Shigeru Suzuki

Shigeru Suzuki (Japanese: 鈴木 茂, Hepburn: Suzuki Shigeru, born December 20, 1951)[1] is a Japanese musician, songwriter and guitarist. He first became known as a member of the influential rock band Happy End in the early 1970s, before starting a solo career and becoming a prolific session musician. As of 2006, Suzuki had contributed to 588 recordings. In 2019, Suzuki's high school band Skye reunited and released their first album.

Shigeru Suzuki
鈴木茂
Born (1951-12-20) December 20, 1951
Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
GenresRock, folk rock
Occupation(s)Guitarist, record producer, musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals, synthesizer
Years active1967–present
Formerly ofHappy End
WebsiteOfficial website

Biography

Before being invited to join Happy End in 1969, Suzuki was in a band called Skye (スカイ) with his high school classmates Tatsuo Hayashi and Ray Ohara (Sadistic Mika Band). Happy End produced three albums, Happy End (1970), Kazemachi Roman (1971) and Happy End (1973), before officially disbanding on New Year's Eve 1972. Suzuki and Haruomi Hosono then formed Caramel Mama (キャラメル・ママ) with Hayashi, Masataka Matsutoya and Hiroshi Sato in 1973. They changed their name to Tin Pan Alley (ティン・パン・アレー) a year later.

Suzuki released his first solo album, Band Wagon which was recorded in Los Angeles with musicians from notable acts such as Little Feat, Santana and Sly and the Family Stone, in 1975.[2] To tour the record, he formed the band Huckleback (ハックルバック, sometimes written as "Hucklebuck") with Sato, bassist Akihiro Tanaka and drummer Toshiaki Hayashi. The group played around 10 shows, before disbanding on November 16, 1975.[3]

Suzuki, Hosono and Hayashi reformed Tin Pan Alley, dropping the "Alley" from the name, for an album in 2000.[4]

On February 17, 2009, Suzuki was arrested by the Tokyo Wangan Police Station for violating the Cannabis Control Law.[5] He received a six month prison sentence suspended for three years on March 17.[6]

To celebrate his 40th anniversary as a solo artist, Suzuki teamed up with Ino Hidefumi for two concerts on April 3 and 4, 2015. They performed twice each day and were backed by Hayashi and Hama Okamoto.[7]

Suzuki supported Matsutoya's wife Yumi at the 69th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen at the end of 2018. When Ohara invited Suzuki and Tatsuo Hayashi to record with Shiro Sano in 2019, the three decided to reunite their high school band Skye.[8] Adding Matsutoya to the line-up, they released the album Kindan no Kajitsu with Sano on September 25, 2019.[8] In 2020, Fender released Suzuki's signature model guitar, the "Shigeru Suzuki '62 Stratocaster Journeyman Relic".[9] In June, he released the song "Mada Yume no Tochū" (まだ夢の途中) with Chu Kosaka under the name Shige-Chu (茂 忠).[10] Skye's self-titled first album was released on October 27, 2021.[11] Album, their second album with Sano, was released on July 5, 2023.[12]

Discography
Solo studio albums
  • Band Wagon (1975)
  • Maboroshi no Huckleback (幻のハックルバック, 1976, credited to "Shigeru Suzuki and Huckleback")
  • Lagoon (1976)
  • Caution! (1978)
  • Telescope (1978)
  • Cosmos '51 (1979)
  • White Heat (1979)
  • Sei Do Ya (1985)
  • Kujira no Umi ~ Living Whales (クジラの海～Living Whales, 1998)
With Tin Pan Alley
  • Caramel Mama (キャラメル・ママ, 1975)
  • Tin Pan Alley 2 (1977)
  • Märchen Pop (メルヘン・ポップ, 1979, cover album)
  • Tin Pan (2000)
With Skye
  • Kindan no Kajitsu (禁断の果実, 2019, credited to "Shiro Sano meets Skye with Masataka Matsutoya")
  • Skye (2021)
  • Album (2023, credited to "Shiro Sano meets Skye")
CBS/Sony Sound Image Series
  • Pacific (1978) with Haruomi Hosono and Tatsuro Yamashita
  • New York (1978) with various artists
  • Island Music (1983) with Hosono, Yamashita, Matsutoya, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Takahiko Ishikawa
  • Off Shore (1983) with Hosono, Yamashita, Sakamoto, Matsutoya, Masaki Matsubara and Kazumasa Akiyama

References
  1. "鈴木茂". Tower Records (in Japanese). Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  2. "鈴木茂、歴史的名盤「BAND WAGON」再現ライブ実施". Natalie (in Japanese). March 10, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  3. "鈴木茂とハックルバック、1975年ライブ音源CD化". Natalie. September 23, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  4. "The best of the year that was". The Japan Times. December 12, 2000. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  5. "元「はっぴいえんど」鈴木茂容疑者、大麻所持容疑で逮捕". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 朝日新聞社. February 18, 2009. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  6. "大麻のはっぴいえんど鈴木茂被告が有罪". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 日刊スポーツ新聞社. March 17, 2009. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  7. "鈴木茂＆猪野秀史のビルボードライブにハマ・オカモトら出演". Rockin' On (in Japanese). January 15, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  8. "佐野史郎 meets SKYE with 松任谷正隆「禁断の果実」インタビュー". Natalie (in Japanese). September 24, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  9. "フェンダーから細野晴臣と鈴木茂のシグネチャーモデル販売決定". Natalie (in Japanese). May 1, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  10. "小坂忠と鈴木茂のユニット茂 忠、「まだ夢の途中」CDオンライン販売決定". Natalie (in Japanese). June 1, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  11. "鈴木茂、小原礼、林立夫、松任谷正隆からなるバンド・SKYEが満を持してデビューアルバム発売". Natalie (in Japanese). September 10, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  12. "佐野史郎が緊急入院、来週に4年ぶりニューアルバム発売を控える中". Natalie (in Japanese). June 29, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
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