About

Eikichi Yazawa

Overview

Eikichi Yazawa (矢沢永吉) is a Japanese rock musician, singer-songwriter and actor, born on September 14, 1949 in Hiroshima. Known affectionately as "Ei-chan," "Boss" and "The King of Rock," he first rose to fame in 1972 as lead vocalist and bassist of the band Carol, and has been one of Japan's defining rock figures since going solo in 1975. He is the father of singer Yoko Yazawa.

His records include the most Top 10 albums in Oricon history (54 as of 2019), the most performances at Nippon Budokan (153 through 2023), and being the only male solo artist to top the studio-album chart in three consecutive decades, from the 1970s to the 1990s. In 2019, at age 70, his album "Itsuka, Sono Hi ga Kuru Hi made..." debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon weekly album chart, making him the oldest artist to do so. As of 2012 he had written roughly 400 songs, played about 1,800 concerts and drawn around six million fans in total.

Career

Early life in Hiroshima

Yazawa's father ran a bicycle shop before the war and lost his family in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima; he remarried after the war, and Eikichi was born in 1949. His mother left when he was three, and his father died of radiation sickness when Eikichi was in second grade. As a second-generation atomic bomb survivor, he was passed between relatives and then raised in poverty by his paternal grandmother. Bullied as a child, he developed his philosophy of "being BIG." In junior high he discovered rock through The Beatles on the radio and a Ventures concert in Hiroshima, and on New Year's Day 1968 he wrote his first song, "I Love You, OK."

Yokohama and Carol (1968–1975)

In 1968, right after graduating from high school, he boarded a night train for Tokyo with a guitar, his scores and 50,000 yen of savings, but got off at Yokohama, a port city like The Beatles' Liverpool. He took odd jobs while forming bands: The Base, E-Set and Yamato, the last including future NOBODY members Toshio Kihara and Masaharu Omori. Demo tapes brought to Toshiba EMI and CBS Sony were rejected.

In June 1972 he recruited members through notices and formed Carol with Johnny Okura, Toshikatsu Uchiumi and others; drummer You Okazaki joined later. After an appearance on Fuji TV's "Live Young!", Mickey Curtis helped produce their debut single "Louisiana," released December 20, 1972. Influenced by The Beatles, and with leather jackets, pompadours and early rock 'n' roll numbers, Carol became hugely popular and shaped Japanese popular music. Their biggest hit, "Funky Monkey Baby," came out on June 25, 1973 and became a standard of Japanese rock. The band split in 1975 after the final concert at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall on April 13, where firecrackers set the stage ablaze, an event remembered as the "Hibiya Legend."

Solo debut and the Gold Rush years (1975–1980)

Yazawa replaced his entire staff and flew to the U.S. in May 1975, signing with CBS Sony. On September 21, 1975 he debuted solo with the single "I Love You, OK" and the album of the same name, recorded in Los Angeles and funded with his Carol royalties. Because he had changed his style, the album was poorly received, and his first tour sold badly, with only 200 tickets sold at a 1,000-plus-seat hall in Sasebo, where he vowed to "Remember Sasebo." He kept touring nationwide. He also took an early interest in the music business and reportedly secured his master rights early.

On July 24, 1976, as "The Star in Hibiya," he sold out Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall and released the album "A Day." On August 26, 1977, he became the first Japanese solo rock artist to play Nippon Budokan, drawing over 13,000 people; the live album "Super Live Nippon Budokan" followed. In 1978, his fourth album "Goldrush" reached No. 1 on Oricon (later ranked No. 5 on Rolling Stone Japan's list of the 100 greatest Japanese rock albums), his autobiography "Nariagari" sold over a million copies, and he played Korakuen Stadium for 50,000 fans on August 28. The Shiseido commercial song "Jikan yo Tomare" was a huge hit, and he topped the national earnings ranking for singers in 1978, 1980 and 1982. Despite this success he felt an "emptiness," and in 1980 he signed with Warner Pioneer and moved to the U.S. West Coast.

Career in the United States (1981–1987)

Settling in Los Angeles, he released his first English-language album, "Yazawa," in 1981, produced by Bobby LaKind of the Doobie Brothers and Paul Barrere of Little Feat, alongside "Rising Sun" for the Japanese market. In 1982 came the single "Rockin' My Heart" (recommended by Billboard in February 1983) and his second English album, "Yazawa It's Just Rock'n'Roll," plus "P.M.9" for Japan. In 1980 his "THIS IS A SONG FOR COCA-COLA" was also a hit.

1990s onward

In 1992 he became the first face of Suntory's BOSS canned coffee, playing an unglamorous salaryman against his rock-icon image, which widened his fame. In 1994 he starred in the TV drama "Ari yo Saraba" and later appeared in more dramas and films. In 2006 NHK aired a special focused on his fans, and in 2009 he made his first appearance on NHK's Kohaku Uta Gassen as a surprise guest at the 60th edition. He released "Last Song" in summer 2012, and in 2014 "Jikan yo Tomare" returned as a Shiseido commercial song. In 2018 he pledged proceeds from his September 11 Hiroshima Green Arena concert to victims of the July floods. In September 2019 "Itsuka, Sono Hi ga Kuru Hi made..." sold 112,000 copies in its first week and hit No. 1. His catalog has been reissued as 50th Anniversary Remastered editions, and he released the single "Shinjitsu" on August 25, 2025 and the album "I believe" on September 24, 2025.

Musical style

Rooted in The Beatles and The Ventures, Yazawa's rock is built on melodies he writes for almost every song, with some lyrics of his own and others by leading Japanese lyricists. He self-produces many albums and oversees his concert productions through his own company. He says no instrument beats the voice, and often finishes a recording in a single take. Alongside rock, ballads form a major part of his work, as in "STANDARD ~~THE BALLAD BEST~~." His fans are known for their fervor, many emulating his white suits and pompadour.