Eikichi Yazawa

Eikichi Yazawa (矢沢永吉, Yazawa Eikichi, born September 141949 in Hiroshima) is a Japanese rock singer. He was a member of the legendary Japanese rock group Carol, and is one of the most successful rock singers in Japan.

Related Topics:
September 14 - 1949 - Hiroshima - Japanese rock - Singer - Carol

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yazawa formed the band Carol in 1972. They were strongly inspired by the Beatles. Carol had some minor success and a few hit singles and albums were released. After the band broke up in 1975, Yakawa flew to the U.S. to start his solo career. His first solo album, I Love You, OK, was recorded at the A&M studio in Los Angeles and produced by Tom Mack.

Related Topics:
1972 - Beatles - 1975 - U.S. - Recorded - Los Angeles

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1977, he was the first artist to perform at the Budokan hall in Tokyo, to a thronging crowd of over 13,000 people. He now holds the record of most performances at the Budokan hall, having performed there about 80 times.

Related Topics:
1977 - Budokan - Tokyo

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1978 was a greatly successful year for Yazawa. His fourth studio album, Gold Rush, went to #1 in the charts. He also held a hugely successful performance at the Korakuen baseball stadium (now the Tokyo Dome) for over 40,000 people.

Related Topics:
1978 - Tokyo Dome

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1980, Yazawa, seeking worldwide success, signed a contract with the Warner Pioneer record company and moved to the West Coast of the United States. He recorded the albums Yazawa, It's Just Rock n' Roll, and Flash in Japan, all of which were released worldwide, but were not very commercially successful.

Related Topics:
1980 - Warner Pioneer - West Coast of the United States

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the late 1990s, Yazawa was swindled out of about 3.5 billion yen for a huge building construction project in Australia.

Related Topics:
1990s - Yen - Australia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His albums have sold about 10 million copies in the Japanese market, and he has had a strong influence on modern Japanese rock music.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~