加川良

Ryo Kagawa 加川 良 Kagawa Ryō November 21 1947 – April 5 2017 Was A Japanese Folk Singer And Singer-Songwriter. Kagawa Was Known As A Central Figure In The Kansai Folk-Music Boom Of The Late 1960s And Early 1970s In Japan And Was A Key Influence On The Early Musical Development Of Such Major Japanese Artists As Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi. Kagawa Was Born In Hikone Shiga Prefecture In The Kansai Region Of Japan Anchored By The Major Centers Of Osaka Kyoto And Kobe. As A Student At Kyoto Sangyo University Kagawa Was Active In The School's Popular Music Club Singing In Beatles And Rolling Stones Cover Bands. At The Start Of The 1970s Kagawa Was Employed With Art Music Publishers Which Handled Copyright Matters For The Underground Record Club URC A Record Label And Distribution Company That Played A Central Role In The Kansai Folk Music Boom Of The Late-1960s And Early 1970s. While Working With URC Kagawa Developed A Relationship With Prominent Kansai Folk Artist Wataru Takada And Influenced By Takada And Other Artists Such As Woody Guthrie Ramblin' Jack Elliott Hiroshi Iwai Nobuyasu Okabayashi And Others Kagawa Began Singing And Composing Folk Himself. In 1970 He Put In An Unscheduled Appearance At The 2nd Nakatsugawa Folk Jamboree Where He Debuted The Anti-War Anthem "Kyokun I" "Lesson I" That Catapulted Him Into Folk's Mainstream. "Kyokun I" Would Become Kagawa's Signature Song And Would Go On To Form The Basis For "parody" Tunes Such As Kenichi Nagira's "Kyokun II" "Lesson II" And Kan Mikami's "Kyokun No. 110" "Lesson No. 110" . Kagawa Made His Official Record Debut From The URC Label In 1971 With The Release Of His Album Kyokun Lessons And Would Follow This With 1972's Shin'ai Naru Q Ni Sasagu Dedicated To My Dear Q And The Live Album Yaa Hey Which He Recorded With Nakagawa Isato In 1973. In Addition Folk Superstar Takuro Yoshida's 1972 Album Genki Desu I'm Fine Featured The Song "Kagawa Ryo No Tegami" "A Letter From Kagawa Ryo" Which Featured Music By Yoshida And Lyrics By Kagawa. In 1974 Kagawa Released The Album Out Of Mind Through The Bellwood Records Label Ja ベルウッド・レコード . In 1975 He Appeared In The Musical Juugatsu Ha Tasogare No Kuni October Land Of Twilight Produced By Musical Theatre Troupe Tokyo Kid Brothers Composing The Music For The Production And Serving As Its Sound Producer. The Same Year He Would Participate In The Recording Of Nakagawa Isato's Omnibus Live Album Hanauta To Otsuki-San Hummed Tunes And Mister Moon With Fellow Artists Ito Takao Otsuka Masaji Kanamori Kosuke Shiba Nishioka Kyozo And Osada 'Taco' Kazuyoshi In Kobe. Kagawa Would Follow These Projects With The Albums Minami-Yuki No Haiuei Southbound Highway Which He Recorded In Memphis Tennessee In 1976 And Komazawa Atari De Somewhere Around Komazawa Which He Recorded With Rock Band Lazy Hip In 1978. In The 1990s Kagawa Would Go On To Record More Albums Including One 1991 And 2 1993 . Over A Four-Decade Career Kagawa's Eclectic Musical Style Has Incorporated Elements Of Folk Rock And Pop In An Interview With The Asahi Newspaper In 2001 The Artist Expressed A Hope That He "might Find My Own Music By The Time I Reach 120 Years Of Age Or So." Despite The Artist's Roots In Japan's Protest Folk Movement And The Highly Critical Anti-War Sentiment Underpinning His Signature "Kyokun I " Kagawa Has Claimed In Published Interviews To Be Largely Ignorant Of "politics." However He Has Stated That He Senses An Ongoing Need For Politically Critical Voices In Contemporary Japan And Has Vowed To Continue Performing "Kyokun I" "until I Die." Kagawa Urges Anti-Patriotism Rather Than Blind Faith In The State And The Lyrics Of "Kyokun I" Call For Individuals To Reject State Demands To Sacrifice Oneself In War. Kagawa Has Also Noted With Unease What He Sees As A Trend Toward Emphases On Patriotism In Japan In Recent Years And Suggests That This Is Precisely The Time At Which Anti-Patriotic Voices Need To Be Heard. Nonetheless He Advocates A Constructive Approach That Involves Rewiring Nationalism In Order To Build A Country In Which "everyone Accepts One Another Everyone Is Loved. That's What A Truly 'beautiful Country' Means To Me."
Kagawa Died In Tokyo In April 2017. Discography
Albums
Kyokun Lessons URC Records 1971
Shin'ai Naru Q Ni Sasagu Dedicated To My Dear Q URC Records 1972.
Yaa Hey URC Records 1973
Out Of Mind Bellwood Records 1974
Juugatsu Ha Tasogare No Kuni October Land Of Twilight Produced In Conjunction With Musical Troupe Tokyo Kid Brothers Warner-Pioneer 1975.
Minami-Yuki No Haiuei Southbound Highway Teichiku/Black Records 1976
Komazawa Atari De Somewhere Around Komazawa Teichiku/BlackRecords 1978
Maboroshi No Folk Live Kessaku-Shu Best-Of Folk Live Performances Collection Kagawa Ryo Live At The '71 Nakatsugawa Folk Jamboree 1978.
Propose NEWS Records 1981
A LIVE Recorded Under The Name 'Kagawa Ryo With Murakami Ritsu' Bellwood Records 1983
ONE Alfa Records 1991
2 Tu' Japan Records 1993
R.O.C.K. Recorded Under The Name 'Kagawa Ryo With TE-CHILI' UK Project Records 1996
USED Recorded Under The Name 'Kagawa Ryo With Sugino Yo' TWINS Records 2002
USED 2 Recorded Under The Name 'Kagawa Ryo With Sugino Yo' TWINS Records 2004
USED END Recorded Under The Name 'Kagawa Ryo With Sugino Yo' TWINS Records 2007
60roku-Maru Debut/Kagawa Ryo Live DVD TWINS Records 2007 Singles
Kyokun I Lesson I /Zeni No Kōyōryoku Ni Tsuite On The Efficacy Of Money 1971
Poketto No Naka No Ashita Tomorrow In My Pocket /Sono Asa That Morning 1972
Kōchi/Jō No Barādo The Ballad Of Joe 1976
Onna No Akashi Proof Of Womanhood /Kimi Ni Oyasumi Goodnight To You 1978
Cosmos/Nihonkai Ga Hirogatteiru The Sea Of Japan Stretches Before Me 1981
Gosuperu – Uso Demo Iikara Gospel – Even A Lie Would Be Alright /Tanjōbi Birthday 1981 read less