津村謙

Ken Tsumura (津村 謙)(December 12, 1923 – November 28, 1961) was a singer from Nyuzen-machi, Shimoshinkawa-gun, Toyama Prefecture. After graduating from Uozu Junior High School, he moved to Tokyo and became a disciple of Yoshi Eguchi. In 1943, he debuted with Teichiku Records, but was soon drafted into the military. In 1946 (Showa 21), he re-debuted under the stage name Ken Tsumura. This stage name was derived from "Tsumura," the name of the protagonist Kozo Tsumura in the wartime film "Aizen Katsura," which was released and became a sensation, and "Ken," the name of the actor Ken Uehara who played the role. After a period without a hit, in 1951, "Shanghai-gaeri no Lil" (lyrics by Tosaburo Tojo, music by Masanobu Tokuchi) became a huge hit (it was made into a film in 1952 by director Koji Shima and later covered by Jinpachi Nezu). She became a big star overnight. This song was used as a motif in "Sousaken Gai no Joken" , published in the special issue of Bungei Shunju by author Seicho Matsumoto in 1957, showing that people were still humming it even six years after its release. Several other companies released songs with "Lil" in the title, capitalizing on the success of "Shanghai-gaeri no Lil," but no other "Lil" song has surpassed it. It is said that "Lil" is an abbreviation of "my little daring" After that, he sang hit songs such as "Won't You Look for Lil?", "Lil in My Heart, Why Are You So Far Away?", "The Song of the Red Camellia", "The Camellia Princess of Tokyo", "Let's Wait", and "Together with You" (a duet with Taeko Yoshioka). With his handsome appearance and beautiful voice reminiscent of a vocalist, he was nicknamed "The Velvet Voice". On November 28, 1961, he was found unconscious in the driver's seat of his car, which was parked with the engine running in the garage of his home in Suginami Ward, Tokyo. He was discovered by his family and taken to the hospital, but he never regained consciousness and died that same day at the age of 37. There was no evidence that he had been drinking. The accident was caused by him falling asleep in his car after returning late from playing mahjong, fearing he would wake his family. His grave is in Kodaira Cemetery. Tsumura's "Red Scarf" was adopted as the theme song for San-in Broadcasting's "Music Windmill" program from its inception and continues to be used to this day. In addition, "Shanghai-gaeri no Lil" has been used as the arrival melody at Nyuzen Station on the Ainokaze Toyama Railway line, located in Nyuzen Town, his hometown, since 2017. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.