Tatsuhiko Yamamoto
{{Short description|Japanese singer-songwriter}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Tatsuhiko Yamamoto
| image =
| caption =
| background =
| birth_name = 山本 達彦
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|03|04}}
| birth_place = Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
| instrument = Vocals, piano, guitar
| genre = J-Pop, Rhythm and blues, Jazz
| occupation = Singer-songwriter, composer
| years_active = 1974–present
| label = {{Flat list |
- Universal Music Japan (1978 - 1981)
- EMI Music Japan (1982 - 1988)
- Alfa Records (1990 - 1994)
- Ariola Japan (1996)
- Wonder Entertainment (1996 - 1997)
- Silence (1999 - present)
}}
|website = {{URL|http://www.tatsuhiko-yamamoto.jp}}
}}
{{nihongo|Tatsuhiko Yamamoto|山本達彦|Yamamoto Tatsuhiko|born March 4, 1954}} is a Japanese singer-songwriter and composer born in Shinjuku, Tokyo considered to have helped pioneer the city-pop genre.
Early life and career
Yamamoto first began singing in the Tokyo Boys' Choir during his second year at Gyosei Primary School. After merging with the corresponding girls choir, the group went on a goodwill tour through North America in 1964. During this tour, the group performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. Yamamoto has been open about having come from a supportive home that allowed him to pursue his interests freely. He also noted his own perfectionism as a child, stating that it took him until middle school to find his stride.{{cite web |title=「どんなときも楽しく、ドラマティックでいたい」から想像力を駆使して音楽を生み出しつづけます |url=https://365college.press/interview/genki/5965 |website=「健康365」公式Webメディア 365カレッジ |access-date=7 April 2022 |language=ja |date=18 September 2020}}
While attending Seikei University, he formed a band called Orange (オレンジ). Despite early initial success, including a win at the Nippon TV band contest, the band soon dissolved in 1976, two years after the release of their debut single. After graduating, Yamamoto embarked on a solo career, debuting with Sudden Wind in 1978.
Solo success
Yamamoto saw continued commercial success throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, with his albums regularly appearing within the Top 20 of the Japanese Oricon Charts and being used in advertisements. Musically, those works are considered to be of the AOR and city-pop genres, a mix of various sounds incorporating disco, rhythm and blues, soft rock, and jazz.{{cite web |last1=吉元 |first1=由美 |title=山本達彦の色褪せぬ"エレガンス"とは？（前編） |url=https://www.gqjapan.jp/culture/article/20191009-yamamoto-vol1 |website=GQ JAPAN |publisher=Condé Nast |access-date=7 April 2022 |language=ja-JP |date=9 October 2019}} He has noted the influence that his uncle's musical tastes had on him growing up and, toward the end of the 1990s and into the new millennium, experimented more with piano-driven jazz and bossa nova.{{cite web |title=BIOGRAPHY - 山本達彦 － Tatsuhiko Yamamoto - UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN |url=https://www.universal-music.co.jp/yamamoto-tatsuhiko/biography/ |website=山本達彦 |publisher=Universal Music Group |access-date=7 April 2022 |language=ja}}
Influences
Yamamoto has cited Sergio Mendes, Jimmy Webb, Burt Bacharach, and Donny Hathaway as influences, noting that the late-1960s constitutes the time most "vibrant" to him.{{cite web |last1=Yoshimoto |first1=Hidemitsu |title="音楽を通して心の旅行をさせてもらった" 過去・現在・未来が詰まったデビュー40周年記念盤 『Life In Music』を携えトリオ編成でビルボードライブ大阪へ！ 山本達彦インタビュー＆動画コメント |url=http://kansai.pia.co.jp/interview/music/2019-04/yamamototatsuhiko-lifeinmusic.html |website=Kansai Pia |access-date=7 April 2022 |language=ja}}
Discography
- Sudden Wind (1978){{cite web |title=Tatsuhiko Yamamoto |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/2826498-Tatsuhiko-Yamamoto |website=Discogs |access-date=7 April 2022 |language=en}}
- Memorial Rain (1979)
- Poker Face (1981)
- I Love You So (1982)
- Le plein soleil (1982)
- Romantic View (1983)
- Martini View (1983)
- Music (1984)
- My Favorites (1985)
- Mediterranee (1985)
- To Be (1986)
- Spectra (1986)
- Boom Days (1987)
- Heart Notes (1988)
- Next (1990)
- Once in My Life (1991)
- Loved One (1991)
- Sweet (1992)
- 夏がはじまる日 (1993)
- Trade Wind (1994)
- Les impressions d'un café (カフェの光景~暮色のパリ~) (1996)
- Lost Hour (1996)
- Come Rain Come Shine (1997)
- Conversations With Myself (2000)
- Final Beginnings (2000)
- Conversations With Myself II (2000)
- Conversations With Myself III (2001)
- La plage (2002)
- Croissant (2003)
- torso (2006)
- Le ciel (2008)
- Libido Game (2009)