(born July 7, 1953) is a Japanese singer and actress. She is well known for her comedy roles featuring

idiosyncratic An idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person (though there are also other uses, see below). It can also mean an odd habit. The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. A synonym may be "quirk". Etymology The term "idiosyncra ...

looks, and a string of successful

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affecte ...

s that gained popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Biography

In 1971, Ken debuted as an enka-oriented singer with a single "Daitokai no Yasagure On'na". In 1975, after the release of several charted singles, she gained the first outstanding commercial success with a song "Guzu", which was written by

Ryudo Uzaki is a Japanese musician, composer, and actor. His group, the Down Town Boogie-Woogie Band, was one of the most prominent 1970s Japanese rock music bands. He also composed many of Momoe Yamaguchi's songs with Yoko Aki. He is married to lyricist a ...

and his wife

Yoko Aki Yoko may refer to: People * Yoko (name), a Japanese feminine given name; variants include Yōko and Yohko * Yoko Gushiken (具志堅用高, born 1955), Japanese professional boxer * Yoko Taro (横尾太郎, born 1970), Japanese video game di ...

. "Abayo", a song written by

Miyuki Nakajima (born February 23, 1952, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and radio personality. She has released 43 studio albums, 46 singles, 6 live albums and multiple compilations as of January 2020. Her sales have been estimated ...

became the most successful single for Ken, selling more than 600,000 copies. In 1976, the prize-winning song reached number-one spot on the Oricon, Japan's most eminent chart. In addition to the success as a musician, she also obtained popularity as a ''

tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as "tal ...

'' in the mid 1970s, through her comical acts on multiple TV shows including ''Kakkurakin Daihousou!!''. After a temporary hiatus in 1977 owing to her arrest on suspicion of possession of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

, she returned to the Japanese entertainment industry with the hit tune "Kamome wa Kamome". The melancholic ballad written by Nakajima became known as one of her

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

s, finally sold in excess of 300,000 units. In 1982, she gained huge commercial success as a singer again with a cover version of the

Southern All Stars , also known by the abbreviations and SAS, are a Japanese rock band that first formed in 1974. The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata (lead vocals and guitars), Yuko Hara (vocals and keyboards), Kazuyuki Sekiguchi (bass), Hiroshi Matsuda (dru ...

' song "Natsu wo Akiramete", winning several Japanese music prizes. The song is her last top-ten hit solo single so far. Due to her songs’ popularity, Ken was selected for the annual Red and White Song festival every year from 1976 to 1986 except 1977, the year that she went hiatus due to her drug case, and made another return to the prestigious programme on 1993 for her 11th and last appearance so far. Through her long-term career as a comedic TV personality, she has released several novelty singles with other performers such as

Ken Shimura (born , 20 February 1950 – 29 March 2020) was a Japanese comedian. He co-starred with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano in the Japanese variety show '. Throughout his comedy career, Shimura was known for his "Bakatono-sama" character, whi ...

. The song "Natsuzakari Ho no Ji Gumi" recorded with an idol singer

Toshihiko Tahara is a Japanese idol singer, and solo vocalist, affiliated with Johnny & Associates. In the 1980s he had a number of number 1 singles in Japan. He was awarded a Japan Music Award in 1983 for the song . He was part of the Tanokin Trio. Biogra ...

in 1985 is the last top-40 hit single for Ken on the Japanese record charts. To date, her last single was released in 1985.

Discography

Solo singles

Other singles

Studio albums

* (1973) * (1974) * (1975) * (1976) * 　(1977) * ''Naoko VS Miyuki'' (a.k.a. ) (1978) * ''Naoko VS Aku Yu'' (1979) * (1980) * (1981) * ''Naoko Mistone'' (1983) * (1983) * ''Again'' (1984) * * ''Deep'' (1985) * ''Bitter'' (1989) * ''Re-Naoko'' (1992) * ''Ago'' (1993) * ''Love Life Live'' (2008)

Compilations

Filmography

Kōhaku Uta Gassen Appearances

References

External links

Official site (Japanese)
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ken, Naoko 1953 births Living people Japanese women singers Japanese actresses Musicians from Shizuoka Prefecture