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| Miyuki Nakajima | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 23, 1952 |
| Origin | Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan |
| Genre(s) | Folk, folk rock, rock, kayokyoku, enka |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, composer, lyricist, radio-DJ, author, actress |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals Guitars |
| Years active | 1975 - present |
| Label(s) | AARD-VARK/Pony Canyon Yamaha Music Communications |
| Website | www.miyuki.jp |
Miyuki Nakajima (中島 みゆき Nakajima Miyuki?) (born February 23, 1952 ) is a Japanese vocalist, guitarist, lyricist, composer and radio personality. As a principal Japanese female veteran singer-songwriter who is often compared with Yumi Matsutoya, she has released 35 studio albums, 40 singles, 2 live albums and multiple compilations to date, and those sales have been estimated more than 21 million copies. [1]
In the mid 1970s, Nakajima signed to the Canyon Records and launched her recording career with debut single "Azami Jo no Lullaby". After rising to fame thanks to hit of "The Parting Song (Wakareuta)" released in 1977, she has enjoyed her successful career as a singer-songwriter, most strikingly in the early 1980s. She produced four singles that sold more than a million copies in the last two decades, and one of them "Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)"/"Headlight, Taillight" made her the oldest female artist who reached number-one on the Japanese record chart. She is also well-known for her experimental theatres called "Yakai" performed every year-end from 1989 through 1998. The idiosyncratic acts which featured scenarios and songs she wrote has been continued irregularly in recent years.
In addition to works as a solo artist, Nakajima wrote over 90 compositions for numerous singers, and made several number one hits — "Abayo" performed by Naoko Ken, "Kosa ni Fukarete" performed by Shizuka Kudo, and "Sorafune (Ship in the Air)" performed by Tokio. She is one of the Japanese songwriters who has the most cover versions which were performed by non-Japanese East Asian singers (especially in Taiwan and Hong Kong).
Nakajima is one of the literarily acclaimed Japanese songwriter of modern times, winning a couple of the country's Record Awards for her contributions as a lyricist. She is known as the sole musician whom was a participants of the National Language Council of Japan, took part in the late 1990s.[2]
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In February 1952, Miyuki Nakajima (中島 美雪 Nakajima Miyuki?) was born in Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido. Her grandfather Buichi was former politician of Hokkaido, and her father Shinichi ran a hospital of obstetrics and gynecology. When she was five years old, her family moved from Sapporo to Iwanai, where they had lived for six years. Nakajima had mainly lived in Obihiro City when she was a teenager. She is one of the most eminent graduates from Obihiro Hakuyou High School, along with a singer-songwriter Miwa Yoshida and a television announcer Shinichiro Azumi. She entered Fuji Women's University in Sapporo, and finished educational process in 1974.
When she was a third grade students of high school, she experienced live performance for the first time, playing self-penned song called "Tsugumi no Uta" at the stage of cultural festival. Since then, Nakajima launched participation to be a musician gradually.
In 1972, Nakajima participated in a folk contest held at the Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall in Tokyo, and then she played a song called "Atashi Tokidoki Omouno". Her songwriting won the prize, and her performance was released as a part of an album which recorded the contest. This became her first recorded material.
After graduating the university, Nakajima continued striving to be a professional musician for nearly a year. Reportedly, she was already writing more than a hundred songs before she debuted.
In May 1975, her composition "Kizutsuita Tsubasa (Wings of Love -I Knew Nothing-)" won the prize on the 9th Popular Song Contest (also known by its abbreviation "Popcon"), organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation. After the contract with the Yamaha and Canyon Records, she debuted with a single "Azami Jo no Lullaby" that was released in September of the same year. In October, Nakajima entered the above mentioned contest with another her song "Jidai (Time Goes Around)", and gained the prize. It also won grand-prix of the 6th World Popular Song Festival, the other awards organised by Yamaha and held in December. [3]
In May 1976, she released the first studio album entitled Watashi no Koe ga Kikoemasuka. Since then, she has been worked as a prolific recording artist vigorously, producing one album a year. In the same year, Nakajima produced the number-one hit single as a composer for the first time, through "Abayo" which was recorded by Naoko Ken and sold over 700,000 copies. Throughout her over 30-year career, she has been contributing some 90 compositions as a songwriter for other artists, and making some of them huge hits such as "Shiawase Shibai"(recorded by Junko Sakurada), "Kamome wa Kamome"(a comeback single for Ken, released in 1978), and "If I Could Take to the Sky (Kono Sora wo Tobetara)" (performed by Tokiko Kato, released in 1978). Nakajima occasionally released retrospective albums which comprised songs written for other artists. The first one, Okaerinasai came out in 1979 has sold more than 500,000 units, and it became one of the best-selling albums for her.
Like the other then popular folk-rock singers in Japan such as Takuro Yoshida and Yosui Inoue, she has refused to appear on any kind of television program after she gained popularity, except handful of specials. Still Nakajima promoted her materials on TV in early career, particularly through the Cocky Pop which was sponsored by her management office Yamaha.
Miyuki Nakajima's fifth single "Wakareuta (The Parting Song)", released in 1977, became her commercial breakthrough song as a singer. The song reached number-one on the Oricon for only a week, kicking out "Nagisa no Sindbad" by the Pink Lady from the top of the hit parade. "The Parting Song" has finally sold more than 700,000 copies and became one of that year's biggest hits on the Japanese record chart.
Her 4th studio album entitled Aishiteiru to Ittekure built up her long-lasting popularity as a performer. The album that featured "The Parting Song" also includes the other highlight; a protest song entitled "Sejou (World's Context)", which became popular after used in the well-known TV drama Kimpachi Sensei in 1981.
In addition to the career as a recording artist, Nakajima has been known for the working as a personality of radio programs. Most eminent is All Night Nippon which has been one of the longest lasting programs aired by the Nippon Broadcasting System, which she participated as a host from April 1979 through March 1987. Instead of TV appearances, she fostered her popularity through the witty and somewhat manic talking on the program.
Most of her compositions came out in the 1970s and 1980s are featuring lyrics which exposed grief or hatred explicitly. Sometimes such her works gained mixed reputations. Particularly, her 1980 album Ikiteitemo Iidesuka (it stands for "May I Live?" in Japanese), and its lead-off track "Urami Masu" (it features haunting lyric which means "I'll continue having a grudge against you 'til I die", and vocals like sobbing) brought about controversy because of their extreme titles.
The first half of the 1980s was commercial heyday for a singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima. Seven her studio albums that were released at that era (from Ikiteitemo Iidesuka to miss M.) reached the number-one on the Oricon Charts successively. "Akujo", a more accessible tune than her previous materials, was released as a single in autumn 1981. The song became one of the biggest JP hits of the following year, providing her with first number-one spot on the Oricon singles chart since "The Parting Song" released in 1977. Kansuigyo, her eighth studio album that featured another interpretation of "Akujo" is most commercially successful long-playing stuff for her.[4] The album peaked at the number one spot on the Oricon for six weeks, and also reached the top of the Japanese year-end albums chart of 1982. [5] In the same year, she also produced a couple of top-3 charting singles; "Yuwaku" and "Unrequited Love".
As a composer and lyricist, Nakajima continued to write for other artists and gained success. "Suzume (Sparrow)", the first solo single for ex-Pink Lady Keiko Masuda whom was not successful at that time, led the performer to the top-10 spot again. In 1983, Nakajima won the 25th Japan Record Award for her songwriting on "Haru Nanoni", a song sung by then teenage pop icon Yoshie Kashiwabara.
By contrast, her record sales were on the decline in the mid 1980s. In those years, she groped for her own musical style. Many gorgeous people's names were listed on her albums. Those records were mixed by Bob Clearmountain and Steve Boyer, and mastered by Ted Jensen. The singles released in 1985, "Tsumetai Wakare (Cold Farewell)" and "Atai no Natsuyasumi" featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica and synthesizer. [6] [7] In this era, Nakajima was worked with some important musical partners. In her records and concerts, Tsugutoshi Goto and Kazuo Shiina worked as the producer, arranger, composer and bass player. Goto and Nakajima also united songwriter team in the end of 1980s to early 1990s, and they wrote many songs for idol singer Shizuka Kudo. In the album 36.5°C and Nakajima Miyuki, she collaborated with Yoshihiro Kai, a reader of Kai Band. He produced 36.5°C, and composed the single "Kamen" (It also included in Nakajima Miyuki).
In 1988, Nakajima released her 18th studio album, Goodbye Girl. This album was produced and arranged by Ichizo Seo. Seo was known for his work on many albums, such as Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, Takuro Yoshida, Chage and Aska, Mariya Takeuchi and Rita Coolidge. Nakajima considered him as the best musical partner for her, and she has been working with him since the end of the 1980s.
Seo produced many of her masterpieces in the 1980-90s. Especially, East Asia is well-received among reviewers , listers and musicians. Koshi Inaba, a vocalist and lyricist of B'z selected this album as a one of the best albums released in 1992. "Asai Nemuri (Shallow Sleep)", First single from East Asia became first millionseller record for Nakajima.
In the mid 1990s, she wrote a couple of theme songs for Ie Nakiko (Homeless Child), the TV drama series starring Yumi Adachi and which was aired on the NTV. The first one, a song entitled "Sora to Kimi no Aida ni (Between the Sky and You)" was released as a single in May 1994, and debuted at the number-one on the Japanese Singles Chart. The song became her most commercially successful record to date, selling in excess of 1.4 million copies. The other her composition "Wanderers Song (Tabibito no Uta)" was featured on the sequel of the drama series aired on the following year, and it also gained huge commercial success like the above-mentioned song.
Daiginjo, her compilation which was brought out in March 1996 provided her with last number-one spot on the albums chart, making her the oldest female artist who has produced number-one album on the Japanese music chart at that time (the record was overtaken by Yumi Matsutoya and Mariya Takeuchi in later years).
However, each of her studio albums released in the 1990s were commercially lackluster, and some of them failed to reach the top-10 on the chart. Tsuki; Wings and Hi; Wings released in 1999 are the worst selling albums for her, both of them has sold less than 50,000 copies.[4]
Lyrics written by Nakajima has been acclaimed literarily and educationally. She is known as the first and the sole musician whom was a participants of the National Language Council of Japan, took part in the late 1990s.[8]
A quarter of a century later from her debut, Miyuki Nakajima left longtime Pony Canyon label and moved to newly founded Yamaha Music Communications. Then she released a double A-side single "Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)"/"Headlight Taillight", which later became her most well-known songs. She wrote them for the theme songs for Project X; Chousensha Tachi, the acclaimed television documentary program which was premiered on the NHK in March 2000. The single was debuted at the number 15 on the Oricon in July 2000, and it kept on charting for over 2 years. To express thanks for the unexpected commercial success of the theme songs of Project X, Nakajima decided to appear the 53th annual music program Kōhaku Uta Gassen aired by the NHK on New Year's Eve of 2002. It gained public attention because it was her first live performance on TV since the late 1970s.
In 2006, Nakajima wrote the song called "Sorafune (Ship in the Air)" for the boy band Tokio. The song was used as the closing theme for My Boss, My Hero, the TV drama starring the group's frontman Tomoya Nagase. It became the second most commercially successful materials for them which followed their debut single, remaining on the Oricon chart for more than a year and selling approximately 480,000 copies. "Ship in the Air" was also the first chart-topper that Nakajima contributed both lyric and melody for other artist in 30 years, since "Abayo" recorded by Naoko Ken in 1976.[9] After a month from the release of her studio album Lullaby Singer that features her own interpretation of "Ship in the Air", her contribution for the Tokio won the "best lyrics" of the 48th Japan Record Award. [10]
Her latest studio album entitled I Love You, Do You Hear Me? was released on October 3, 2007. The album debuted at the number-four on the Oricon with in excess of 39,000 copies sold in its first week of release, and its provided Nakajima with the 34th top-ten hits on the Japanese albums charts.
She has produced over a dozen live performances under the series name 夜會 Yakai (Night Show). One per year from 1989 - 1998, and two so far since 2000 (both were presented twice).
The very first ones were just her interpreting existing songs in different personas. They gradually evolved into full productions that have intricate story lines with brand new material written for the stage. Most of these have been released on DVD.
There are also DVDs of her stage concerts.
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Yousei Florence | Fairy Musica (voice) |
| 1997 | Tokyo Biyori | Bar hostess |
| 2005 | Sayonara Color | Doctor Iwaodake |
| 2005 | Glass no Tsukai (Dreaming of Light) | Fortune-teller |
| 2006 | The Mamiya Brothers | Junko Mamiya |
