Tatsurō Yamashita

Biography

Tatsurō Yamashita (山下 達郎, Yamashita Tatsurō; born February 4, 1953), occasionally referred to as Tatsu Yamashita or Tats Yamashita, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer, whose music in the early 1980s is now widely regarded as a cornerstone of city pop.
His most well-known song is "Christmas Eve×Christmas Eve14 December 1983 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAChristmas EveBWhite Christmas", a best-selling song released in Japan in the 1980s. It has appeared on the Japanese charts for over 35 consecutive years.
He is known for his collaborations with his wife Mariya Takeuchi on many songs, including "Plastic Love", and the American songwriter Alan O'Day, with whom he co-wrote the songs "Your Eyes", "Magic Ways", "Love Can Go the Distance", and "Fragile". In the overseas City Pop revival that began in the 2010s, he has frequently been called the "King of City Pop".
Yamashita is considered a major contributor to Japanese music and is ranked by HMV Japan as the sixth among the top 100 Japanese Artists.

Career

Yamashita was a member of the band Sugar Babe with musicians Taeko Onuki and Kunio Muramatsu, who released their only album Songs in 1975. After the group disbanded in 1976, Yamashita signed to RCA and launched his solo career, releasing the album Circus Town×CIRCUS TOWN25 October 1976 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Circus Town4:08A2Windy Lady5:41A3Minnie4:18A4永遠に4:56B1Last Step3:26B2City Way3:37B3迷い込んだ街と4:38B4夏の陽4:23 the same year. In 1976, he teamed up with Eiichi Ohtaki, the producer of Sugar Babe, and Sugar Babe member Ginji Ito to release Niagara Triangle Vol. 1 which was cited by MTV as one of the finest collaborative efforts of that period. His 1979 award-winning album Moonglow×MOONGLOW21 October 1979 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1夜の翼A2永遠のFULL MOONA3RAINY WALKA4STORMA5FUNKY FLUSHIN'B1HOT SHOTB2TOUCH ME LIGHTLYB3SUNSHINE−愛の金色−B4YELLOW CABB5愛を描いて -LET'S KISS THE SUN- gained only moderate success, but his 1980 song Ride on Time×RIDE ON TIME19 September 1980 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1いつか（SOMEDAY）5:47A2DAYDREAM4:28A3SILENT SCREAMER5:28A4RIDE ON TIME（アルバム・ヴァージョン）5:52B1夏への扉（THE DOOR INTO SUMMER）4:41B2MY SUGAR BABE4:10B3RAINY DAY5:19B4雲のゆくえに（CLOUDS）5:38B5おやすみ（KISSING GOODNIGHT）1:34 reached No. 3 on the Japanese Oricon chart and the album of the same name topped the chart subsequently, propelling him to stardom.
Tatsuro's music has been regarded as a symbol of Japanese city pop, as represented by Ride on Time and For You in the early 1980s.
In 2011, Yamashita's newly-released album Ray of Hope×Ray Of Hope10 August 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1希望という名の光 （Prelude）0:342NEVER GROW OLD5:583希望という名の光5:164街物語 （まちものがたり）（NEW REMIX）5:495プロポーズ5:096僕らの夏の夢5:067俺の空4:028ずっと一緒さ4:599HAPPY GATHERING DAY4:5010いのちの最後のひとしずく4:0211MY MORNING PRAYER4:1612愛してるって言えなくたって （NEW REMIX）4:2013バラ色の人生～ラヴィアンローズ2:0714希望という名の光 （Postlude）0:58 topped the weekly Oricon Albums Chart, making him the fourth singer to have topped the chart at least once per decade for four decades running.
He has been called a "sound craftsman" because of his commitment to music-making and sound quality. A multi-faceted musician, some of his songs are recorded entirely by himself, including vocal backup, guitar arrangement, synthesizer, and percussion. His music is heavily acoustic, but also demonstrates a wide range of knowledge about analog and digital recording, and recent developments in musical production technology, including computer programming.
"Christmas Eve×Christmas Eve14 December 1983 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAChristmas EveBWhite Christmas", one of Yamashita's best-known songs in Japan and the best-selling Japanese single of the 1980s, first appeared on his 1983 album Melodies×MELODIES8 June 1983 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1悲しみのJODY (She Was Crying)3:53A2高気圧ガール4:22A3夜翔 (Night‐Fly)4:25A4GUESS I’M DUMB3:14A5ひととき4:02B1メリー・ゴー・ラウンド6:20B2BLUE MIDNIGHT4:17B3あしおと3:56B4黙想1:32B5クリスマス・イブ4:15. It topped the charts in 1990 and has since ranked in the top 100 on the Japanese charts every Christmas season. The song was most famously a commercial song for JR Central's "Xmas Express." It has sold nearly 2 million copies since its release and continues to be sold in small quantities as a limited edition every Christmas season. The English-version of the song, with lyrics by Alan O'Day, was also recorded by Yamashita and has been covered by artists such as Pentatonix, the Commodores, All-4-One, and Idina Menzel.
Despite often singing in English, Yamashita does not actually speak the language. He learns his English lyrics phonetically.
As a solo artist, Yamashita has released 13 original studio albums, five cover albums, two live albums, multiple compilations, and over 50 singles. He is the most commercially successful Japanese male solo recording artist in the history of the Japanese album chart, selling approximately 9 million albums in total. He has also composed for films and television commercials, and worked on records by other artists. Yamashita frequently collaborated with Alan O'Day, who wrote the English lyrics for some of his most popular songs, such as “Christmas Eve”. He also partnered with a Hawaiian band called Greenwood, with their biggest hit being their cover of "Sparkle".

Personal life

Little is known about Yamashita's life outside of the music industry. His wife is Mariya Takeuchi, whom he married in 1982. They have one daughter.
Kiyoshi Matsuo, a Japanese record producer, who discussed Johnny Kitagawa's sexual harassment allegations in various media outlets, had his management contract terminated by Johnny & Associates, to which he had belonged. In 2023, he alleged that Yamashita and his wife Mariya Takeuchi, who also belong to the company, were in agreement with the company's policy. On July 9, 2023, Yamashita responded on his radio show, "Sunday Songbook". He explained that as someone in a corner of the music industry, he knew nothing of the internal affairs in Johnny's, much less about Johnny Kitagawa's sexual assault case. Yamashita stated that he is grateful for Johnny as a producer and had great respect for him, but said that sexual assault was "unforgivable" and called for the case to be investigated and the victims to be assisted.