Masaki Ueda

Masaki Ueda (Japanese: 上田正樹; born 7 July 1949) is a Japanese R&B and soul singer and composer.

Masaki Ueda
上田正樹
Born7 July 1949 (1949-07-07) (age 74)
Tokyo, Japan

Life and career

Born in Kyoto, the son of a doctor, Ueda spent part of his childhood with his grandparents in Himeji, Hyōgo, as both her parents became infected with tuberculosis.[1] When his father died and his mother recovered and remarried he moved to Takayama City, Gifu.[1] He became interested in music in 1966, after having attended a concert of The Animals in Nagoya, and subsequently formed his first student band, with whom he performed a folk repertoire.[1]

While still a student at the Gifu University, in 1972 Ueda made his record debut with the single "Kin'iro no taiyō ga moeru asa ni" ("In the morning when the golden sun burns").[1] In 1974 he formed a band, Masaki Ueda & South To South, with whom he recorded an album;[1][2] the group disbanded in 1976 and Ueda reprised his solo career.[1] Ueda's major hit was the 1983 song "Kanashii iro ya ne" (悲しい色やね, "Sad Colors"), whose lyrics in 1988 inspired a film with the same title directed by Yoshimitsu Morita, in which Ueda also appeared.[2][3] His 1999 single "Hands of Time" became a hit in South Korea, selling over 200,000 copies.[2] In 2001, Ueda's duet with Indonesian singer REZA "Forever Peace" topped the Indonesian singles chart.[2] His song "Somewhere Sometime" was chosen as the theme song of the 2007 NHK drama series Shin Machiben.[2] In 2022 he held a national tour as to celebrate his 50 years of career.[4]

References
  1. "SPACE/OF FOLK/&ROCK いま最前線へ、上田正樹インタビュー". Gekkan Meisei, September 1983, Shueisha, pp. 56-57.
  2. "上田 正樹 | プロフィール | ビクターエンタテインメント". ビクターエンタテインメント (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  3. 日本映画史研究会 (1998). 日本映画作品辞典. 科学書院.
  4. "上田正樹、デビュー50周年を記念したBillboard Live公演が決定　ゲストにダイアモンド☆ユカイ". Billboard Japan. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
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