Retro Idols : Yoru no Hit Studio
Yoru no Hit Studio (夜のヒットスタジオ ; means: "studio of hit songs of the night") was a legendary retro music program that aired from November 1968 to October 1990. Now even though I called it "legendary", this was just a "normal" tv program aired every Monday night back then, not to be confused with the prestigious yearly new year eve show: Kohaku Uta Gassen. On the other hand, Yoru no Hit Studio is not just any "normal" tv show either; in the span of 22 years it has a total of 1131 episodes which has showcased about 13,000 songs sung by 1,000 singers.
The most iconic segment of this show is the opening part; where all the singers invited that night would sang each other songs. The first singer would sang the song of the singer next to them before passing the mic to the original singer, who would sang the song of the next singer after them and passed the mic, with the chain continue until the last singer sang their own song with no one to pass the mic to.
The next iconic thing about this show is its stage decoration. There were some pieces of metal bars with contemporary design on the background and a platform steps with some kind of pattern where the MCs and singers would came down from (just like what shown in the profile picture of this page). In the 1970s, the stage set was still very simple so there were more metal bars, but entering the 1980s the stage sets became more complex where they would often put large size stage props, so some of the metal bars would be removed later to make more space. Even then, until the last episode, there's still at least one metal bars placed behind the instrument players and the platform steps still intact until the end. Everytime you watch video of retro Japanese singers, if there are the metal bars and the platform on the background, that must be from "Yoru no Hit Studio".
With a long airing period, every single idols whose songs I have translated have performed at least once in this show. That's two different generation of idols, all of them performed on that historical stage. Now, let's watch their video.
One of Hide & Rosanna performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1977:
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
One of Okazaki Yuki performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1980:
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
One of Amachi Mari performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1975:
^ 4:39
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Minami Saori performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1976:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Asaoka Megumi performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1975:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Asada Miyoko performance in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1973:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV11J411w7VC?
^ 1:05
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
One of Abe Shizue performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1977 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop-Folk
Language: Japanese
One of Agnes Chan performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1977 :
Country: Hong Kong
Genres: Folk, Pop
Languages: Japanese, Chinese (Cantonese), English, Chinese
One of Sakurada Junko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1977 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Ota Hiromi performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1978 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Yamaguchi Momoe performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1978 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Iwasaki Hiromi performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1976 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Okada Nana performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1977 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Candies performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1977 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Pink Lady performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1977 :
Country: Japan
Genres: Disco, Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Ishino Mako performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1981:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Matsuda Seiko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1983 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English, Chinese, French
One of Nakamori Akina performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1988 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English, Spanish
One of Kawai Naoko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1983 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Kashiwabara Yoshie performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1984 :
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
One of Yakushimaru Hiroko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1985 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Matsumoto Iyo performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1982:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Hayami Yuu performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1985 :
Country: Japan
Genres: Pop, Pop-Rock
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Hori Chiemi performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1985 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Ishikawa Hidemi performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1985 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Harada Tomoyo performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1986 :
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
One of Koizumi Kyoko (Kyon²) performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1984 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English, Chinese
One of Kikuchi Momoko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1987 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Nishimura Tomomi performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1986 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Oginome Yoko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1987:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Okada Yukiko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1985 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Honda Minako performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1986:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Saito Yuki performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1985:
One of Minamino Yoko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1987 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Asaka Yui performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1988 :
One of Nakayama Miho performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1988 :
Country: Japan
Languages: Japanese, English, Spanish
One of Kudo Shizuka performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1989 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Onyanko Club performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1985:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Kawai Sonoko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1986 :
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
One of Takai Mamiko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1987 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Kokusho Sayuri performance in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1987:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Watanabe Minayo performance in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1987:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Watanabe Marina performance in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1987:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Nitta Eri performance in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1986:
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Princess Princess performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1989 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop-Rock
Language: Japanese
One of Moritaka Chisato performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1989 :
Country: Japan
Genres: Pop, Singer-songwriter
Language: Japanese
One of Wink performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1989 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Electropop
Languages: Japanese, English
One of Sakai Noriko performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1987 :
Country: Japan
Genre: Pop
Languages: Japanese, Chinese
One of Ito Miki performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1987 :
Country: Japan
Genres: Religious, Rock, Rock 'n' Roll, Sertanejo, Singer-songwriter, Ska
Language: Japanese
One of CoCo performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1990 :
* that was 8 months before this show ended. At least they still had a chance to perform in "Yoru no Hit Studio", unlike 1990s idols.
Country: Japan
Genres: New Wave, Pop
Language: Japanese
One of Mi-Ke performances in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1990 :
Oh, wait a minute! Mi-Ke were formed in 1991 while Yoru no Hit Studio stopped airing in October 1990. How could they perform there? Well, before they became Mi-Ke, those three were backing vocals for the band B.B Queens. So when B.B Queens performed in Yoru no Hit Studio, of course Mi-Ke would be there too.
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Diazepan Medina
Tue, 06/09/2022 - 18:43
There are sooooo many things to say about this show (my favorite of the retro japanese music shows).
The 3rd most iconic thing is the camera work. They are never still, they get too close to the artist and make all kinds of zooms. The first video I saw of Momoe Yamaguchi was this one where the cameraman falls
The 4th most iconic thing are their specials. Shows filmed outside the studio (and 4 of them outside Japan), specials of bloopers and iconic performances, but most of all the Momoe's farewell special.
But also, another reason this is is my favorite retro show is because the singers could sing the full song, and not just the abbreviated version as it usually happens on other music shows.
RetroPanda
Tue, 06/09/2022 - 21:56
Ah, I remember that one. I thought it was Momoe's mic that fell down, but it's the cameraman who fell? Poor camera guy.
In this video from Abe Shizue's song, at the end of the video seems like the cameraman also tried to be creative:
Now you mention the bloopers, I remember the blooper video you posted few days ago. I'll post it here. lol
RetroPanda
Tue, 06/09/2022 - 22:28
Moments happened in "Yoru no Hit Studio" :
Miscellaneous moments: surprise visit, bloopers, etc.
^ (0:21) Sakai Noriko angry expression because she didn't like the surprise visit, (5:31) Matchy (Akina's ex-boyfriend) seems to have phobia of balloon, (6:37) Kudo Shizuka stretchy skin, (8:19) Matsumoto Iyo head bump, ouch!, (8:32) Nishimura Tomomi who was a big fans of Kikuchi Momoko even though she herself was an idol too, (8:49) Asaka Yui, (9:11) Kyon2
Sakurada Junko and Yamaguchi Momoe playing around, singing Pink Lady's song during rehearsal without knowing they were being recorded:
and later the recording shown to Pink Lady themselves.
Candies in the stadium that would be the venue the next day for their farewell concert, 1978
^ That was live broadcast outside of the studio; but the "Yoru no Hit Studio" studio (with their metal bars) can be seen in 1:25. And Candies in casual clothes looked like early 1980s idols.
Ishino Mako heart-warming send-off by Yoru No Hit Studio's crews and guest artists as she was about to retire from singing and got married
She will came back to entertainment industry 2 years later.
Sakai Noriko got surprise visit by her softball club friends and coach:
Jackie Chan appeared in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1988:
to have a duet with Kawai Naoko
Kudo Shizuka and her dog:
Akina singing "Nanpasen" made all the audiences (who were all singers themselves) felt emotional
including the senior female singer who was the one who wrote that song.
Nakayama Miho and Aida Shoko (Wink), just celebrating "Coming of Age Day" in 1990:
In Japan there's holiday called "coming of age day" where people who will reach the age of 20 at that year will wear traditional clothes and celebrate reaching adulthood. Both Nakayama Miho and Aida Shoko were born in 1970, so they'd reached their 20 in 1990. Photos of them wearing kimono when they celebrate that holiday can be seen in that video. Shoko's "forever partner": Suzuki Sachiko can be seen behind her, but she's not part of the celebration because she's one year older than them.
Minamino Yoko wore a costume designed by a fan. The girl who designed it got invited to "Yoru no Hit Studio"
^ the girl looked stylish, by looks alone she could passed as an idol. lol. And there's Kyon2 among the audiences / guest performers.
"Yoru no Hit Studio" presenter visited Okada Nana's home in 1976
"Yoru no Hit Studio" brought their first loves to give them a surprise visit:
^ 0:00 - 1:09 the first loves of Saito Yuki, Kokusho Sayuri, Honda Minako, Kudo Shizuka. The rest are surprise visits from parents.
Aida Shoko sang this song alone in "Yoru no Hit Studio" without her 'forever partner'
^ As Wink, Aida Shoko and Suzuki Sachiko always performed together. But at that time Sachiko was sick and needed to rest for 2 weeks, so Shoko performed this song alone. She seemed to almost cry. Even the choreography looked incomplete because it was created for two people.
Once Sachin came back, they became whole again and performed one more time in "Yoru no Hit Studio" :
Kikuchi Momoko gave earrings and hat to Nishimura Tomomi as gifts
^ Nishimura Tomomi was a big fan of Kikuchi Momoko, kinda like her little sister.
Harada Tomoyo arm-wrestled with Teresa Teng (a really BIG diva from HongKong)
^ Teresa Teng was like a really really BIG diva in Asia at that time. Somehow "Yoru no Hit Studio" could bring Jackie Chan and Teresa Teng to their show. Maybe that was around the time when Kawai Naoko had a duet with her.
"Yoru no Hit Studio" brought each of Princess Princess members' first love to their show:
Ishikawa Hidemi and Nakamori Akina birthdays in "Yoru no Hit Studio"
^ Hidemi (July 13, 1966) and Akina (July 13, 1965) have the same birthdays.
Matsuda Seiko singing "Aoi Sangoshou" with everyone:
^ including Nakamori Akina, Toshi, Shibugakitai, Kawai Naoko, Watanabe Marina.
Matsuda Seiko passed the mic to her crush, Go Hiromi (a 1970s male idol) in Yoru no Hit Studio:
^ Seiko was a big fan of Go Hiromi, later they dated for a few years before they broke up. Seiko used to face against Go Hiromi in Kohaku Uta Gassen too (just like Akina and her ex).
Seems like it's "Yoru no Hit Studio" outdoor set where Abe Shizue sang on. There's something funny on it.
^ Seems like they just brought out those stands / furnitures used by instrument players from the studio, instead of building new ones. Fortunately they didn't bring out the metal bars too. lol
Farewell to Agnes Chan in 1977, when she was about to take a break from singing to continue her study in college:
^ she would come back few years later.
When Yamaguchi Momoe sang "Play Back part 2" in 1978, the cameraman tripped and Momoe dropped her mic
^ but they were professionals and the show went on
Just Nanno looked cute in a tracksuit, with a giant fruit basket behind her
^ what else can I put into the description. lol.
One of the episodes when Nakayama Miho performed in Yoru no Hit Studio
^ (0:18) Tahara Toshihiko a.k.a Toshi, (0:36) Oginome Yoko, (1:23) a boyband called CHA-CHA, one of their member would later marry Nishimura Tomomi, (1:42) Nakayama Miho singing Akina song and passed the mic to her, (5:55) Miho won an award and they brought it to "Yoru no Hit Studio", (8:08) Nakayama Miho singing Witches
Nanno co-stars in her drama appeared in " Yoru no Hit Studio"
Kyon Kyon - who was quite short and tiny even among female idols - with an extremely tall guy twice her size
^ really, "Yoru no Hit Studio" could bring all kind of guests to their show; from someone's first love and parents, to Hong Kong megastars like Jackie Chan and Teresa Teng .... and now this guy, who I guess must be one of the Guinness Book's tallest men or something.
Matsuda Seiko met Go Hiromi (1970s male idol, a very popular singer) for the first time
^ Seiko was a big fan of him. Later they ended up dating for a few years.
Kikuchi Momoko playing catching ramen before she sang
^ never saw this game but it seems fun. lol
Okada Yukiko crying during her performance:
Kyon Kyon singing "Nattetatte Idol" with everyone
^ there were: Oginome Yoko (0:55), Nakayama Miho (0:58), Matchy (0:59), Nanno (1:10).
"Yoru no Hit Studio" brought Asaka Yui's first love to their show
Wink watching the original version of the song their cover version originated from:
Wink broadcasted from outside the studio:
^ smal screen in 0:08 shows that this was part of "Yoru no Hit Studio"
RetroPanda
Sun, 11/09/2022 - 03:21
Kyon2 watching idols from the past that have performed in "Yoru no Hit Studio", with her "Nantettatte Idol" (<-- song about idol's life) as the background song:
^ (0:09) herself, (0:17) Amachi Mari, (0:21) Ishino Mako, (0:23) Minami Saori, (0:31) Ota Hiromi, (0:32) Agnes Chan, (0:33) young Yamaguchi Momoe, (0:36) Candies, (0:42) Pink Lady, (0:48) Sakurada Junko, (0:59) Matsuda Seiko, (1:04) Matsumoto Iyo, (1:11) Hayami Yuu, (1:23) Hori Chiemi, (1:33) Kawai Naoko, (1:42 - 2:12) herself.
Diazepan Medina
Sun, 11/09/2022 - 18:39
RetroPanda
Sun, 11/09/2022 - 19:08
She has performed so many times there. Seems like everyone "cosplayed" as Seiko when they just started, before they found their own special characteristics.
Diazepan Medina
Sun, 11/09/2022 - 19:28
Nah, they just liked her hairstyle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiko-chan_cut
RetroPanda
Fri, 16/09/2022 - 08:49
Akimoto Yasushi, the lyricist who wrote all Onyanko Club songs and one of the influential figure behind Onyanko Club appeared in "Yoru no Hit Studio" in 1986:
^ The two girl in red shirts in that video are sub-unit of Onyanko Club called: "Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi". Beside their main group, Onyanko Club have 3 smaller sub-groups. The red shirt girl on the left is Takai Mamiko, one of the main members of Onyanko Club. Takai Mamiko later would got married with Akimoto Yasushi in 1988.
(* although he looked much older than the Onyanko girls, the actual age gap between Akimoto Yasushi (born: 1958) and Takai Mamiko (born: 1966) is only 8 years. Takai Mamiko was about 20 years old in that video from 1986.)
Diazepan Medina
Fri, 16/09/2022 - 14:40
I couldn't find the video where Mamiko appears next to her sister Masayo Takai. Masayo was a member of Dee-dee, who were the dancing crew of Yoru no hit in the second half of the 80's.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee-Dee
They also recorded singles. Masayo is the one singing the first verse (and most of the lead vocals)
RetroPanda
Fri, 16/09/2022 - 15:51
Thanks. Their vocals were good tho for dancers.
RetroPanda
Sun, 18/09/2022 - 02:29
RetroPanda
Sun, 09/10/2022 - 20:23
RetroPanda
Sun, 04/12/2022 - 12:07
RetroPanda
Sun, 04/12/2022 - 16:42
RetroPanda
Wed, 07/12/2022 - 19:55
RetroPanda
Mon, 19/12/2022 - 03:54
RetroPanda
Fri, 30/12/2022 - 19:30
^ Matsuda Seiko 24 songs medley; all her main singles up to "Strawberry Time" (not included "Marrakech" and "Tabidachi wa Freesia", because those songs hadn't been released yet). Among those songs, there were: (0:00) Strawberry Time, (1:23) Tenshi no Wink, (1:47) Himitsu no Hanazono, (2:05) Akai Sweet Pea, (2:50) Aoi Sangoshou, (3:50) Nagisa no Balcony, (4:09) Shiroi Parasol, (5:30) Tengoku no Kiss .
Some of the mic passes between idols:
Minamino Yoko passed the mic to Sakai Noriko:
Wink passed the mic to Kudo Shizuka:
Oginome Yoko passed the mic to Saito Yuki:
Matsuda Seiko ♛ passed the mic to Sakai Noriko:
Matsuda Seiko passed the mic to Kyon²:
Nanno passed the mic to Babe:
CoCo passed the mic to Nanno:
Onyanko Club passed the mic to Nakamori Akina:
Kondo Masahiko (Matchy) passed the mic to his then girlfriend, Nakamori Akina