Crazy Ken Band
Crazy Ken Band (クレイジーケンバンド), also referred to as CKB, is a Japanese musical group formed in 1997 by its lead vocalist, writer and composer Ken Yokoyama. The band first came together in 1991 under the name "CK's", with a four-member lineup: Ken Yokoyama, Keiichi Hiroishi, Masao Onose and Shinya Horaguchi.[1] This incarnation of the group was centred on a 15-man instrumental and vocal group. In 1997, Keiichi Nakanishi became the fifth member and the group's name was changed to "Crazy Ken Band".[2]
Crazy Ken Band | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Funk, rock and roll, pop |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Universal Sigma/Double Joy |
| Members | See members section |
| Website | crazykenband.com universal-music.co.jp/CKB/ |
The band made its debut in June 1998 with the album Punch! Punch! Punch!. In 2000, support member Toraji Shingū became a full member of the band.[2] The group's first single, "Nikutai Kankei", was released in June 2001. In 2003, HMV Japan ranked the band at #98 in their "Top 100 Japanese pops Artists".[2] In 2005, their song "Tiger & Dragon" was used as the theme song of the critically acclaimed TBS drama of the same name.
The group's first compilation album, CKBB - Oldies But Goodies was released on March 3, 2004, reaching a chart position of #9 and remaining on the charts for forty-nine weeks.[2] A set of compilation albums, Best Tsuru and Best Kame, their third and fourth compilation albums respectively, were released on February 24, 2010. Both were successful; Tsuru charted at #10 on the Oricon weekly chart, selling 13,323 copies in its first week, while Kame charted at #11, selling 12,158 copies in its first week.[3]
"December 17" (12月17日) and "Kuroi Kizuato no Blues" (黒い傷跡のブルース), two songs from Galaxy, were featured in the 2006 video game Yakuza 2. "December 17" was later featured on Best Tsuru.
Members
- Ken Yokoyama (横山 剣, Yokoyama Ken) - lead vocalist, chorus, writer, composer, arrangement and keyboardist
- Masao Onose (小野瀬 雅生, Onose Masao) - electric guitar and chorus
- Toraji Shingū (新宮 虎児, Shingū Toraji) - electric guitar and keyboard
- Keiichi Nakanishi (中西 圭一, Nakanishi Keiichi) - saxophone, flute
- Shinya Horaguchi (洞口 信也, Horaguchi Shinya) - bass
- Keiichi Hiroishi (廣石 恵一, Hiroishi Keiichi) - drums, percussion, bandmaster
- Toshimitsu Takahashi (高橋 利光, Takahashi Toshimitsu) - keyboard, arrangement
- Aiko Sugawara (菅原 愛子, Sugawara Aiko) - vocals, chorus
- Smokey Tetsuni (スモーキー・テツニ) - vocals, chorus
- Wakaba Kawai (河合 わかば, Kawai Wakaba) - trombone, flute
- Hironori Sawano (澤野 博敬, Sawano Hironori) - trumpet, flugelhorn
- Gen Date (伊達 弦, Date Gen) - percussion
Discography
Singles
| # | Title | Release date | Chart position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Nikutai Kankei" (肉体関係, Sex Friend) | June 25, 2001 | — |
| 2 | "September" (せぷてんばぁ) | September 10, 2001 Jusy 23, 2003 (re-release) | — 187 (re-release) |
| 3 | "Mappira Rock" (まっぴらロック) | May 22, 2002 | 98 |
| 4 | "GT" | July 10, 2002 | 57 |
| 5 | "Tiger & Dragon" (タイガー＆ドラゴン) | December 4, 2002 April 27, 2005 (re-release) | 17 |
| 6 | "Christmas Nante Daikirai!! Nanchatte" (クリスマスなんて大嫌い!! なんちゃって♥, I Hate Christmas! Only Joking♥) | December 4, 2002 | 14 |
| 7 | "Amai Hibi/A, Yaru to kya Yaranakya Dame na no yo." (甘い日々／あ、やるときゃやらなきゃダメなのよ。) | February 19, 2003 | 24 |
| 8 | "Abuku" (あぶく, Easy) | December 1, 2004 | 35 |
| 9 | "Meri Meri (I Wanna Marry Marry You)" (メリメリ -I Wanna Marry Marry You-) | July 26, 2006 | 28 |
| 10 | "Tenyawanya Desu yo" (てんやわんやですよ, Hectic!) | February 21, 2007 | 10 |
| 11 | "Girlfriend" (ガールフレンド) | July 22, 2009 | 12 |
| 12 | 1107 (イイオンナ, Good Woman) | July 21, 2010 | 15 |
| 13 | Ippai Ippai (いっぱい いっぱい, Full Full) | July 6, 2011 | 20 |
| 14 | Wairudo de Ikou!!! (ワイルドで行こう！！！, Let's Go Wild!!!) | November 23, 2011 | 44 |
| 15 | Furuyou Kurabu (不良倶楽部, Failure Club) | February 1, 2012 | 32 |
Studio albums
| # | Title | Release date | Chart position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Punch! Punch! Punch! | June 25, 1998 | — |
| 2 | Goldfish Bowl | May 10, 1999 | — |
| 3 | Shock Ryōhō (ショック療法, Shock Therapy) | June 10, 2000 | — |
| 4 | Gran Turismo (グランツーリズモ) | August 7, 2002 | 34 |
| 5 | 777 | June 25, 2003 | 14 |
| 6 | Brown Metallic | June 23, 2004 | 13 |
| 7 | Soul Punch | July 6, 2005 | 9 |
| 8 | Galaxy | September 20, 2006 | 10 |
| 9 | Soul Denpa (SOUL電波, Soul Radio Waves) | August 8, 2007 | 6 |
| 10 | Zero | August 13, 2008 | 5 |
| 11 | Girls! Girls! Girls! (ガール!ガール!ガール!) | August 12, 2009 | 4 |
| 12 | Mint Condition | August 10, 2010 | 9 |
| 13 | Italian Garden | February 29, 2012 | 4 |
| 14 | Flying Saucer | May 22, 2013 | 6 |
| 15 | Spark Plug | September 3, 2014 | 9 |
| 16 | Mousukkari Arenandayone (もうすっかりあれなんだよね) | August 12, 2015 | 3 |
| 17 | Hong Kong Taxi | August 3, 2016 | 4 |
| 18 | Pacific | August 7, 2019 | 11[4] |
| 19 | Now | October 21, 2020 | 14 |
| 20 | Jyuei (樹影) | August 3, 2022 | 9 |
| 21 | Sekai (世界) | September 6, 2023 | 17[5] |
12-inch albums
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yokowake Handsome World (ヨコワケハンサムワールド) | 1999 |
| 2 | The Playboy's Manual | 2000 |
| 3 | MilkyWay Galaxy | 2006 |
Digital albums
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | iTunes Originals – Crazy Ken Band (Japan exclusive) | 2005 |
Live albums
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seizan 246 Shinyazoku no Yoru (青山246深夜族の夜) | December 10, 2000 |
Compilation albums
| # | Title | Release date | Chart position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CKBB - Oldies But Goodies | March 3, 2004 | 9 |
| 2 | Middle & Mellow of Crazy Ken Band | October 8, 2008 | 58 |
| 3 | Crazy Ken Band: Best Tsuru (クレイジーケンバンド・ベスト 鶴, Crazy Ken Band: Best (Crane)) | February 24, 2010 | 10 |
| 4 | Crazy Ken Band: Best Kame (クレイジーケンバンド・ベスト 亀, Crazy Ken Band: Best (Turtle)) | February 24, 2010 | 11 |
| 5 | Single Collection / P-Vine Years | February 23, 2011 | — |
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
References
- "Oricon - Crazy Ken Band: "CKBB - Oldies But Goodies"" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-03-21.
- "Top 100 Japanese pops Artists - No.98" (in Japanese). 2003-08-25. Archived from the original on 2005-12-05.
- "2010年03月第2週の邦楽アルバムランキング情報 (Album rankings for second week of March, 2010)" (in Japanese). March 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23.
- 週間 CDアルバムランキング 2019年08月19日付 [Weekly CD Album Ranking on August 19, 2019]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- 週間 CDアルバムランキング 2023年09月18日付 [Weekly CD Album Ranking on September 18, 2023]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Retrieved September 13, 2023.