemsöborna...

, famous for her role in Casino Royale

Casino Royale (1967 film)

Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...

(1967), the James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 parody featuring Woody Allen

Woody Allen

Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...

 as well with Samantha Gilles in 1987 ending second with the song Hold Me. Lavi performed the chanson

Chanson

A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...

 "Prends L'Amour" and ended up 13th in the Grand Final (the contest had two semi-finals and one final). The Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 delegated world-known jazz singer Rita Reys

Rita Reys

Rita Reys is a jazz singer from the Netherlands.At the 1960 jazz festival of Juan Les Pins , she received the title 'Europe’s first lady of jazz'.-Early career:...

 with the song "Just Be You", a composition by her husband Pim Jacobs. Czech singer Helena Vondráčková

Helena Vondrácková

Helena Vondráčková is a Czech singer whose career has spanned five decades.- Early life/career :Vondráčková spent her childhood years in the town of Slatinany. She took piano lessons from an early age...

 sang "Uncle Charlie" a novelty song inspired by Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...

. Other famous 1970 participants were 1969 Eurovision winner Frida Boccara

Frida Boccara

Frida Boccara was a French singer.Frida Boccara was born in Casablanca, Morocco. She submitted the song "Autrefois" to the French Eurovision Song Contest selection panel in 1964 but she was unsuccessful...

 for France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Jacques Michel for Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and Ted Mulry

Ted Mulry

Ted Mulry was a singer, songwriter, bass player and guitarist. He was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England but achieved his success in Australia, firstly as a solo performer, and then leading his own band Ted Mulry Gang, sometimes officially credited as just TMG.-Solo:Ted Mulry first came to the...

 for Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, who scored a national number 1 hit with his entry. Winner of the 1st WPSF was Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 with the duo Hedva & David. More than 2 million copies of their winning entry "Ani Holem Al Naomi" ("I Dream Of Naomi") were sold worldwide, giving a serious credibility boost to the new Festival.

Well established names as well as new talents tried their fortune at the WPSF: a very young ABBA

ABBA

ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

 under the name Björn

Björn Ulvaeus

Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...

 & Benny

Benny Andersson

Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...

 with uncredited backing vocals by their partners Agnetha

Agnetha Fältskog

Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...

 and Anni-Frid

Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Anni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen , is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer...

 performing the track "Santa Rosa" with little success (later relegated to the B-side of their second single "He Is Your Brother"), Céline Dion

Celine Dion

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...

 (Best Song Award in 1982), Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...

 (Participating in 1982), Tina Charles, Eros Ramazzotti

Eros Ramazzotti

Eros Luciano Walter Ramazzotti , known simply as Eros Ramazzotti, is an Italian singer and songwriter. Ramazzotti is enormously popular in Italy, and is well known in most non-English-speaking European countries and in the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in both...

, Daniela Romo

Daniela Romo

Daniela Romo is a Mexican singer, actress and TV host. Daniela Romo was born Teresita Presmanes Corona in Mexico City to Teresa Corona. Her parents never married, and Daniela and her sister Patricia were raised by their grandmother...

, Gianna Nannini

Gianna Nannini

Gianna Nannini is an Italian female singer-songwriter and pop musician. She may be best known for her 1986 song "Bello e Impossibile".-Personal life:...

, Demis Roussos

Demis Roussos

Artemios Ventouris Roussos is a Greek singer and performer, best known for being the main musical partner of movie soundtrack composer Vangelis and a string of international hit records as a solo performer in the 1960s and 1970s...

, Bonnie Tyler

Bonnie Tyler

Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...

, B.J. Thomas, LaToya Jackson, Erasure

Erasure

Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...

, Cissy Houston

Cissy Houston

Emily "Cissy" Houston is a Grammy Award–winning American soul and gospel singer. She led a very successful career as a backup singer for such artists as Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Wishbone Ash and Aretha Franklin, and is now primarily a solo artist...

, Italian singer-songwriter Alice

Alice (Italian singer)

Alice , also known as Alice Visconti is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist, active since 1971...

 and many others.

In the history of the WPSF the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 has been the most successful, winning the "WPSF Grand Prix" 5 times in the seventies (even three times in row). The United Kingdom is followed by the United States

United States

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

 with 4 Grand Prix victories. Smaller countries won as well: Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 in 1972 with Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith (singer)

Ernie Smith is a reggae singer, with a deep baritone voice, who had his greatest success in the late 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:Smith was born in Kingston and raised in St. Ann...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 in 1974 with Ellen Nikolaysen

Ellen Nikolaysen

Ellen Helen Nikolaysen is a Norwegian singer/actress. She participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 as part of the Bendik Singers group with the song It's Just A Game and again as backing vocalist for fellow Bendik Singer Anne-Karine Strøm in 1974 before competing in her third...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 in 1981 with Osvaldo Rodríguez

Osvaldo Rodríguez

Osvaldo Rodríguez is a Cuban musician.In Cuba, he was director and founder of the quartet “Voces del Trópico" and also of the "Los 5-U4" Group, with which he became known nationally...

 and Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 in 1983 with Newton Family.

Grand Prix Winners

Year	Country	Artist	Title
1970		Hedva & David	"I Dream of Naomi"
1971		Martine Clémenceau Martine Clémenceau Martine Clémenceau is a French singer.She won the Yamaha Music Festival in 1971 with the song A jour l’amour. Then, she represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 with Sans toi, taking the 15th place....	"Un Jour l'Amour"
		Tsunehiko Kamijo & Rokumonsen	"Tabidachi No Uta"
1972		Capricorn	"Feeling"
		Ernie Smith Ernie Smith (singer) Ernie Smith is a reggae singer, with a deep baritone voice, who had his greatest success in the late 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:Smith was born in Kingston and raised in St. Ann...	"Life is Just for Livin'"
1973		Gilda Giuliani	"Parigi a Volte Cosa Fa"
		Shawn Phillips Shawn Phillips Shawn Phillips is a folk-rock musician, primarily influential in the 1960s and 1970s.Phillips has recorded twenty albums and worked with musicians including Donovan, Paul Buckmaster, J. Peter Robinson, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bernie Taupin, and many others...	All the Kings and Castles
		Keeley Ford	"Head over Heels"
1974		Ellen Nikolaysen Ellen Nikolaysen Ellen Helen Nikolaysen is a Norwegian singer/actress. She participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 as part of the Bendik Singers group with the song It's Just A Game and again as backing vocalist for fellow Bendik Singer Anne-Karine Strøm in 1974 before competing in her third...	"You Made Me Feel I Could Fly"
1975		Mister Loco Mister Loco Mr. Loco, also known as Mister Loco or Mr. Loco Band, is a Mexican band started during the mid-1970s, singing mostly in English, though occasionally in Spanish.-Biography:Formed in 1975...	"Lucky Man"
		Miyuki Nakajima Miyuki Nakajima is a Japanese vocalist, guitarist, lyricist, composer and radio personality. As a principal Japanese female veteran singer-songwriter she is often compared to Yumi Matsutoya, she has released 37 studio albums, 40 singles, 2 live albums and multiple compilations to date, and whose sales have been...	"Jidai (Time Goes Around)"
1976		Franco & Regina	"Amore Mio"
		Sandy Sandii & the Sunsetz Sandii & the Sunsetz were a Japanese technopop band that collaborated from 1979 until the 1990s. The Sunsetz, led by Makoto Kubota, and Sandii started as separate artists, and each have a separate discography...	"Goodbye Morning"
1977		Rags	"Can't Hide My Love"
		Mia Martini Mia Martini Mia Martini was an Italian singer.-Early life:Born Domenica Bertè in 1947 in Bagnara Calabra , she moved to Rome with her sister and her friend Renato Zero.-Career:She recorded her first records as Mimì Berté, but she soon decided to change her name to Mia...	"Ritratto di donna"
		Masanori Sera and Twist	"Anta no Ballade"
		Ajda Pekkan Ajda Pekkan Ayşe Ajda Pekkan is a Turkish pop singer and actress. Through a career spanning five decades thus far, Pekkan has released more than 20 albums and, with Sezen Aksu, is the most commercially successful female Turkish music artist with the sales of over 30 million copies worldwide. She is nicknamed...	"A Mes Amours"
1978		Tina Charles	Love Rocks
		Hiroshi Madoka	"Musoubana (Fly on All the Way)"
1979		Bonnie Tyler Bonnie Tyler Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...	"Sitting on the Edge of the Ocean"
		Crystal King Crystal King (band) is a Japanese rock and kayōkyoku band. They gained commercial success with their debut single which sold 1.5 million copies, and are remembered in Japan for their performance of the first theme songs of Fist of the North Star: "Ai o Torimodose!!" and "Yuria.....	"Daitokai (In the City of Strangers)"
1980		Mary MacGregor Mary MacGregor Mary MacGregor is an American singer, best known for singing the 1976 song "Torn Between Two Lovers", which topped the Billboard charts for two weeks.-Career:...	"What's The Use What's The Use (Mary MacGregor song) "What's the Use" is the title of a song by Mary MacGregor. In 1980, MacGrego won the Yamaha Music Festival with best song and best performance. The record was released in Japan.-Track listing:... "
1981		Osvaldo Rodríguez Osvaldo Rodríguez Osvaldo Rodríguez is a Cuban musician.In Cuba, he was director and founder of the quartet “Voces del Trópico" and also of the "Los 5-U4" Group, with which he became known nationally...	"Digamos Que Mas Da"
1982		Anne Bertucci	"Where Did We Go Wrong"
1983		Newton Family Neoton Família Neoton Família was one of the most successful Hungarian pop-bands, spanning several decades, with changes in members and line-up. Most active from 1977 to 1989, they released albums and toured in several foreign countries, also producing many of the most known hit songs in the country.- Band...	"Time Goes By"
1984		France Joli France Joli France Joli is a Canadian singer, born 1963, who is best known for the disco classic "Come to Me."-Teen stardom:A native of Montreal, Quebec, Joli grew up in the Montreal suburb of Dorion...	"Party Lights"
1985		Valeria Lynch Valeria Lynch -Biography:Valeria Lynch was born on January 7, 1952 in the neighborhood of Villa Urquiza, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Is the first child of the marriage of Maria Antonia Spano and José Julio Lancellotti....	"Rompecabezas"
1986		Stacy Lattisaw Stacy Lattisaw Stacy Lattisaw is an American R&B, dance, and gospel singer. Since the 1990s, she has exclusively sung gospel music, as a callback to her Christian roots.-Career:...	"Longshot"
1987		Pseudo Echo Pseudo Echo Pseudo Echo are an Australian New Wave band formed in 1982 in Melbourne. The original line-up consisted of Brian Canham , Pierre Gigliotti , Tony Lugton and Anthony Argiro . A later line-up included James Leigh and his brother, Vince Leigh...	"Take on the World"
1988		(Undecided)
1989		(Benefit Concert Only)

Awards

• Grand Prix International

• Grand Prix National 1975-1979

• Most Outstanding Performance Award (MOPA)

• Outstanding Performance Award (OPA)

• Outstanding Song Award (OSA)

• Kawakami Award

External links

• Official Site by Yamaha Music Foundation
• Detailed information about the WPSF - partly in English, partly in Dutch