This year’s summer weather has lasted a long time, and the end of the year is already here, even though we were talking about hot weather until recently.

 What was the year 2024 like for you?

 Looking back, many events come to mind.

 One of them was the Olympic Games in Paris. I am not good at sports and don’t know the rules of most of the events, but I enjoyed the success of the Japanese athletes.

 And I will never forget Celine Dion, who appeared at the finale of the opening ceremony. I couldn’t believe that it had been four years since she took a break from singing to recuperate, and her stunning voice brought tears to my eyes. This year’s grand finale will be Celine’s soulful “Hymn to Love”.

 Thank you very much for your continued support for this year’s music column.

 I hope you all have a wonderful New Year.

Lately, there have been several tributes to prominent figures in the music world, and while it feels lonely, it also brings me back to their music and fills me with gratitude for the incredible music they left us with.

Quincy Jones. When we think of Quincy, his song “Ai no Corrida” (1981) comes to mind, but I’ll set that aside for now. As a music producer, he worked for many years, and most notably, he brought together a group of unique, star musicians for the charity single “We Are the World” (1985) by USA for Africa, all within the limited time of a few hours—a well-known story.

Today, I chose a song from Michael Jackson’s album Off the Wall (1979), the first album Quincy produced for Michael. So cool! I wonder if the two of them are having a great reunion up there in heaven.

Sergio Mendes, a great Brazilian musician who was active for a long time since the 1960s and taught us many famous songs with his bossa nova covers, recently passed away.

Sergio Mendes is particularly famous for his Brazil 66 Mash Que Nada, and many of his songs are pleasant to listen to with Latin rhythms and a lovely chorus. I first heard it when I was probably around 18 years old.

This one! It woke me up to the fact that I like this kind of thing – ‼︎. Thank you for the wonderful music.

I had a hard time deciding which song to choose this time, but this is the one I’m in the mood for. This song, which means ‘sadness’ in Portuguese, has the subtitle ‘Goodbye Sadness’. It has also been sung by many artists, but the Brazil 66 version is lively and carnival-like from the start.

It’s a song that will cheer you up if you listen to it when you’re feeling down.

Françoise Hardy, a representative singer of French pop music who was active since the 1960s. Besides her musical career, she also showcased her talents in various fields such as appearing in movies and gracing magazine covers as a fashion model. However, she was originally a literary girl who loved solitude and was uncomfortable with the glamorous world. That melancholic charm seems to have been an innate part of her allure.

This time, I had a hard time choosing a song, but when it comes to Françoise Hardy, it has to be this song: “Comment te dire adieu”. Released in 1968 in France and 1973 in Japan, it became a huge hit. Interestingly, the original song is an English track titled “It Hurts to Say Goodbye”, with Serge Gainsbourg writing the French lyrics for the cover version. Additionally, the arrangement, full of melancholy from the intro, is wonderful.

In a past column (July 2020), I also introduced Hardy’s lonely and beautiful songs that perfectly suit this season. I would be delighted if you could look back at it.

Early summer has passed, and the rainy season is just around the corner. Before I realized it, hydrangeas of various kinds, though I’m not familiar with them, have started blooming along the roadside. They’re so pretty. I hope to enjoy the upcoming gloomy rainy season as if it were a special event.

So, even though the rainy season hasn’t started yet, I want to immerse myself in some rain songs.

“Love’s Theme” is a sweet song that begins and ends with the sound of rain, perfect for spending a serene and dreamy rainy day. It’s a 1972 hit by Love Unlimited, a female vocal group produced by singer-songwriter and producer Barry White. The repeated beautiful chorus and the pleasant sound of a phone dialing in the middle are delightful! And of course, Barry’s beautiful voice too!

In January, I was very shocked by the news that came out of the blue. The reason why I was so shocked is because I had seen her live on stage and felt selfishly close to her.

 It was a mini live performance at the 2018 Jiyugaoka Goddess Festival. After the shop closed, I put my closing duties on the back burner and headed straight for the venue. The square in front of Jiyugaoka station was filled with people, people, people. I never thought I would be able to see the great singer Aki Yashiro with my own eyes… and quite close to her.

 She performed several songs and the one that left the biggest impression on me was “Funauta” (1979).

 His unique husky voice, it was wonderful. I thought I was brazen enough to take a video, but… I didn’t press the start button, so I didn’t get a shot. But it was firmly etched in my mind’s eye and I will never forget it. Thank you very much.

“Une belle histoire” This song is the original song of the 1978 hit song “Mr. Summertime” by the Japanese chorus group Circus.

This song was released in 1972 by France’s Michel Fugan and Big Bazaar, and its Japanese title is “History of Love.” I’m more familiar with the circus cover, but I love both. It’s irresistible for chorus lovers.

The cover of Circus is a very sad song about a man who has an affair with someone he met while traveling, betrays his loved one, regrets it, and ends up leaving both of them, but the original song is about an adventure with someone he met while traveling. It’s like singing about beautiful memories.

As expected.

Great works get covered and evolve more and more with the personality of the person covering them. Some of them I like better than the originals, others are a bit unforgivable… lol.

‘The World Needs Love’.

A classic song by the famous duo of Hal David and Burt Bacharach, who created many great songs, and is sung by many artists around the world.

I had a hard time deciding whose version of this song I loved.

There are only a few days left of the year 2023. Looking back, it was very impressive that some of the biggest names in music left for heaven this year. I was worried about what to do with so many memorials in this music column, but I respectfully introduce some of my favourite songs.

The year 2023 ends with the Christmas hymn ‘The first noel’ by Tony Bennett, an entertainer who had a long and successful career from the 1950s until his death in July this year. In Japanese, it is called ‘Makibito Hitsuji wo’.

Tony’s elegant voice, the beautiful chorus and the orchestra’s performance with Placido Domingo, one of the world’s three greatest tenors, were gorgeous and appropriate for the end of the year.

It’s cold outside, but it gives you a warm feeling…

Thank you for your continued support for this year’s music column.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

We look forward to working with you again next year.

We are so used to the long, warm sunny days that the sudden cold snap brings us back to ourselves, and it’s already the end of November.

When the wind gets cold, I feel like getting sentimental, even though nothing in particular has happened to me. This is a melancholy song that suits winter.

T’en Va Pas.

This song, which means ‘Don’t go’ in French, was the theme song of the film Violins of Sorrow (1986) and was a hit sung by then 13-year-old Elsa Langhini, who appeared in the film. The Japanese title is ‘Adagio of Sadness’.

I heard it played in a TV commercial song a long time ago and it touched my maidenly heart. Decades later, listening to it now, I feel like a maiden again… oh, I’m sorry.

The music video makes you want to wear a black turtleneck because Elsa and her voice are so cute and she still looks so young.

In Japan, the cover song sung by Tomoyo Harada with lyrics by Taeko Onuki is famous, but when I looked it up, I found that many other people have covered it too!