No Christmas in Japan would be complete without Tatsuro Yamashita's "Christmas Eve". That song is the J-pop Christmas standard - although Mariya Takeuchi's cover of "The Christmas Song" is right up there as well. Takeuchi, by the way, is Yamashita's wife, and he produced her version of the seasonal chestnut. Yamashita is one of several musicians who played a leading role in the Japanese pop music scene of the 1970s, laying the foundations for contemporary J-pop along with young...

No Christmas in Japan would be complete without Tatsuro Yamashita's "Christmas Eve". That song is the J-pop Christmas standard - although Mariya Takeuchi's cover of "The Christmas Song" is right up there as well. Takeuchi, by the way, is Yamashita's wife, and he produced her version of the seasonal chestnut. Yamashita is one of several musicians who played a leading role in the Japanese pop music scene of the 1970s, laying the foundations for contemporary J-pop along with young upstarts like Yumi Matsutoya, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono and Keisuke Kuwata. Yamashita first made a name for himself as a member of influential '70s band Sugar Babe, whose members also included singer/songwriter Taeko Onuki. After that band broke up, Yamashita embarked on a solo career, and the hits started coming thick and fast. Yamashita has an instantly recognizable, high-pitched voice - one of those love-it-or-it-hate-it voices. His smooth, glossy pop production style is another Yamashita trademark. He's also a multi-instrumentalist and writes his own songs. Yamashita's deep appreciation and knowledge of classic American pop is evident on tracks such as his remake of the Tradewinds' "New York Is a Lonely Town", which Yamashita covered as "Tokyo's a Lonely Town". Yamashita also released a series of albums titled On the Street Corner in which he performed a cappella versions of songs like "You Make Me Feel Brand New". In 1992 Yamashita made history by successfully suing his former record label for issuing a greatest-hits compilation without his consent, a very unusual move in Japan's traditionally non-litigious society. Yamashita still releases singles and albums, although at his own, relaxed pace. His most recent album was 2002's Realities. Yamashita also works as a producer; in 1997 he produced the Kinki Kids' hit single, "Garasu no Shonen".