Timeless Masterpieces of Eiichi Ohtaki That Make You Fall in Love — The Niagara Sound

POPS writer/editorKEI
Since discovering music during my school days, I’ve mainly listened to Japanese and Korean pop. I have experience writing articles for sites like Utaten. 2000s J-pop and 2010s K-pop were especially the soundtrack of my youth. With the mindset that “good is good,” I enjoy music across genres. Thanks to past work environments and their influence, I was exposed to lots of classic rock and kayōkyoku (Japanese popular songs), which may have broadened the scope of what I love. At RAG MUSIC, I currently focus on K-pop and J-pop. I strive to edit with a feel for the scene and an eye for hit potential.
Editor-in-Chief, RAG MUSICHane Keisuke
Editor-in-chief of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. After working in a music studio and handling wedding sound, joined the RAG MUSIC editorial team in 2016. Experienced with a variety of instruments: marching band in elementary school, clarinet in junior high school wind ensemble, and drums in a band from high school onward. Drawing on my own musical activities and the experience gained through my work, I produce daily articles, including various song introductions, features on music festivals around the country, and live reports. In music, I enjoy not only rock from Japan and abroad but, lately, a wide range of J-pop as well.

Featuring the music of Eiichi Ohtaki, a multifaceted figure not only as a musician but also as a recording engineer, producer, and label owner!

Often called a pioneer of Japanese rock, he was a member of the band Happy End, which was active around 1970, and after going solo he founded the Niagara label.

He released meticulously crafted masterpieces such as NIAGARA TRIANGLE Vol.

1 and NIAGARA CALENDAR, as well as the timeless classic Yume de Aetara (I Wish I Could Meet You in My Dreams).

Though his more idiosyncratic sounds initially struggled to gain acceptance, his 1981 album A LONG VACATION became a historic landmark.

Ohtaki’s intricately constructed songs are said to stem from his student days, when he listened widely and analyzed musical structures.

A trove of classics that can be seen as laying the foundations of J-pop.

The unfading Niagara Sound continues to shine brilliantly across the ages.

Niagara Sound and Eiichi Ohtaki’s Timeless Masterpieces of Falling in Love (41–50)

A Happy EndingOhtaki Eiichi

Happy ending

A Happy EndingOhtaki Eiichi

Eiichi Ohtaki, who was active mainly in the 1970s and 80s as a singer-songwriter and a songwriter for other artists, released this song in February 1997 as the theme for Fuji TV’s Monday 9 p.m.

drama “Love Generation.” It reached No.

2 on the Oricon charts and sold a total of 970,000 copies, making it his biggest hit single.

Including the B-side “Let’s Start with Happy End,” the title plays on the name of the band “Happy End,” which Ohtaki once belonged to.

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In conclusion

I introduced some of Eiichi Ohtaki’s classic songs.

Did you find a new favorite or make any new discoveries? From long-beloved tracks like “Kimi wa Tennenshoku” to songs covered by many artists, all the way to cult-favorite gems—the range is really wide! Ohtaki’s pop music is the very essence of “music,” and listening to it is both uplifting and soothing.