But none of the local Presley-alikes holds a candle to
Masaaki Hirao, the Japanese Elvis. Masaaki Hirao Masaaki was one of the famed
Rokabirii Sannin Otoko (three rockabillies), alongside singers Mickey Curtis
and Keijiro Yamashita. Yamashita was better known for his ballads (with covers
of Diana, Today’s Teardrops and others) and sounds more like the Nipponese Pat
Boone or Paul Anka; Mickey Curtis was (well, still is) an actor who did a nice
line in Neil Sedaka covers, but Masaaki Hirao was the Number One star of Nippon
Rock ‘n Roll. The three men would record an album together, Rock n’ Roll
Forever, in 1972.
The rokabirii buumu (rockabilly boom) was born in 1958.
Rokabirii may resemble US rockabilly, but the Nipponese version is, as music
historian Howard Williams notes (in the sleeve notes to the collection Nippon
Rock'n'Roll The Birth Of Japanese Rokabirii),
‘a more varied dish’. Hirao and his oddly-named backing band the All Stars
Wagon’s ‘covers of Eddie Cochran, Elvis Presley and Little Richard are not
kitsch renditions, but raw, desperate rockers. Hear a Paul Anka makeover, but
put through a rocking mangle; a smattering of jazz; a twist of New Orleans; and
some Japanese folk songs with a greased-down quiff. American occupation a
distant memory, these boys wanted to party’.
Other Japanese acts had covered western pop hits before:
actress and singer Chiemi Eri released an English-language version of Rock
Around the Clock as early as 1955. Yet
although it’s easy to extract the Michael from these funny foreigners and their
difficulty in pronouncing certain consonants, rokabirii posed a real problem in
Japan, with the authorities fearing of a wave of delinquency not dissimilar to
the cinema and theatre riots seen in the US and UK. The rokabirii buumu only
lasted a couple of years, but for a nation of teenagers denied access to
Western music (don’t forget, this all happened just over a decade after the end
of the Second World War) it must have been incredibly exciting.
Still, when Hirao sings ‘let’s lock!’ on his version of Jailhouse
Rock it does sound completely ridiculous.
Enjoy!
OK, that's awful. But for the non-English speaking countries, at the time, the important was probably the attitude, good singing or not, good english or not... Thanks for sharing, Darryl
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob! The boy could certainly rock when he wanted (or was allowed) to!
DeleteYes, awful, but in a fun and honest way.
ReplyDeleteHold on a minute... played bass on the whole album, it was fun to make it and I think it's great! We also did a live show to promote the record and that was a blast too! - Alan Merrill (Composer of "I Love Rock N Roll")
ReplyDeleteHold on a minute... played bass on the whole "Rock N Roll Forever" album in 1972, it was fun to make it and I think it's great! - Alan Merrill (Composer of "I Love Rock N Roll")
ReplyDeleteThanks Alan - it is great! Nice job!
Delete