On the CBS Sony side, the manager who has been responsible for Minami Saori's work management after her retirement contacted her and informed her about the cover.
Saori Minami, who has been retired for many years and is already the mother of three children, has not forgotten the idol era like Yamaguchi Momoe, but she does not mind the fact that a young idol wants to sing her masterpiece.
, on the phone, she asked her agent to convey her encouragement, and the matter was over for her.
As for wanting to see what kind of little idol dares to cover her famous songs, or what kind of re-arrangement of her own famous songs, these things don't exist.
For Minami Saori, or for more than half of the idols in this idol era, idolization is a job, no different from being a pink collar worker in a company.
Once she quits her job and goes home to get married, her previous work matters will have nothing to do with her.
Everything was easy to talk to about the idol, but about the song's lyricist, Mieko Arima, Warner Pioneer called to communicate and get her consent.
Generally speaking, arrangement is a one-time buyout, because arrangement is a special thing and is not an independent work. However, if it is a well-known arranger, it is a different matter, and you will receive subsequent distribution of royalties.
The person who arranged the music for "17 Years Old" was none other than the composer of this song, Tsutsumi Kyohei.
Tsutsumi Kyohei and Arima Mieko are the regular team members of Minami Saori in her idol career, and her hit songs are all provided by this pair of partners.
Who is Tsutsumi Kyohei? It can be said that he is the best-selling composer in Japan. The sales volume of the songs he composed can circle the earth countless times.
He debuted in the 1960s and became famous as a composer for the bands when groupsounds were popular. He wrote one famous ballad after another. Later, he produced many best-selling songs for idols. He won the Composition Award at the Record Awards five times. He is a major
The most prizes in history.
No matter what type of song you listen to, you can always see Tsutsumi Kyohei's name in the composer column. This person has so many best-selling songs that one can't help but wonder, could he have traveled through time with a bookcase full of records?
Shinichi Iwahashi, who came to this era more than thirty years later, speculated on him based on the time-travel routine. People in this era are much simpler and rougher.
Because Tsutumi Kyohei doesn't like to appear in public, and there are very few relevant news and photos, the public speculates that "Tsumi Kyohei" is a vest, and there is no real person at all.
Of course, everyone in the industry knows this is impossible.
Because, after contacting Tsutsumi Kyohei through Warner Vanguard, that afternoon, Shinichi Iwahashi personally visited Tsutsumi Kyohei.
This kind of personal visit is out of respect for this great composer. Of course, it is also a rare thing to take this opportunity to meet Tsutsumi Kyohei.
This kind of songwriters and people from small production companies are something you don’t usually see.
…
In the Japanese-style room of Tsutsumi Kyohei's house, Shinichi Iwahashi saw the true face of this great composer.
A great composer who has been active for more than 20 years, he sounds like an old man at first glance, but in fact, Tsutsumi Kyohei is not yet fifty years old. He does not look like an artist, but more like a minister of a large company.
.
He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University, which has an open academic style and is crowded with children who have returned from overseas. He once again personally proved the true truth that "music is made by rich people".
Most of these great people who have promoted the development of Japanese pop music have good backgrounds.
Tsutsumi Kyohei already knew the reason for his visit on the phone. Even so, Iwahashi Shinichi still said it in front of him again. Because the arranger of "17 Years Old" is also Tsutsumi Kyohei, it is even more necessary to explain to him what is going to happen.
A major change in the arrangement of the song.
Tsutsumi Kyohei has written so many songs so far, including a handful of bestsellers. Over the years, there have been so many singers and idols who have covered his songs. Originally, it would have been just a phone call. The reason why he agreed to visit Shinichi Iwahashi in person was,
There was a little desire in my heart to meet this young man who had been in the limelight recently.
"I was a little surprised to hear that Iwahashi-san produced the idol," Tsutumi Kyohei said after listening to his explanation.
Iwahashi Shinichi looked at him but did not answer, waiting for Tsutsumi Kyohei's next words.
"Before this, I heard your name by chance, but it was put together in a program related to the band."
"Actually, before this, I also worked as an idol's manager."
Iwahashi Shinichi said this to show that he had never been in contact with idols. However, when he said this, thinking about what he had done to idols, he felt a little guilty at first.
Akiko Matsumoto, a young idol who turned around as a transformed artist, obviously did not reach the ears of Tsutsumi Kyohei, who had been in the music industry. After hearing what he said, Tsutsumi Kyohei said "oh" but did not ask further.
Obviously, if you have worked as a manager for a well-known idol, you will definitely mention the idol's name when talking about it. Tsutsumi Kyohei has no intention of asking about Shinichi Iwahashi's career as a manager.
Coming from the era of groupsounds, Tsutsumi Kyohei has provided music regardless of the music genre. Genre bias can be seen in anyone, but it will never appear in him.
He, who is always paying attention to the popular trends in the music industry, sensed the dawn of the band as early as Bowwy became popular. Similarly, he who single-handedly promoted the birth and rise of idols is also keenly aware of the decline of idols.
The once popular idol Kikuchi Momoko stopped cooperating with composer Tetsuji Hayashi, and this year she transformed and formed a band to start again.
As an idol, she has definitely become popular, although she has not become that kind of phenomenon. Now that she is forming a band, I don't know what kind of performance she will have.
However, compared to whether her band can become popular, if a popular idol becomes a band, in a sense, Tsutsumi Kyohei feels that this is a failure of the idol era.
But the band is definitely on the rise, but from the beginning to being able to ignite the fire, there needs to be something catalytic.
Tsutsumi Kyohei guessed who would light this fire, whether it was on a TV station, among the private sector, or at a record company? What role would the young producer in front of him who came to his home to promote a popular female idol play in this?
"If you want to talk about it, actually there are times when idols and bands are perfectly integrated." Tsutsumi Kyohei said casually, "Kenji Sawada of Thetige is very beautiful, so it is not impossible to say that he is an idol in the band.
"
"That's true." Shinichi Iwahashi responded, "Even the Beatles had a time when they were regarded as idols."
"So," he said, "I feel that it is very lucky to be able to produce idols and bands at the same time."
Idols can form bands, and bands can also become idols.
