, nicknamed , was a Japanese record producer, songwriter and singer. He sometimes used the spelling of "Kazuhiko Katoh".

History

As a member of the Folk Crusaders, Katō launched his recording career in the mid-1960s. "Kaettekita Yopparai (I Only Live Twice)", their psychedelic debut song composed by Katō 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 is a Japanese name, Japanese given name used by either sex and is occasionally used as a surname. Written forms Nagisa can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *渚, "beach, strand" *汀, "water's edge/shore" *凪砂, "lu ...

's 1968 film ''Kaette kita yopparai'' (alternately known as ''Sinner in Paradise'' or ''

Three Resurrected Drunkards is a Japanese film directed by Nagisa Ōshima. It was based on the hit song "kaette kita yopparai" by The Folk Crusaders, a folk and pop music group that also appeared in the film. It was released in March 1968. Plot Three young men go to t ...

''). After the breakup of Folk Crusaders in 1970, Katō gained success for his production works for other musicians, including Shigeru Izumiya,

Mariya Takeuchi is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and record producer. With over 16 million records sold, Takeuchi is one of the List of best-selling music artists in Japan#10 million to 19 million records, best-selling music artists in Japan and is deemed th ...

, 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 , nicknamed , is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. Generally the writer of both the lyrics and the music in her songs, she is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice and live performances, and is one of the most prominent figures ...

, Karen Kirishima, and

Kaela Kimura , is a Japanese pop rock singer, lyricist, fashion model and television presenter. Career Born in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan to a Japanese mother and British father, Kimura started working as a model in 2002 for the Japanese magazine '' Seventeen''. ...

. As a composer, Katō wrote the theme song " Ai Oboete Imasu ka" for the anime film '' Macross: Do You Remember Love?'', which was 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 is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and actor, best known for being the vocalist for the Japanese rock band The Tigers. Nicknamed because of his self-professed adoration of Julie Andrews, he was born in Tsunoi, Iwami (now part of Totto ...

. In 1990, Katō teamed up with graphic artists, Haruhiko Shono and Kuniyoshi Kaneko, to provide the music for the award-winning Japanese computer game, ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

''. In March 2008, Katō formed the rock band Vitamin-Q with Masami Tsuchiya, Gota Yashiki, Rei Ohara and Anza.

Death

Katō committed suicide by hanging on October 17, 2009, at a hotel in Karuizawa, Kitasaku District,

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

, Japan. Police discovered a

suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message written by a person who intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depend on ethnic ...

in his hotel room.

Albums

Titles in brackets are for rough translation purposes only. *ぼくのそばにおいでよ (Come Near Me) (1969) *スーパー・ガス (Super Gas) (1971) *それから先のことは (Then What Lies Ahead) (1976) *ガーディニア (Gadinia) (1978) *パパ・ヘミングウェイ (Hemingway Papa) (1979) *うたかたのオペラ (1980) (Better known as "L'opéra fragile") *ベル・エキセントリック (Belle Excentrique) (1981) *あの頃、マリー・ローランサン (Around Her, Marie Laurencin) (1983) *ヴェネチア (Venice) (1984) *マルタの鷹 (The Maltese Falcon) (1987) *ボレロ・カリフォルニア (California Bolero) (1991)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kato, Kazuhiko 1947 births 2009 suicides 2009 deaths Japanese folk singers Japanese male composers Japanese male singer-songwriters Japanese record producers People from Fushimi, Kyoto Singers from Kyoto Suicides by hanging in Japan 20th-century Japanese male singers 20th-century Japanese singer-songwriters Sadistic Mika Band members The Folk Crusaders members Japanese male guitarists Japanese rock guitarists Japanese male rock singers