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‘Translation changes the original meaning’: how 70s psych rockers Happy End ended the ‘Japanese rock controversy’
In 1969, Takasshi Matsumoto and Haruomi Hosono opted to defy rock trends by singing in Japanese, not English – paving the way for ‘city pop’ and J-pop
Takashi Matsumoto and Haruomi Hosono faced a choice when starting a rock band in 1969: should the lyrics be sung in English, the genre’s lingua franca at the time, or Japanese? Their group Happy End – which also counted guitarist Shigeru Suzuki and guitarist/vocalist Eiichi Ohtaki as members – merged western-inspired folk-rock with Japanese vocals – a decision that has influenced everything from internet-embraced 80s “city pop” funk to modern J-pop. By that point, Matsumoto says he and Hosono were becoming more interested in west coast rock acts such as Buffalo Springfield, the Grateful Dead and Moby Grape, and wanted to create a new group inspired by that scene.
Or read this on The Guardian
