And Now for Something Completely Different....

It's Groovy, Man

Hibari Misora.

And now for something completely different.


It is 1967. The winds of change are in the air, as Paul McCartney and John Lennon are going all psychedelic with 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.' It would go on to become iconic and change music forever.

I bet you didn't even know there was a completely different kind of rock and roll far away.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the Japanese were still harkening back to the early '60s, when everyone was absolutely clean-cut and dressed to the nines. It also was part of the act for the keyboardist or drummer bass player or, well, someone to make fierce grimaces at the camera at some point, to prove how 'crazy' they all were or something. The Animals were probably the apotheosis of that trend during the mid-60s, along with the Beach Boys.

Jackey Yoshikawa.

So, here we have an absolutely brilliant performance (though some pretty weak camera work). It is Hibari Misora with  Jackey Yoshikawa and his Blue Comets, performing "Makkana Taiyo (Red Sun)."

I have absolutely no idea what the song is about. It doesn't really matter to me anyway. It's just captivating. If this doesn't take you back to another time, nothing will.

Lyrics by Osamu Yoshioka and music by Nobuo Hara.

2019