Matsudaira Akira

On the other hand, he was also skilled at tinkering with machines, drove sports cars, made his own recording devices to send voice letters from performance venues, and was skilled at table magic, possessing surprisingly diverse talents.

He was close friends with singer Shigeo Kusunoki, who debuted around the same time, and when Kusunoki committed suicide in 1956, he reportedly sang "Woman's Class" in tears as he saw off the funeral procession.

He was born on June 26, 1911 (Meiji 44) in the Fukuda family in Saga City, Saga Prefecture, under the name "Fukuda Koji" (his real name).

He loved singing since elementary school, and after graduating from Saga Junior High School, his older brother suggested he pursue a career in music, which led him to decide to do so. However, because he came from an old, established family, his father strongly opposed it. It was only through his brother's desperate intercession that he finally received permission, and he moved to Tokyo alone.

In the spring of 1930 (Showa 5), ​​he enrolled in Musashino Music School (now Musashino Academia Musicae). In 1931 (Showa 6), he transferred to the teacher training course at Tokyo Music School (now Tokyo University of the Arts), where he studied the fundamentals of vocal music while struggling financially. However, he suffered the misfortune of losing his house and fields due to his family's debts as co-guarantors, and his allowance stopped because he needed to raise money for his ailing brother's medical treatment. Faced with this predicament, Fukuda consulted with his senior at the school, Masunaga Takeo.

Masunaga Takeo was a student in the vocal music department and was considered a promising talent. He also sang a series of hit songs (Koga melodies) composed by Koga Masao under the stage name Fujiyama Ichiro, becoming a sensation and gaining high acclaim as a popular singer. Masunaga had also recorded under the name Fujii Tatsuo for Nitto Records, but due to his suspension from school, he was unable to record and introduced Fukuda to Nitto Records as his replacement. In the test, Masunaga is in charge of the piano accompaniment.

In 1932 (Showa 7), he made his record debut under the name "Shizuo Okawa" with the songs "Summer is Cheerful" and "Praise Your Youth." "Summer is Cheerful" was composed by Yoshi Eguchi. His sweet singing voice quickly became popular, and young Fukuda continued to record on the side using pseudonyms such as "Toshio Ikegami," "Fujio Matsudaira," and "Fumio Ogawa" for Nitto, as well as Polydor, King, Taihei, Teichiku, and Parlophone. In November of the same year, his new release from Polydor, "Unforgettable Flower," became a hit. He used the name Toshio Ikegami for this release.

Fukuda was active as a student singer, and the pseudonyms he used at the time included "Shizuo Okawa" and "Toshio Matsudaira" (only at the very end) for Nitto, "Toshio Ikegami" for Polydor, "Fujio Matsudaira" for King, "Fumio Ogawa" for Taihei (also used by Shigeo Kusunoki around the same time) for Teichiku, and "Fujio Matsudaira" and "Kazuhiko Yanagisawa" for Parlophone.

His recordings with Columbia began in March 1933 (Showa 8) with the new releases "Kanashiki Yoru" and "Minato no Ame." Both were composed by Yoshi Eguchi. Columbia had planned for Ichiro Fujiyama to record "Circus no Uta," composed by Masao Koga. However, Ichiro Fujiyama joined Victor. So, Columbia selected Akira Matsudaira to record the song. The company had high expectations for Matsudaira, a junior to Ichiro Fujiyama, as his rival. Matsudaira lived up to those expectations, achieving a huge hit with Masao Koga's "Circus no Uta," and quickly rising to stardom.

In November of the same year, Matsudaira dropped out of the Tokyo Music School. His record recordings had become a problem with the school authorities, and he chose the path of a popular singer The following year, 1934 (Showa 9), he officially signed an exclusive contract as "Akira Matsudaira." Columbia Records was already investing heavily in the Yoshiichi Eguchi-Akira Matsudaira duo, and after Koga moved to Teichiku in April of the same year, Matsudaira became Columbia's flagship singer. His new singles "Kibou no Kubito" (Departure of Hope) in January, "Isoge Horobasha" (Hurry, Covered Wagon) in February, and "Kouya o Iku" (Traveling Through the Wilderness) in November were hits. In particular, "Isoge Horobasha," set in former Manchuria and depicting the life and love story of a wandering traveler, became a catalyst for the "wilderness story" and "continental popular song" boom, and Matsudaira himself was very good at this genre, along with youth pop songs. However, there is a theory that "Kibou no Kubito" was not actually a hit song at the time of its release, and that it was only listed as a "hit song" in later nostalgic music books because the record company heavily advertised it in newspapers at the time.

Thus, Matsudaira, alongside Nakano Tadaharu, became a leading singer for Columbia, and from 1934 (Showa 9) to 1936 (Showa 11), he, along with Fujiyama Ichiro of Victor → Teichiku and Shoji Taro of Polydor, built an era of popular music. While continuing to produce big hits such as "Yūhi wa Ochite" (The Setting Sun), a duet with Mamechiyo on "Kōya o Yuku" (Going Through the Wilderness), and "Hitotsuma Tsubaki" (Married Woman Camellia), the theme song for a Shochiku film, his handsome looks also led to screen appearances. He appeared in numerous films, including Nikkatsu's "Hanayome Nikki" (Bride's Diary), Shinko Kinema's "Hatsukoi Nikki" (First Love Diary), Shochiku's "Junjō Nijūsō" (Pure Love Duet), and Toho's "Utaeba Tengoku" (If You Sing, You'll Be in Heaven).

However, in his private life, especially in romantic relationships, his overly devoted personality led to a series of troubles. For example, he harbored feelings for Haruyo Ichikawa, his co-star in "The Bride's Diary," but became so disgusted by the opposition from those around him that he attempted suicide. Also, in "First Love Diary," in which he played the lead role, he became engaged to his co-star Nobuko Fushimi, but due to the many differences in their lifestyles as stars, as well as personality clashes with Matsudaira, the engagement was broken off in less than a year.

From 1936 to 1938 (Showa 11 to 13), a fierce competition for hits unfolded between Polydor, featuring travel songs by Taro Shoji and Satoshi Uehara; Teichiku, with Koga melodies sung by Ichiro Fujiyama, Dick Mine, and Shigeo Kusunoki; Columbia, with Yoshiichi Eguchi and Akira Matsudaira; and Victor, where Shunichi Sasaki was on the rise. In 1938, "Tabi no Yoru Kaze" (Night Wind of a Journey), sung by Noboru Kirishima and Miss Columbia, became a huge hit, and Columbia entered its golden age with movie theme songs. From 1940 (Showa 15), the third golden age of Koga melodies began, and Akira Matsudaira's popularity also started to wane.

Matsudaira's song was the B-side of Noriko Awaya's "Farewell Blues".

He showcased his sweet singing voice with songs like "Tango of Tears," but with the huge success of "Song of the Encampment," released in October 1937, Matsudaira, who excelled at sweet, lyrical baritone voices, began recording more wartime songs. Around this time, he also began visiting soldiers to entertain them, and appeared in skits with the "Ropper-za" led by Furukawa Rokuro, becoming active on stage as well. He was also moved by a newspaper article and composed "Stone and Soldiers" himself, and wrote the lyrics for the popular song "Night Rain" and recorded it. However, with the rise of Kirishima Noboru, Matsudaira's popularity gradually waned, and from 1938 onwards, he began to decline from stardom.

In 1938, while visiting mainland China with Hisao Ito, Koume Akasaka, Hamako Watanabe, and Ryoichi Hattori, Matsudaira transcribed the popular song "When Will You Return?" and brought it back to record himself. However, due to Columbia's policy, Hamako Watanabe's version was released, and Matsudaira's recording was never released. Further damage came in April 1939 when Ichiro Fujiyama transferred from Teichiku to Columbia. Matsudaira left Columbia the following year, 1940, after terminating his exclusive contract with the company following the release of "Phantom Hometown."

After ending his exclusive contract with Columbia, Matsudaira moved to Taihei Records in 1941. He recorded his own compositions, including "My Sister," but the sentimental slow waltz did not fit the wartime morale-boosting mood and was not a hit. In 1942, Taihei was absorbed by King Records, and Matsudaira became a free agent.

From this point onward, Matsudaira focused on activities, forming comfort groups and traveling overseas to places like Singapore and mainland China. As a result, his last record before and during the war was "Hashire Hinomaru Ginrin Butai" (Run, Rising Sun Silver Wheel Team), recorded for Teichiku in 1943.

Incidentally, the person who sang the opening song for Matsudaira at this time was Mitsuko Mori, who was an actress at Shinko Kinema at the time. Matsudaira and Mori had been performing entertainment activities at munitions factories both overseas and within Japan.

Matsudaira was in mainland Japan when the war ended. He appeared on the "Red and White Music Show" at the end of 1945 (Showa 20), singing "The Song of Flower Language." He recorded several songs with King and Polydor, but none were particularly successful.

In 1949 (Showa 24), after releasing three new songs with Polydor—"Hisashiburi da yo" in June, and "Izu no Souvenir" and "Ito Ondo" in September—he moved to King Records in 1950 (Showa 25). It was here that he reunited with Yoshi Eguchi. Eguchi had continued to compose hit songs for artists such as Haruo Oka, Minoru Obata, and Ken Tsumura after the war.

In the same year, he recorded "Lakeside Lights," a song he wrote and composed, hoping to make a comeback in a new environment. That same year, while on tour in Brazil, he contracted a blood disease of unknown cause, and after undergoing numerous surgeries, his voice became hoarse. Furthermore, due to a mistake by the promoter, he was unable to return to Japan, suffering the unfortunate consequence of being stranded for about a year and a half. As a result, upon his return to Japan, his exclusive contract with King Records had expired, and "Lakeside Lights" ended up being his last song as a recorded artist. After that, he served as a judge for "Amateur Singing Contest," which began with the opening of Radio Tokyo (now TBS). He then began to dedicate himself to mentoring younger generations of singers.

In 1956 (Showa 31), Matsudaira Akira founded the Matsudaira Akira Vocal Academy in Higashi-Nakano. He nurtured many talented singers, including Taro Suga of Teichiku, who debuted with "Kaze Fukigarasu," a song composed by Matsudaira, as well as Mitsuji Akashi of Victor and Hikari Saotome of Toshiba. In parallel with training singers at the academy, he continued his activities as a composer and arranger, and also sang his old hit songs on stage and on the radio when requested. However, the strain of his work took its toll, and in February 1961 (Showa 36), he collapsed on his way home from the academy. The following day, March 8, he passed away at the age of 49 from heart failure due to a myocardial infarction. At his memorial, his beloved students sang his old hit song "Hanakotoba no Uta," and people mourning his passing offered bouquets of flowers while listening to the singing in a solemn atmosphere.

Even after his death, his achievements were remembered, and in 1969 (Showa 44), a special program commemorating Akira Matsudaira was broadcast on Tokyo Channel 12 (now TV Tokyo) in the program "Nostalgic Songs," planned by Ichiro Fujiyama. The following year, as part of Columbia Records' 60th anniversary celebrations, the LP "In Memory of Akira Matsudaira" was released. It was through this LP that Akira Matsudaira's rendition of "When Will You Return?" saw the light of day for the first time.

His eldest daughter, born in 1940 (Showa 15) to his wife, is the composer Kazuko Fukuda. She attended her father's alma mater, Tokyo University of the Arts, and, following in his footsteps, has produced many beloved songs, including "Kitakaze Kozou no Kantarou" and the graduation season staple "Arigato, Sayonara." Ichiro Fujiyama, a close friend of her late father, continued to have her perform as his pianist at his concerts until his later years.