Kenji Sawada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kenji Sawada (沢田研二 Sawada Kenji?, born June 25, 1948) was the young lead singer of Japanese best-known pop music act of the Group Sounds era in the late 1960s, a band called The Tigers. The band had a string of Japanese-language hit singles, and a successful merchandising industry backed by the powerful Watanabe Productions, who managed the group.
A bona fide national teen idol, his nickname to the fans was Julie. Japanese pop stars of that era adopted nicknames, and oddly they were often English language girls' names. His nickname is derived from actress Julie Andrews because he is a fan of her.
In 1969, the Bee Gees were hired to compose two songs for Sawada's band, The Tigers (in the English language), in an attempt by the band to become an international success. One of the songs was a hit in Japan, titled "Smile For me" and sung by Sawada. In spite of his English pronunciation being clear and concise, the recording did not make the pop charts in foreign markets as the Watanabe Productions management team had hoped. The Tigers disbanded shortly after that record release.
[edit] The later years
After The Tigers broke up, Sawada formed the first Japanese supergroup, Pyg, in 1970. The band also featured Sawada's main rival in the Group Sounds era, Kenichi Hagiwara, as a co-lead vocalist. The concept worked on paper only, and lasted a little over a year. They made only one album.
When Pyg disbanded, Sawada had a solo career as a singer, but turned to acting as his main form of artistic expression.
Kenji Sawada also plays the Shamisen.
[edit] Current career
Kenji Sawada is now a successful actor in many films, including a role as the principle in a biography about the legendary Yukio Mishima entitled Osamu aka Mishima, and also in Takashi Miike's horror-comedy musical The Happiness of the Katakuris.
[edit] External links
- Kenji Sawada at the Internet Movie Database
- Sawada plays shamisen video.
- [1] Various Kenji Sawada video performances.
