Kazuhiko Kato (加藤和彦, Katō Kazuhiko, March 21, 1947 – October 17, 2009), nicknamed Tonovan (トノヴァン?), was a Japanese record producer, songwriter, and singer. He sometimes used the spelling of Kazuhiko Katoh. As a member of the Folk Crusaders, Kato launched his recording career in the mid-1960s. Kaettekita Yopparai (I Only Live Twice), their psychedelic debut song composed by Kato and released in 1967, sold more than 1.3 million copies in Japan, and became one of the best-selling singles of the early Japanese popular music industry. The group also starred in director Nagisa Oshima's 1968 film Kaette kita yopparai (alternately known as Sinner in Paradise or Three Resurrected Drunkards). After the breakup of Folk Crusaders in 1970, Kato gained success for his production works for other musicians, including Shigeru Izumiya, Mariya Takeuchi, and Takuro Yoshida. In particular, Sadistic Mika Band, the acclaimed project he started with his first wife Mika Fukui, received international success. Their 1974 album entitled Kurofune (The Black Ship) is regarded as one of the most significant Japanese rock albums of the mid-1970s. The group was disbanded and reassembled again several times, with new vocalists such as Yumi Matsutoya, Karen Kirishima, and Kaela Kimura. As a composer, Kato created the theme song Ai Oboetei Imasu ka for the movie The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? released during the summer of 1984 in Japan. He later formed a songwriting team with his second wife, the late Kazumi Yasui. Most of the songs they wrote were recorded and produced by Kenji Sawada. In 1990, Kato teamed up with graphic artists, Haruhiko Shono and Kuniyoshi Kaneko, to provide the music for the award-winning Japanese computer game, Alice. In March 2008, Kato formed the rock band Vitamin-Q with Masami Tsuchiya, Gota Yashiki, Rei Ohara and Anza. Kato committed suicide by hanging on October 17, 2009 at a hotel in Karuizawa, Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Police discovered a suicide note in his hotel room. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
家をつくるなら
あの素晴しい愛をもう一度
Gardenia
あの頃、マリー・ローランサン
シンガプーラ
ぼくのそばにおいでよ
不思議な日
ニューヨーク・コンフィデンシャル
Today
女優志願
それから先のことは
もしも、もしも、もしも
愛したのが百年目
テレビの海をクルージング
気分を出してもう一度
タクシーと指輪とレストラン
Memories
僕のおもちゃ箱
Small Café
Lazy Girl
Around The World
Adriana
恋はポラロイド
San Salvador
Georgetown
ラスト・ディスコ
ネズミ・チュウ・チュウ、ネコ・ニャン・ニャン
日本の幸福
ルムバ・アメリカン
9月はほうき星が流れる時
猫を抱いてるマドモアゼル
うたかたのオペラ
ソフィーのプレリュード
パリはもう誰も愛さない
魔法にかかった朝
The Day of Antilles
絹のシャツを着た女
Spicy Girl
優しい夜の過ごし方
DECEMBER SONG
ジャコブ通り
アーサーのブティック
時の流れ
ラジオ・キャバレー
Memories (reprise)
まもなく太陽が沈む
ロスチャイルド夫人のスキャンダル
Together
ケスラー博士の忙しい週末
メモリーズ
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