The Tigers (Japanese band)

The Tigers were a Japanese rock band formed in 1967, during the Group Sounds era.[1] The group featured Kenji Sawada as their lead singer, and were signed by Watanabe Productions.

The Tigers
OriginJapan
GenresGroup Sounds, baroque pop
Years active1967-1971, 1981-1983
LabelsPolydor
MembersKenji Sawada (Vocal)
Ittoku Kishibe (Vocal, Bass)
Shiro Kishibe (Vocal, Guitar, Tambourine)
Kahashi Katsumi (Guitar, Vocal)
Taro Morimoto (Guitar)
Minoru Hitomi (Drums)
Nobuo Satake (Drums)

The group was first named "The Funnies", and was formed in 1966. Their first TV performance was on November 15, 1966 on The Hit Parade. The band was renamed to "The Tigers" by recommendation of the show's director Koichi Sugiyama, who would later go on to compose many of their songs.[2] They appeared in several Japanese movies in the late 1960s.[3]

The Tigers recorded "Smile for Me", composed by Barry and Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees, which was released as a single in July 1969 in the UK and Japan. Also in March 1969, the group was featured on the cover of the US magazine Rolling Stone, the cover story was about rock music in Japan.

On 24 January 1971, The Tigers held their last concert, The Tigers Beautiful Concert, at the Nippon Budokan.[citation needed] After The Tigers broke up, Sawada formed the first Japanese supergroup, Pyg, in 1971.

In 1981, they reunited.[citation needed]

Singles

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Year Title
(A-side/B-side)
Lyricist Composer
1967 "My Mary"
"Let Me See You Baby"
Jun Hashimoto Koichi Sugiyama
"Seaside Bound"
"Prince in the Heaven"
"Mona Liza's Smile"
"Red Jacket"
1968 "Love Only For You"
"The Story of the Falling Leaves"
"Flower Necklace"
"Romance in the Milky Way"
"C-C-C"
"Knight in the Night"
Kazumi Yasui
Jun Hashimoto 
Kunihiko Kase
Koichi Sugiyama
"A White Dove"
"The Glorious World"
Michio Yamagami
Rei Nakanishi
Kunihiko Murai
Koichi Sugiyama
"Blue Bird"
"Jinjin Banban"
Taro Morimoto
Jun Hashimoto
Taro Morimoto
Koichi Sugiyama
1969 "A Decree Of Love"
"The Wind Doesn't Know"
Rei Nakanishi
Tokiko Iwatani
Kunihiko Murai
"Grief"
"Barefoot"
Kazumi Yasui
"Smile For Me"
"Rain Falls on the Lonely"
Barry Gibb & Maurice Gibb
Ronald Bond & Ronnie Sebastian
Barry Gibb & Maurice Gibb
Ronald Bond & Ronnie Sebastian
"Now I Forgive You"
"Love, Love, Love"
Kazumi Yasui Kunihiko Murai
1970 "Solitude in the City"
"Ring the Bell of Anger"
Michio Yamagami Kunio Kawachi
"The Free Travel"
"The Falling of Youthful Days"
Kenji Sawada
Taro Morimoto
"Promise For Future"
"Nothing But Departure"
Michio Yamagami
Jan Tokunaga
Kunio Kawachi
Taro Morimoto

Movies

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References

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  1. ^ "ザ・タイガース(ザ・タイガース)の情報まとめ | OKMusic - 全ての音楽情報がここに". okmusic.jp. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  2. ^ "The Tigers". Archived from the original on 2005-12-15.
  3. ^ "IMDB". IMDb.
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