Along with
Tomoyasu Hotei, Char is one of Japan’s few bona fide guitar heroes, and after a long and eventful career he has become firmly ensconced as one of the Japanese music scene’s elder statesmen. Char began taking piano lessons at age 7, but switched to guitar at age 8 after hearing the Ventures, the American band whose influence led to Japan’s early-‘60s “eleki” (electric guitar) boom. Char put together his first band, Fox, at the tender age of 11, and his renditions of Cream favorites drew a lot of attention to the rock ‘n’ roll prodigy. By the time he was in junior high school Char was working as a session musician as well as backing other artists in concert. In 1973 Char – 17 at the time -- assembled the legendary band Smoky Medicine with Yoshihiro Naruse, Jun Sato, Shoji Fujii, and Mari Kaneko, among others. After Smoky Medicine broke up, Char relocated to the U.S. for a while, and after returning to Japan released his debut solo single, “Navy Blue,” in 1976, as well as his first album, simply titled
Char. The following year saw Char release a succession of hits such as "Kizetsu Suru Hodo Nayamashii (So Good It Makes Me Pass Out),” "Gyakukousen (Backlights)” and "Tougyuushi (The Toreador),” which were a welcome breath of fresh air in the J-pop scene and blurred the line between pop and rock. In 1978 Char did a joint nationwide tour with Godaigo, at that time one of Japan’s most popular bands, and that autumn formed seminal power ...
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Along with
Tomoyasu Hotei, Char is one of Japan’s few bona fide guitar heroes, and after a long and eventful career he has become firmly ensconced as one of the Japanese music scene’s elder statesmen. Char began taking piano lessons at age 7, but switched to guitar at age 8 after hearing the Ventures, the American band whose influence led to Japan’s early-‘60s “eleki” (electric guitar) boom. Char put together his first band, Fox, at the tender age of 11, and his renditions of Cream favorites drew a lot of attention to the rock ‘n’ roll prodigy. By the time he was in junior high school Char was working as a session musician as well as backing other artists in concert. In 1973 Char – 17 at the time -- assembled the legendary band Smoky Medicine with Yoshihiro Naruse, Jun Sato, Shoji Fujii, and Mari Kaneko, among others. After Smoky Medicine broke up, Char relocated to the U.S. for a while, and after returning to Japan released his debut solo single, “Navy Blue,” in 1976, as well as his first album, simply titled
Char. The following year saw Char release a succession of hits such as "Kizetsu Suru Hodo Nayamashii (So Good It Makes Me Pass Out),” "Gyakukousen (Backlights)” and "Tougyuushi (The Toreador),” which were a welcome breath of fresh air in the J-pop scene and blurred the line between pop and rock. In 1978 Char did a joint nationwide tour with Godaigo, at that time one of Japan’s most popular bands, and that autumn formed seminal power trio Johnny, Louis & Char with drummer Johnny Yoshinaga and bassist Luis Kabe. In 1981 Char released another solo album,
U.S.J., which he co-produced with Steve Lukather of Toto. The following year saw the “break-up” of Johnny, Luis & Char, who renamed themselves Pink Cloud. The ever-active Char released a total of seven solo and band albums between 1982 and 1984, and in 1988 established his own record label, Edo-ya, which specialized in hard rock and blues. The late ‘80s also saw Char form yet another band, Char and the Psychedelix, and the highly acclaimed acoustic duo Baho with Nagao Ishida. In 1999 Char did a nationwide tour with drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Tim Bogert in a one-off unit called CB&A, which resulted in the release of a live album the following year. Throughout his incredibly active career, Char has stayed true to his musical vision, regardless of changing musical trends. Although his chart-topping days are long past, Char remains a consistently popular live act.
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