are a Japanese
kayōkyoku
is a Japanese pop music genre, which became a base of modern J-pop. ''The Japan Times'' described ''kayōkyoku'' as "standard Japanese pop" or " Shōwa-era pop".
''Kayōkyoku'' represents a blend of Western and Japanese musical scales. Music ...
group, formed by Hiroshi Uchiyamada (born Michio Uchiyamada, 1936–2006) in 1967 and fronted by the lead vocalist
Kiyoshi Maekawa
(born ) is a Japanese singer and tarento.
He is best known as the first lead vocalist of Hiroshi Uchiyamada and Cool Five, which was formed in 1967 and debuted in 1969 with the Japan Record Award-winning song "Nagasaki wa Kyō mo Ame Datta". ...
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In 1969, the group debuted with the 11th
Japan Record Award
is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST a ...
-winning song "Nagasaki wa Kyou mo Ame datta".
They enjoyed a highly successful career mainly during the first half of the 1970s, producing numerous hit singles including "Awazu ni Aishite", "Uwasa no Onna","Soshite, Kōbe", "Nakanoshima Blues" and "Tokyo Sabaku". They lost popularity after the departure of their frontman in the late 1980s, and their career went into hiatus after the band lineup was radically altered around the 1990s.
After the band's founder died of
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...
in 2006, the remaining members, including Maekawa, reunited.
Band members
Discography
Charting singles on the Japanese Oricon
* The group released over 50 singles until Kiyoshi Maekawa left the band in 1987, and those sales have been estimated more than 5.9 million copies.
Kōhaku Uta Gassen Appearances
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiroshi Uchiyamada And Cool Five
Japanese pop music groups
Musical groups established in 1967
Japanese boy bands