Moriyama Kayoko

In the summer of 1958, while singing at the jazz café "Rotary" in Sapporo, she was scouted by Masao Manase, president of Manase Productions, and moved to Tokyo that autumn. The following year, she suddenly became the exclusive vocalist for "Hiroshi Mizuhara and the Blue Sox," led by Hiroshi Mizuhara, and made her debut at the "Nichigeki Western Carnival" in December 1959.

In June 1960, she debuted with Toshiba Records with a Japanese cover of Mina's "Tintarella di luna" (Moonlight in Naples). The Peanuts also sang a competing version of "Tintarella di luna," but Moriyama's version sold 500,000 copies, becoming an instant hit. At the time, it was considered almost impossible for an artist to appear on NHK's Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Contest) in their debut year, but she made an exceptionally quick debut appearance at the 11th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen that same year.

The subsequent songs, "Melon no Kimochi" and "Tsukikage no Cuba," were also released by the same artist, but Moriyama's version stood out. In the early 1960s, he produced a string of hit songs, mainly covers of Western songs (Japanese pop songs). He also had many hit songs with a comical image, such as "Jinjiroge" and "Pai no Pai no Pai," which were humorous and nonsensical pop songs. "Jinjiroge" even became a popular catchphrase that year.

During this period, she was a hugely popular idol with several regular television appearances, but in July 1962, her contract with her agency, Manase Production, expired, and she suddenly went independent, establishing her own agency at the age of 20. Her song "Five Little Pigs and the Charleston," released that same month, became a massive hit, and she was successfully selected for the 13th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen for the third consecutive year. However, despite her efforts, she was deprived of opportunities to be featured on television, radio, and in the media, and Moriyama's popularity plummeted immediately after she left her agency. "Five Little Pigs and the Charleston" effectively became her last hit song.

After that, she stopped appearing on television and radio, and mainly focused on local gigs. In 1968, when she had completely faded from public view, he got a job at a cabaret in Niigata for the first time in a long time. While he was performing and singing her old favorite songs, Hiroshi Mizuhara suddenly came into her dressing room and encouraged her, saying, "Why don't you try going major again?" In 1969, she ended her position as president of her company and signed a contract with Columbia Records and a new agency. The single she released to mark her comeback was "Shiroi Cho no Samba" (White Butterfly Samba), which she recorded on November 21 of that year and released in January 1970.

Shiroi Cho no Samba" (White Butterfly Samba) was written by Yu Aku first, and from among about five candidate songs, Moriyama herself selected the one composed by Katsuo Inoue the moment she heard it. With its unique, fast-paced opening and lively samba rhythm, this purely Japanese pop song became a million-selling hit, and with this song she made her fourth appearance on the 21st NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen (NHK Red and White Song Contest) that year, her first in eight years. Moriyama initially thought, "I'm a singer who's been successful once. I should stop dreaming of such a big dream as 'making a comeback as a star'."

Her subsequent hits, "Furimuite Mite mo" and "Hana Kuu Mushi no Samba," were also smash hits, and in 1972 she married her manager. She continued to work as a singer on stage and in shows.

Her last public appearance was on television in 2012, on March 13, 2012, on "NHK Kayō Concert" (NHK General TV). She also appeared on "Meikyoku Best Hit Kayō" (TV Tokyo) on October 4, 2012, where she sang "Tsukikage no Napoli." On October 11, 2012, she also performed at the "Autumn Kayō Festival" held at Yūpōto.