Tabata Yoshiro

From the age of 13, he worked as an apprentice in a pharmacy, bakery, and ironworks in Nagoya. During that time, he was deeply moved by a performance by Dick Mine, who sang while playing the guitar. He made his own silent guitars and sang by the river, gradually becoming engrossed in the world of popular music (he called the silent guitars he made from pieces of plywood "Itar").

In 1938 (Showa 13), a new artist at Polydor Records

The song "Izu no Furusato" was chosen as the theme song to promote singer Rentaro Kita.

The Shin-Aichi Shimbun is hosting an amateur singing contest. "My sister encouraged me to participate in the competition, and I won."

At the recommendation of Polydor, he moved to Tokyo and became a live-in student at the home of its president, Ikusaburo Suzuki. It was there that he met another live-in student at Suzuki's house, and he was inspired by the way the student would greet people with "Osu!" This later became the energetic greeting that would become Yoshio Tabata's trademark when he appeared on stage.

In 1939, he made his debut with "Shima no Funauta" (Island Boat Song), composed by the up-and-coming composer Haruo Kurawaka. At the time, he appeared as a new singer wearing glasses and sporting a spiky haircut, following in the footsteps of his senior colleagues at the same company. His debut song was fortunate enough to win the Gramo Club Award, which was established by the record sales companies' union at the time. He continued to have hits with songs such as "Sato Koi Toge" (Village Love Pass), "Ohtone Tsukiyo" (Moonlit Night on the Ohtone River), "Wakare Fune" (Farewell Boat), and "Ume to Heitai" (Plum and Soldiers), establishing himself as a hit singer on par with other stars from the same company, Taro Shoji and Satoshi Uehara.

In 1941, she traveled to mainland China with Kimie Nihonbashi and others to entertain soldiers on the battlefield, but after that, she mainly continued her慰問 activities at munitions factories and bases in Japan until the end of the war.

After the war, he left Polydor, which had stopped selling records, and moved to Teichiku in 1946. He had a hit with "Kaeri Fune" which sold a total of 1.8 million copies. He gained popularity with sailor songs that followed the pre-war style, and with songs such as "Kayoi Fune," "Tayori Fune," and "Genkai Blues" composed by Yoshiji Nagatsu, he was called one of the three greatest post-war singers of the 1940s, along with Haruo Oka and Toshiro Omi. He was active on screen from an early stage, starting with his appearance as a traveler in the Shochiku film "Yaji Kita Rokujushishu Uta Kurige" in 1940. After the war, he appeared in many films, mainly comedies, including Daiei films such as "Shukujo to Circus" and "Nikutai no Mon," and Shintoho films such as "Sokonuke Seishun Ondo" and "Ajapa Tengoku."

In 1960, while having dinner with Yamaguchi-gumi boss Kazuo Taoka and others, Tabata was asked to sing on the spot by a member of the Meiyukai, who happened to be in the restaurant. This sparked a brawl between Yamaguchi-gumi members and Meiyukai members, which escalated into a full-scale conflict between the two organizations (the Meiyukai Incident). The fight took place in front of Tabata and Taoka, but neither of them directly participated in the fighting. At that time, associations between yakuza members and entertainers were not considered problematic, and it was difficult to pursue an entertainment career without involvement with yakuza members who controlled production and performances.

From around 1955, he went through a period of stagnation with no hits. In 1962, he defied the company's opposition and recorded "Shima Sodachi" (lyrics by Kunihiko Arikawa, music by Minoru Mikai), a song that had been released 13 years earlier by Polydor and sung by Akio Namihei, but had only been sung on Amami Oshima. Tabata's persistent efforts paid off, and "Shima Sodachi" became a huge hit, selling over 400,000 copies. He made a comeback and in 1963 made his first appearance on NHK's Kohaku Uta Gassen.

"Continuing to release new songs is proof of being an active singer," he said, and continued his energetic singing career, releasing new songs even after reaching adulthood, such as "Nineteen Springs," "Showa Three Generations," and "One Hundred Years of Love."

In 1995, he succeeded Isao Hayashi as the 5th president of the Japan Singers Association. From 2004, he served as honorary president.

In 1997, they held a joint concert in Takachiho, Miyazaki Prefecture, with Soul Flower Mononoke Summit, a splinter group of the rock band Soul Flower Union.

In December 2001, "Tabi no Owari ni Kiku Uta wa" (The Song to Listen to at the End of a Journey), written and composed by Eisho Higa of BEGIN and provided to Tabata, was released (as the B-side to "Nada Sōsō," which was cut as a single from "Shima Uta 2").

In 2007, GEM released an album based on recording masters from the 1980s and previously unreleased songs. The album, which included handwritten lyric sheets and other personal touches from Tabata, showcased his continued vitality as an artist.

He had long publicly stated that he would "sing until he's 90," and on New Year's Day 2009 (Tabata's 90th birthday), a commemorative album celebrating his 70th year as a singer was released by Teichiku. The album included a spoken message, demonstrating that he was still in good health.

He died of pneumonia at 11:45 a.m. on April 25, 2013, at Sangenjaya Daiichi Hospital in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. He was 94 years old.

He recorded a total of approximately 1,200 songs during his lifetime.Posthumously, he was awarded the 2013 Japan Lyricist Award - TV Tokyo Special Award and the 55th Japan Record Award Special Achievement Award.

His posthumous Buddhist name is "Zuishin-in Kagaku Gihō Daikoji". His grave is located at Machida Izumi Jōen Forest Park in Machida City.