Yuzo Kayama, a singer and actor known for hit songs such as "Kimi to Itsumade" and "Oyome ni Oide", who is nicknamed "Wakadaisho", will be in public at concerts and TV within the year because of his old age. Announced that he will retire from his singing career at.
Mr. Kayama was born in Yokohama as the eldest son of actor Ken Uehara, and made his debut as an actor in the movie "Otoko Tai Otoko" in 1960 after graduating from university.
The following year, he made his debut as a singer with "Night Sun", and made big hits such as "Kimi to Itsumade" and "Oide to the bride", which he composed himself, and participated in NHK's red and white song battle 17 times. increase.
As an actor, while establishing himself as a star in the movie "Wakadaishō Series", which has been a huge hit for 10 years, he also released hit songs one after another as a singer, and even after the age of 80, he appeared at a rock festival popular with young people. It has been loved for generations.
Mr. Kayama was taken to the stage in August due to a mistake, and was suspended due to mild cerebral hemorrhage caused by coughing, but he returned to the stage last year after rehabilitation. ..
He has been performing concerts this time, but on the 19th, Mr. Kayama said, "I feel the difficulty of continuing various things as I get older," and so on. Announced that he will retire from public singer activities.
On the other hand, he will continue his musical activities such as composing and announcing sound sources.
Career as a musician
Yuzo Kayama started composing when he started learning the piano at the age of 14, and when he was in college, he formed a student band and was in charge of guitar and vocals.
He made his debut as a singer with "Night Sun" at the age of 24, and was the first to compose under the pseudonym "Dedicated" for his fourth single "Dedicated" released at the age of 28. rice field.
In 1965, he performed his favorite guitar in the movie "Electric Wakadaisho" and became one of the igniters of the Japanese electric guitar boom. In addition, the theme song "Kimi to Itsumade" produced 3.5 million copies. He recorded a huge hit and participated in the red and white song battle the following year for the first time.
In this song, the line "I'm happy" that Mr. Kayama mutters in the interlude became a popular word, and the cover by the American band "The Ventures" also recorded a hit and is one of the representative songs.
Since then, he has released a number of famous songs such as "Oyomeni Oide" and "Umi Sono Ai", which he composed himself, and has participated in the Kouhaku Uta Gassen 17 times in total.
Mr. Kayama has been loved for generations, such as continuing his musical activities energetically even after he was 80 years old and participating in rock festivals that are popular with young people.
In the album "Yuzo Kayama's New World", which was produced to commemorate the 80th anniversary of his birth by listening to his latest music and actively interacting with young artists, hip-hop artists and idols are songs by Kayama-san. Covered and gathered a lot of attention.
Last April, when he celebrated his 84th birthday, he released his latest song.