is the 22nd

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...

Momoe Yamaguchi , known by her maiden name , is a Japanese former singer, actress, and idol whose career lasted from 1972 to 1980. Often simply referred to by her given name "Momoe," Yamaguchi is one of the most successful singers in Japanese music, releasing 32 ...

. Written by

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 ...

and

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 ...

, the single was released on May 1, 1978, by

CBS Sony , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

Background

The title "Playback" was suggested by Yamaguchi's management, who requested Aki and Uzaki to compose the song and

Kōji Makaino is a Japanese pop music composer, arranger, and musician. He is the elder brother of composer Shunichi Makaino. Biography Makaino was born in the city of Toyohashi, in Aichi Prefecture. His father Noboru was a music-lover and amateur compos ...

to arrange it. When the first version was rejected, Aki and Uzaki worked overnight to revise the song and gave the new version to arranger Mitsuo Hagita; hence the song being titled "Playback Part 2". The original version with Makaino's arrangement was released as "Playback Part 1" in the compilation album ''The Best Playback''. "Playback" in the lyrics refers to a keyword of a current event that triggers a memory from the previous night. The first verse mentions the keyword, followed by the line, . Then the song stops, implying a rewind before proceeding to the second verse. The keyword in the second verse is , which is a line from

Kenji Sawada is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and actor, best known for being the vocalist for the Japanese rock band The Tigers. Nicknamed because of his self-professed adoration of Julie Andrews, he was born in Tsunoi, Iwami (now part of Totto ...

's 1977 single . The temporary silence in the middle of the song initially led to confusion from radio DJs who thought the song ended quickly. When Yamaguchi first performed the song live on

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

, the line was replaced with due to broadcasting laws prohibiting the promotion of brands in song lyrics. By the time she performed the song on the 29th ''

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

'' that year, the "crimson Porsche" line was restored in the lyrics. "Playback Part 2" earned Yamaguchi the Gold Award at the

20th Japan Record Awards The 20th Annual Japan Record Awards took place at the Imperial Garden Theater in Chiyoda, Tokyo, on December 31, 1978, starting at 7:00PM JST. The primary ceremonies were televised in Japan on TBS. Winners Japan Record Award * Pink Lady – "UFO ...

and the Broadcast Music Award at the 9th

Japan Music Awards for outstanding achievements in the Broadcast Music Producers Federation, was major music awards show held annually in Japan from 1969 to 1993. The 1988 awards ceremony was cancelled due to the deteriorating health of Emperor Shōwa. List of Ja ...

Commercial performance

The single peaked at No. 2 on

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

's singles chart and landed at No. 15 on Oricon's 1978 year-ending chart, selling over 508,000 copies.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by

; all music is composed by

; all music is arranged by Mitsuo Hagita.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

* Yūko Nitō covered the song in her 1990 cover album ''Easter''. *

The Nolans The Nolans are an Anglo-Irish girl group who formed in Blackpool in 1974 as the Nolan Sisters, before changing their name in 1980. Often referred to as Ireland's ''First Family of Music'', they were the first Irish performing family to achiev ...

covered the song in English in their 1991 Momoe Yamaguchi cover album, also titled '' Playback Part 2''. They re-recorded the song in their 2005 cover album ''

The Nolans Sing Momoe 2005 is a cover album by the Irish pop group The Nolans. Released on 19 January 2005 exclusively in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Sony Music Direct, the album is a re-recording of the group's 1991 cover album ''Playback Part 2 (album), Play ...

'' to commemorate Yamaguchi's 25th retirement anniversary. * Midori Karashima covered the song in the 2004 album ''Momoe Yamaguchi Tribute: Thank You For...'' *

Misono , publicly known mononymously as Misono (stylized as misono), is a Japanese singer-songwriter and TV personality. She was born in Kyoto, Japan, and is the younger sister of singer Koda Kumi. Career In 2000, Misono participated in the summer v ...

covered the song in her 2009 ''

Cover Album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''. * Megumi Mori covered the song in her 2013 cover album ''Grace of the Guitar''. *

Penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...

covered the song in their 2014 single "Sol". * Ai Nishida covered the song in her 2015 cover album ''Ai no Uta ~Love Songs~''. *

Pushim , born 　on November 26, 1975 is a Zainichi Korean reggae artist. She is signed to Sony Music Japan's Ki/oon Records division. She began performing in the Kansai reggae scene in 1995. In 1998, she contributed back-up vocals for the Refugee Camp ...

covered the song in their 2016 cover album ''The Nostalgics''. * Yamaguchi's son

Yutaro Miura is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor. He is the vocalist of the rock band Peaky Salt (now inactive) in the name . He is represented with Dream Zero-One Inc. Miura's father is actor Tomokazu Miura. His mother is former singer and actress M ...

covered the song in his 2017 cover album ''I'm Home''. *

Keisuke Kuwata is a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and frontman for the Southern All Stars, as well of his own solo band, the Kuwata band. He has also done a significant amount of scoring music for films. He went to Aoyama Gakuin University ...

covered the song in his 2019 live video ''Act Against AIDS 2018: Heisei 30! Daisankai Hitori Benishiro Uta Gassen''.

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1978 singles 1978 songs Japanese-language songs Songs with lyrics by Yoko Aki Songs with music by Ryudo Uzaki Sony Music Entertainment Japan singles