Together for a brief three years and just one album, Sugar Babe has become somewhat of a legend in Japanese pop music circles. Featuring a pre-solo debut Tatsuro Yamashita (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Taeko Onuki (vocals), and produced by Yamashita and Eiichi Otaki (guitarist/vocalist for Happy End), Sugar Babe played melodic, well-crafted tunes heavily influenced by American pop. The group made its live performance debut in 1973 at the farewell concert for the band Happy End, with a tight set showcasing the members' strong musicianship and defined by vocal tradeoffs between Yamashita and Onuki, strong arrangements, and exquisite songcraft. Sugar Babe's lone album, Songs, produced and engineered by Otaki, was release in 1975 as the flagship release of Otaki's Niagara label. Songs channeled Yamashita's worshipful obsession with American pop from the '0s and '0s and soul music. While sales of the record were marginal, in retrospect it can be said that Songs was at least partially responsible for launching the fertile pop music scene that exploded in Japan through the '70s. From the funky, soul-laced euphoria of "Show" to the Isley Brothers influenced "Down Town", which became the group's signature tune, the record showed a band that was on top of its game. While the band broke up in 1976, due in part to the bankruptcy of their record label, both Yamashita and Onuki went on to have long and successful careers, and remain active as artists. Songs was re-released in 1999 on the Planets label, rekindling interest in the band and its music, and introducing it to a whole new generation of artists and music lovers. Even today, several decades after the dissolution of the band, their songs are a fixture on radio programs and in the sets of cover bands across the country.
すてきなメロディー
SUGAR BABE Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
心の片隅の夢を開けよう
Oh...すてきなメロディー
Oh...流れて来るでしょう
星空いっぱいあふれる夜は
昨日と明日の間のひととき
Oh...すてきなメロディー
Oh...流れて来るでしょう
Oh...すてきなメロディー
Oh...流れて来るでしょう
Oh...すてきなメロディー
Oh...流れて来るでしょう
The lyrics of SUGAR BABE's song "すてきなメロディー" express the feeling of loneliness one may feel during the midnight hours, and suggests opening up the dream that resides in the corner of one's heart. The lyrics encourage the listener to embrace the beauty of a lovely melody that will come flowing into their ears. The vastness of the starry night is perceived as a moment that is suspended between the past and the future. The lyrics imply that the music that gently touches the ears can make the emptiness in one's heart feel less lonely. The repetition of the lines "Oh...すてきなメロディー, Oh...流れて来るでしょう" emphasizes the idea that the beautiful melody will come pouring in, and that it must be awaited.
The song undoubtedly brings forth a feeling of nostalgia for the past and a hope for the future. It highlights the importance of music as a means of healing and companionship during times of loneliness.
Line by Line Meaning
夜ふけのさみしさ ひとりの時は
When feeling lonely in the quiet of the night
心の片隅の夢を開けよう
Let's open the dreams in the corner of our hearts
Oh...すてきなメロディー
Oh...a wonderful melody
Oh...流れて来るでしょう
Oh...it will come flowing in
星空いっぱいあふれる夜は
On a night when the sky is overflowing with stars
昨日と明日の間のひととき
A moment between yesterday and tomorrow
Oh...すてきなメロディー
Oh...a wonderful melody
Oh...流れて来るでしょう
Oh...it will come flowing in
Oh...すてきなメロディー
Oh...a wonderful melody
Oh...流れて来るでしょう
Oh...it will come flowing in
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: 妙子 大貫
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kentarouiijima3907
夜ふけのさみしさ ひとりの時は
心の片隅の夢を開けよう
Oh･･･すてきなメロディー
Oh･･･流れて来るでしょう
星空いっぱいあふれる夜は
昨日と明日の間のひととき
Oh･･･すてきなメロディー
Oh･･･流れて来るでしょう
@brianchar-bow3273
What a Wonderful Melody (SUTEKI na MELODY)
(Lyrics :Ginji Ito, Taeko Onuki, Tatsuro Yamashita, Music Composition: Taeko Onuki, Tatsuro Yamashita)
From "SUGAR BABE" 1st album –『SONGS』 Released April 25, 1975 (Niagara ⁄ Elec LP: NAL-0001)
Produced by Eiichi Otaki , Tatsuro Yamashita
All tracks Arranged by Tatsuro Yamashita
01. Show 00:00:00~(Lyrics & Music Composition :Tatsuro Yamashita)
02. Down Town 00:03:28~(Lyrics Ginji Ito, Music Composition Tatsuro Yamashita)
03. The City in the Mirage （SHINKIROU no MACHI）00:07:54~(Lyrics & Music Composition:Taeko Onuki)
04. World in the Wind(KAZE no SEKAI) 00:10:57~ (Lyrics & Music Composition:Taeko Onuki)
05.JustSigh (TAMEIKI BAKARI) 00:14:30~(Lyrics &MusicComposition :Kunio Muramatsu)
06. As Usual (ITUMO DORI), 00:18:53~(Lyrics & Music Composition : Taeko Onuki)
07. Wonderful Melody (SUTEKI na MELODY) 00:22:31~
(Lyrics Ginji Ito, Taeko Onuki, Tatsuro Yamashita, Music CompositionTaeko Onuki, Tatsuro Yamashita)
08. I'm in a mood today (KYOU wa NANDAKA) 00:25:10~
(Lyrics Tatsuro Yamashita, Ginji Ito, Music Composition:Tatsuro Yamashita)
09. Rain fills my palm (AME wa TENOHIRA IPPAI) 00:29:43~(Lyrics & Music Composition: Tatsuro Yamashita)
10. the Days Gone by "60's Dream (SUGISARISI HIBI)" 00:33:34~(Lyrics Ginji Ito, Music Composition :Tatsuro Yamashita)
11. Sugar 00:37:09~(Lyrics & Music Composition :Tatsuro Yamashita)
〇Bonus Tracks
12 At the End of Summer (NATSU no OWARI NI) (demo) 00:43:06~(Lyrics & Music Composition :Tatsuro Yamashita)
13 Parade (demo) 00:46:38~(Lyrics & Music Composition: Tatsuro Yamashita)
14 Show (demo) 00:50:46~(Lyrics & MusicComposition: Tatsuro Yamashita)
15 Pinky Promise (YUBI KIRI) (demo) 00:54:28~(Lyrics Takashi Matsumoto ,Music Composition :Otaki Eiichi)
16 My Feelings (OMOI) (Live Version) 00:57:43~(Lyrics & music Yasuyu Komiya)
SUGAR BABE was
Tatsuro Yamashita Vocals Electric & Acoustec Guitars, keyboards,
Taeko Onuki Vocals Keyboards,
Kunio Muramatsu Electric Guitar, Vocals
Kikuo Wanikawa Base
Akihiko Noguchi Drums
Yutaka Uehara, Drums
・・・・・・
Eiichi Otaki Bass, Vocals
Studio : CBS SONY Roppongi Tokyo, ELEC Studio, Mohri Studio
Their production of the debut album was decided in September 1974.
The label was the Niagara label presided over by Eiichi Otaki (ex-Happy End), and the publisher was Eleck Record, an independent record company.
The Niagara label by Eiichi Otaki got its start as the first musicians' label in Japan. Sugar Babe was chosen as the label's first artist.
Tatsuro Yamashita, Taeko Onuki and everyone else made their debut on the LP for the first time in their careers.
It can be said that the moment of the birth of the Japanese CITY POP has risen.
Among the members of this unknown new band, first handled and discovered by Eiichi Otaki of HAPPY END, were born members who would later have an impact on the Japanese music world in the 1980s and beyond.
This album could not be released in Europe and the United States, and it became an unknown treasure buried only in Japan of far east, and it did not reach the ears of people around the world for about 50 years, until the Internet was born and spread around the world.
@user-bk5mw6zc2z
いきなり始まるのが、虚をつかれる感じで何とも言えない。
@verdiernoyama9681
if only they had done more duet together
@kentarouiijima3907
夜ふけのさみしさ ひとりの時は
心の片隅の夢を開けよう
Oh･･･すてきなメロディー
Oh･･･流れて来るでしょう
星空いっぱいあふれる夜は
昨日と明日の間のひととき
Oh･･･すてきなメロディー
Oh･･･流れて来るでしょう
@user-xo5ko5uj1o
良いですよね🙋
@user-ib4fr1wr3v
いい曲だなぁ
@acemoss2878
This is fantastic!! The melody reminds me a bit of The Lovin' Spoonful. I love Tatsuro Yamashita and like Taeko Ohnuki, so it was nice to check out what they were doing pre-City Pop. Thanks for the upload! It's way too hard to find Sugar Babe's stuff here on YouTube.
@user-uz3mh5hl6s
懐かしい、懐かしい。みんな若かったな。昔はよかったとは思わないが、やはり若かりし昔は良かったよ。😂
@607joe
duet TY and ohnuki taeko
@cowla320
Had to come here since the whole album is now blocked :(
Thanks for having some of their songs.
@bitterjames
wish there was at least a torrent of the album