| Background: | person | ||||||||||
| Kiyotaka Sugiyama | |||||||||||
| Native Name: | 杉山 清貴 | ||||||||||
| Native Name Lang: | ja | ||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 17 July 1959 | ||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Isogo-ku, Yokohama, Japan | ||||||||||
| Origin: | Yokohama, Japan | ||||||||||
| Occupation: | Singer-songwriter | ||||||||||
| Instrument: | Acoustic guitar | ||||||||||
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is a Japanese singer-songwriter known for being the lead vocalist of S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe. Debuting in 1983 with the band, Sugiyama began his solo career in 1986 after the band's disbandment the previous year.[1] As the lead singer of S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe, he was the lead voice on songs such as "Summer Suspicion" and "Futari no Natsu Monogatari", while as a solo artist he has had multiple hit songs including "Sayonara Ocean", "Saigo no Holy Night", and "Mizu no Naka no Answer".[2]
Sugiyama has currently released a total of 27 albums throughout his solo career, with his debut album Beyond… (1986) reaching 1st place on the Oricon charts, with subsequent albums in the 80s also being in the top ten of the album charts. Sugiyama has been described as one of the artists who shaped city pop's image, utilizing newer synths and his vocals.[3] [4]
Sugiyama was born on July 17, 1959, in Isogo-ku, Yokohama; his father was a police officer and a shamisen and dance teacher.[5] He started listening to music at an early age after being inspired by western rock music like The Beatles, saving up money in order to buy their albums. His first instrument was an electric guitar, later buying an acoustic guitar after listening to Japanese folk music. He formed a band with his classmates in junior high and started writing songs, performing at a school festival in his third year.[6] After he graduated from high school, he worked at a live house.
In 1979, he joined the band Cutie Panchos, which was made of high schoolers who frequented a live house, becoming their lead vocalist.[7] The band participated in the 19th and 20th Yamaha Popular Song Contests held in 1980, winning an award in the 19th Popcon but losing in the 20th Popcon.[8] By 1982, the final lineup of Cutie Panchos was formed, with the band being scouted by Koichi Fujita; the band would debut as S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe with "Summer Suspicion" in 1983.[9] The band lasted two years, breaking up at the peak of their popularity due to discontent from session musicians doing all of the recordings instead of the band members themselves.[10]
After the disbandment of S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe, Sugiyama debut as a solo act in 1986 with the single "Sayonara Ocean" followed by his debut album, Beyond…, which peaked at 1st place on the Oricon Albums Chart.[11] His follow-up single "Saigo no Holy Night", reached 2nd place on the Oricon Singles Chart. While a solo artist at VAP, he befriended fellow singer Momoko Kikuchi, portraying her brother in the 1986 movie Aidoru o Sagase. He released the singles "Mizu no Naka no Answer" and "Shade" in 1987 and "Kaze no Lonely Way" in 1988, all three reaching 1st place on the Oricon Singles Chart making them his only singles to be his number one singles.[12] In 1989, he wrote the song "Last Train" for Carlos Toshiki & Omega Tribe's 1989 album Be Yourself, transferring to Warner Pioneer at the request of Triangle Production alongside Carlos Toshiki & Omega Tribe and later transferring from Triangle Production to Horipro.[13]
On May 30, 1990, Sugiyama was transferred from VAP to Warner Music Japan and released his fifth album Sprinkle, reaching 1st place on the Oricon charts. In 1996, he started annually performing at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall during tours.[14] In 2000, he was transferred back to VAP and later left Horipro to establish the company Masterwork Co., Ltd, which later became Island Afternoon Co., Ltd. In 2004, he and other members of S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe reunited for the first time for a concert.[15]
In 2013, he released the album I Am Me which featured self covers of S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe and his solo career songs.[16] In 2016, Sugiyama celebrated his 30th anniversary of his solo debut with a concert at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall and released the album Ocean.[14] [17] The next year, he released the album Driving Music.[18] In 2018, Sugiyama and S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe reunited for a national tour for the band's 35th anniversary, with Sugiyama also having a solo tour for his own anniversary of debut.[19] In 2020, Sugiyama released the album Rainbow Planet, his first album in three years, but had to postpone a tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[20] [21] In 2023, the 40th anniversary of his debut with S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe, he released the album Freedom and the compilation album All Time Best which compiled various singles throughout his career.[22]
Sugiyama was inspired by The Beatles and other western rock music after listening to them at a friend's house as a child, switching his instrument from a shamisen to guitar after being inspired by Beatles member George Harrison and his Fender Stratocaster.[23] He was also interested by Japanese folk rock, including artists Takuro Yoshida and Yōsui Inoue.[24] In high school, he became obsessed with American rock and was in a school band that mimicked the style of Santana. While as part of Cutie Panchos, he and the band were inspired by The Doobie Brothers and mimicked their style. He also was a smoker and drinker in an attempt to get his voice deeper like Otis Redding, quitting both in 2011 in order to help his voice.
Sugiyama met former singer Yuko Yanagisawa, the sister of comedian Shingo Yanagisawa, in 1980, with the two marrying in 1985 and having a daughter, Maho, the next year. In 1990, the family emigrated to Hawaii, living in Hawaiʻi Kai, obtaining permanent residency in 1992 while Sugiyama travelled to and from Japan and Los Angeles to record.[25] [26] During his time in Hawaii, he learned about surfing and began practicing bodyboarding.[27] Sugiyama and Yanagisawa divorced, with Sugiyama returning his permanent residency and moving back to Japan in 2006 while Yanagisawa and Maho stayed in the United States.
Sugiyama is known for his use of sunglasses during performances and for his public image. He first began wearing sunglasses to hide a swollen face due to heavy drinking the night before a performance for S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe.[28] The crowd reacted positively to the style, and he began using sunglasses to the point it where it became his trademark look.[29] During his later career, he began taking off his sunglasses and showing his face without them.[30]
Sugiyama is a fan of anime, his early aspirations as a child was to become a manga artist prior to becoming a musician. He has written multiple songs based on being inspired from anime; he created the song "Boys of Eternity" for the 1988 OVA Shounan Bakusouzoku and 2022 single "Nightmare" was inspired by the anime Call of the Night, writing the song as if it was its theme song.[31] [32]
| Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon | Billboard | ||||
| scope=row | Beyond… |
| 1 | 47 | |
| scope=row | Realtime to Paradise |
| 1 | 50 | |
| scope=row | Kona Weather |
| 2 | 51 | |
| scope=row | Here & There |
| 2 | — | |
| scope=row | Listen to My Heart |
| 4 | — | |
| scope=row | Sprinkle |
| 1 | — | |
| scope=row | Moonset – Yasashina Narumade |
| 4 | — | |
| scope=row | Island Afternoon |
| 7 | — | |
| scope=row | Kanata Kara no Kaze |
| 19 | — | |
| scope=row | Add Water |
| 14 | — | |
| scope=row | Rhythm from the Ocean |
| 29 | — | |
| scope=row | Rainbow Shave Ice |
| 30 | — | |
| scope=row | Honolulu City Lights |
| 81 | — | |
| scope=row | Harvest Story |
| 91 | — | |
| scope=row | Ocean Side Company |
| 40 | — | |
| scope=row | Zampa |
| 67 | — | |
| scope=row | Heaven's Shore |
| 96 | — | |
| scope=row | Aloe Vera 99% |
| 80 | — | |
| scope=row | Hula Moon Sessions |
| 44 | — | |
| scope=row | Shima Kara no Tegami, Umi Kara no Henji. |
| 76 | — | |
| scope=row | Bay Area Kids |
| 78 | — | |
| scope=row | The Sunshine Band |
| 63 | — | |
| scope=row | Favorite Eternal Numbers – Desperado |
| 82 | — | |
| scope=row | Style |
| 112 | — | |
| scope=row | Favorite Eternal Numbers II – Asu ni Kakeru Hashi |
| 73 | 100 | |
| scope=row | Veteran |
| 49 | 66 | |
| scope=row | Island Afternoon II Pacific Rim |
| 49 | 80 | |
| scope=row | Kiyotaka Sugiyama Meets Tetsuji Hayashi Reunited |
| 54 | 50 | |
| scope=row | I Am Me |
| 25 | 20 | |
| scope=row | Island Afternoon III Da Kine of Da Buds |
| 60 | 62 | |
| scope=row | Ocean |
| 34 | 30 | |
| scope=row | Driving Music |
| 24 | 23 | |
| scope=row | My Song My Soul |
| 21 | 16 | |
| scope=row | Rainbow Planet |
| 10 | 9 | |
| scope=row | Freedom |
| 11 | 9 |
| Single | Year | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon | Billboard | ||||
| scope=row | "Sayonara no Ocean" | 1986 | 4 | 31 | Beyond… |
| scope=row | "Saigo no Holy Night" | 2 | Realtime to Paradise | ||
| scope=row | "Mizu no Naka no Answer" | 1987 | 1 | — | Summer Selection |
| scope=row | "Shade" | 1 | — | Kona Weather | |
| scope=row | "Kaze no Lonely Way" | 1988 | 1 | — | |
| scope=row | "Boku no Ude no Nakade" | 2 | — | Time Is A Good Time | |
| scope=row | "Nagisa no Subete/Boys of Eternity" | 3 | — | ||
| scope=row | "Purizumu Rain ni Tsutsuma Rete" | 1989 | 12 | — | Here & There |
| scope=row | "Kimi ga Koko ni ite Hoshī" | 12 | — | ||
| scope=row | "Itsumo Kimi wo Oomoteru" | 1990 | 10 | — | Sprinkle |
| scope=row | "Aozora ga Menishimiru" | 1991 | 26 | — | Moonset |
| scope=row | "Kaze no Ichi-byō" | 19 | — | ||
| scope=row | "Love Is You" | 1992 | 19 | — | |
| scope=row | "Natsufuku Saigo no hi" | 28 | — | Kanata Kara no Kaze | |
| scope=row | "Livin' In A Paradise" | 1993 | 29 | — | |
| scope=row | "Boku no Shatsu o Kite Nasai" | 1994 | 89 | — | Add Water |
| scope=row | "Eien no Natsunidakarete" | 1995 | 88 | — | |
| scope=row | "Taiyō wa Shitte iru" | 1996 | — | — | |
| scope=row | "Saigo no Holy Night (Version 96)" | — | — | ||
| scope=row | "September Song" | 1997 | — | — | |
| scope=row | "Loving" | 1998 | — | — | |
| scope=row | "Owaranai Rēsu" | — | — | ||
| scope=row | "EXiT" | 2001 | 67 | — | Zampa |
| scope=row | "Wishing Your Love" | 2002 | 95 | — | Shima Kara no Tegami, Umi Kara no Henji |
| scope=row | "Nami" | 2005 | 75 | — | The Sunshine Band |
| scope=row | "Thank You For Christmas/This Is Life" | 76 | — | ||
| scope=row | "Gift/Home Town Train" | 2006 | 84 | — | The Sunshine Band |
| scope=row | "Glory Love" | 2009 | 56 | 41 | Veteran |
| scope=row | "Yumewomita no Sa" | 2013 | 84 | 96 | |
| scope=row | "Hand Made" | 2020 | — | — | Rainbow Planet |
| scope=row | "Nightmare" | 2023 | — | — | Freedom |
| scope=row | "Too Good to Be True" | — | — | ||
| Year | Other performer(s) | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | "Lovers Luck" | 1997 | Junko Ohashi | Honolulu City Lights | |
| scope=row | "Kaze no Kioku" | 2014 | Momoko Kikuchi | Ocean | |
| scope=row | "Seaside Paradise" | 2021 | Bajune Tobeta | Brave New World – Relax World |
| Year | Artist(s) | Album | Song | Written with | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Cutie Panchos | "Gospel no Yoru" | Tatsushi Umegaki | ||
| 1983 | S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe | "Nagisa no Sea-dog" | Tsugutoshi Goto, Showichi Yoshida | ||
| Aqua City | "Paddling To You" | Tsugutoshi Goto, Yasushi Akimoto | |||
| "Light Morning" | Yasushi Akimoto, Ken Shiguma | ||||
| "Trade Wind" | Yasushi Akimoto, Ken Shiguma | ||||
| 1984 | "Ai o Maki Modoshite" | Yasushi Akimoto, Ken Shiguma | |||
| River's Island | "Saturday's Generation" | Makoto Matsushita, Toshitsugu Nishihara | |||
| "Saigo no Night Flight" | Ken Shiguma | ||||
| Never Ending Summer | "Misty Night Cruising" | Makoto Matsushita, Chinfa Kan | |||
| "Eastern Railroad" | Ken Shiguma, Masako Arikawa | ||||
| "Twilight Bay City" | Ken Shiguma, Masako Arikawa | ||||
| "Stay The Night Forever" | Makoto Matsushita, Masako Arikawa | ||||
| 1985 | Another Summer | "Toi Hitomi" | Ken Shiguma, Masako Arikawa | ||
| "Mayonaka no Screen Board" | Makoto Matsushita, Yasushi Akimoto | ||||
| First Finale | "November Blue" | Masanori Sasaji, Masako Arikawa | |||
| "Remember The Brightness" | Ken Shiguma, Kumiko Aoki | ||||
| "Kimi wa In The Rain" | Masanori Sasaji, Masako Arikawa | ||||
| 1987 | Alex To | Alex To | "I'll Never Forget You" | Alan Tsui Yat-Kan, Yuen-Leung Poon | |
| Jackie Lin and Par Avion | "Romansu no Tobira" | Masako Arikawa, Motoki Funayama | |||
| Masanori Ikeda | Quarterback | "All or Nothing" | Motoki Funayama, Kumiko Aoki | ||
| "Room Ocear View" | Hiroshi Shinkawa, Shun Taguchi | ||||
| "River Side Dilemma" | Motoki Funayama, Kumiko Aoki | ||||
| 1988 | Natural 22 | "Rock'n Roll Band" | Motoki Funayama, Shun Taguchi | ||
| "Ashita e no Sentaringu" | Motoki Funayama, Shun Taguchi | ||||
| Ra Mu | Thanks Giving | "One And Only" | Keiko Aso | ||
| 1989 | Carlos Toshiki & Omega Tribe | Be Yourself | "Last Train" | Hiroshi Shinkawa, Shun Taguchi | |
| 1990 | Twin Fizz | "Omoide tote o Tsunagazu ni" | Kaori Nishina | ||
| 1992 | Junichi Kawauchi | "Kimi no Hitomi-ippai no Natsu" | Junichi Kawachi, Atsuo Katayama, John Capek | ||
| Reiko Katoh | Querido | "Hāfumūn wa Kizutsui Teru" | Kenjiro Sakitani | ||
| "Hikishio Hoteru" | Kenjiro Sakitani | ||||
| "Again" | Reiko Katoh, Kenjiro Sakitani | ||||
| 1993 | Kakugo o Kimeta hi | "Forever" | Reiko Katoh, Hiroshi Iimuro, Takeshi Sato | ||
| Kazuto Murata | Hello Again | "Sayonara Jamaca" | Kazuhito Murata | ||
| 1994 | Hiromi Go | GOrgeous | "Summer Again" | Rui Serizawa | |
| 1998 | Jean & Gingers | Greatest Hits | "Ie o Tobidase Papa" | Kazuto Murata | |
| 1999 | A.M.S&I | Kiseki wa Koko ni Aru no sa | "We Are Travelin' Band" | Kazuhito Murata | |
| 2008 | The Silver Hawks | Surf Coast To Coast | "Sentimental Guitar" | Jori Venemies | |
| 2014 | Yosuke Tagawa | Toki no Tabibito | "Michi wa Tsudzuku" | Yosuke Tagawa |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Aidoru o Sagase | Yasuo Fujitani | Special appearance | |
| 2003 | Heart of the Sea | Himself | Made for the Japan Surfing Federation |