Popular Songs by Eikichi Yazawa: A Curated Selection of Masterpieces from the Boss of Japan’s Rock Scene!

Funky Monkey BabyYazawa Eikichi

Carol (Funky Monkey Baby)

A musician from Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, whose impact is so great that when people in Japan hear “rock ’n’ roller,” he’s the first that comes to mind.

After performing as the bass vocalist of the rock band Carol, which had a tremendous influence on Japan’s rock scene, he made his solo debut and is known for leaving behind numerous classics such as “Tomaranai Ha–Ha,” “I LOVE YOU, OK,” and “Jikan yo Tomare.” Beyond his musical style, he also helped elevate the status of rock in Japan by becoming the first rock singer to top the singers’ category in the 1977 income rankings, making him an artist who dramatically transformed the Japanese rock scene.

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Hoshino Takashi

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meteorYazawa Eikichi

Eikichi Yazawa “Nagareboshi (Shooting Star)” MANIAC NIGHT ver. Guitar Cover

A song included on Eikichi Yazawa’s 21st album, “Anytime Woman,” released on June 24, 1992.

It’s a mid-tempo rock track that, in a plain yet rugged manner, conveys the feelings of a man gunning his motorcycle toward a stormy life.

JapaneseYazawa Eikichi

Maybe it’s precisely because he’s the legend of the rock world, Yazawa, that he can sing a song that asks questions like this.

Office workers do live in a competitive world and may be under control in some ways, but there are reasons why they can’t just quit so easily.

Still, to blow off steam, listen to Eikichi and think, “If I really want to quit, I’ll quit!”

If there’s a dream beyond the door, keep knocking until it opens.Yazawa Eikichi

Eikichi Yazawa's quote: If there's a dream beyond the door, keep knocking until it opens. #Short

Eikichi Yazawa is a major artist with many devoted fans, but it’s said that because his mother left home early and his father died young due to the aftereffects of the atomic bomb, he was passed around among relatives in his childhood, then raised by his grandmother, spending a poor boyhood.

His unique quotes about never giving up on dreams are words of truth—and undeniably cool.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Come on in. Coke ’80 [THIS IS A SONG FOR COCA-COLA]Yazawa Eikichi

1980 commercial Coca-Cola This is a song for Coca-Cola Eikichi Yazawa

Speaking of Eikichi Yazawa’s Coca-Cola commercial songs, I think the most famous is the 1982 “Yes Coke Yes,” which quotes “YES MY LOVE — Ai wa Itsumo —.” However, here is Yazawa’s Coca-Cola CM song that was released two years earlier.

It does feel less catchy than the ’82 version.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Yes Coke Yes `82Yazawa Eikichi

Eikichi Yazawa Cola CM Yes Coke Yes '82

The original is Eikichi Yazawa’s “YES MY LOVE — Ai wa Itsumo —,” but it was used as the theme song for a 1982 Coca-Cola commercial in which he himself appeared, and the version used in the commercial changed the chorus line “YES MY LOVE” to “YES COKE YES.”

SOMEBODY’S NIGHTYazawa Eikichi

Eikichi Yazawa – Somebody’s Night – ap bank fes ’09

Rendered in a light, witty poetic touch, it portrays a man who betrays his beloved and descends into the sweet trap of an affair, and expresses—through stylish sound—the story of a hot yet fragile bond with a poisonously alluring woman.

This masterpiece is Eikichi Yazawa’s “SOMEBODY’S NIGHT,” released in 1989.