About this Record
Released in 1974 on CBS/Sony (SOLB 199), this vintage Japanese 7-inch single is a delightful tie-in for the popular NTV television drama series Mizumore Kousuke (水もれ甲介), starring beloved character actor Tetsuo Ishidate. While Ishidate’s warm, spoken-and-sung vocal delivery graces Side A’s insert theme ‘Samishiina…’, crate diggers and soundtrack aficionados will immediately notice the arrangement and composition credits: maestro Yuji Ohno (大野雄二), the legendary composer behind Lupin the 3rd and countless foundational Japanese jazz-funk and kayokyoku masterpieces.
Side B delivers the drama’s official main theme, performed by legendary studio session vocal trio Singers Three (シンガーズ・スリー), also composed and arranged by Yuji Ohno. Backed by Ohno’s signature breezy, soulful 1970s TV-groove orchestration, this 45 RPM release stands as a prime artifact of Showa-era television soundtrack culture that bridges nostalgic drama warmth with high-caliber studio craftsmanship.
Tracklist & Notes
- Side A: さみしいナ… (Samishiina…) – Tetsuo Ishidate (02:28)
Lyrics: Akio Shirai / Music & Arrangement: Yuji Ohno - Side B: 水もれ甲介 (Mizumore Kousuke) – Singers Three (03:05)
Lyrics: Akio Shirai / Music & Arrangement: Yuji Ohno
「お祭りの櫓のてっぺんで、粋に太鼓に寄りかかっている」
(Wife’s thought: On the cover, he leans stylishly against a traditional festival drum up on a wooden yagura scaffold.)
