THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
480) Jun Mayuzumi— “Black Room”
The French yé-yé girls had nothing on Japan’s Jun Mayuzumi. Sheila Burgel tells us that:
Once the [Group Sound] boom hit . . . “Koi No Hallejujah” [was] a monster hit for a little-known singer named Jun Mayuzumi. Released in February 1967, “Koi No Hallejujah” was the girl-pop manifesto. It replaced orchestras with organs and shrill electric guitars, upped the volume and vibrato, and showcased a yearning, mournful vocal that came to epitomise the girl-pop sound. Before Jun Mayuzumi became synonymous with Japanese beat girl, she cut her teeth as a pre-teen singing in Toyko’s jazz cafes, at army bases and as the house singer in a band . . . . At age 14, she signed to Victor Records under her birth name of Junko Watanabe and released half-baked Euro-pop covers. When the three singles failed to chart, she changed her name, cut all her hair off Twiggy-style, signed up with [a] talent agency . . . and landed a deal with the Capitol imprint of Toshiba Records. The success of “Koi No Hallelujah”, her first Capitol release, established Mayuzumi as the “queen of Japanese beat” . . . . [H]er two best records . . . undoubtedly [include the B-side] “Black Room” [with] booming bass lines, a tough vocal and a dancefloor readiness . . . .”
liner notes to Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat & Bossa Nova 1966-70 CD comp
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