The procedure was like this: The show would invite a variety of guest stars to sit on the bench, and they’d randomly(wink wink) choose some new song within the current top record charts by spinning a wheel, and the guests would take turns singing the different tunes of the day. There’d be a whole bunch of different musical guests every week, but one of the “house” guests, that is, some of the ones who were there every week, were Hide Nakamura, TV personality Marcia, and...yep, MAX!
I loved MAX so much, it seemed like very time they performed some obscure song, I’d love it so much, I had to run out and buy the actual single from the original artist! This happened quite a few times, and one of the many singles I picked up was a low-bass little number called “Nakitai Kurai” by an artist I’d never heard of named Shizuka Inou.(and haven't heard from ever since, either!)
This is another one of those mysterious artists where all I have to go on is the pretty picture of Shizuka on the CD single sleeve, and not much else! Checking in with the handy Wikipedia, I came up with INFORMATION, at LAST!
Annie Shizuka Inoh (Chinese: 伊能静; pinyin: Yīnéng Jìng; Japanese: Inō Shizuka) is an actress from Taiwan. Born on March 4, 1969 in Taipei, Taiwan with the birthname of Wu Jingyi (吳靜怡), she changed her name after her mother remarried a Japanese man and then simplified it to Yi Neng Jing upon returning to Taiwan in 1988 to launch her singing career. She speaks Mandarin, Taiwanese, Cantonese, Japanese, English, and a little French. She married Harlem Yu (庾澄慶), a fellow Taiwanese singer and television personality, in the United States on 14th February 2000. Her height is 5' 3 1/2". She gave birth to Harrison on March 16, 2002 with husband Harlem Yu.
Wow! For someone I didn't know almost anything about, there sure is a LOT to digest!!!
I proudly present my favorite single from Annie Shizuka Inou: Nakitai Kurai!
