My obsession with obtaining as many live performances of Super Monkeys alumnae MAX led me to a whole new world of music shows, and one of the shows I began watching was a nifty little show called YORU MO HIT PARADE. This was more like a variety show with various geinokai (with MAX being one of the regulars) taking turns singing the latest hits off the weekly charts.
The format allowed me to hear songs that I wouldn’t have normally come across, and I fell in love with a good many songs and artists once I saw the tune sung and performed by MAX and/or one of the other regulars or one of the featured guests.
On one such occasion, I was thrilled to see Rieko Miura (beloved princess of Pony Canyon idols CoCo) as a guest, and was even further amped when I saw that she’d be singing along with MAX! Being a huge fan of both CoCo AND Super Monkeys, this was like a crossing of two worlds!
The song that they were chosen to perform was a song called “Happy Little Time”, a new single from an artist known only by the first-named moniker AKIKO. This was a cool, funky little tune, and I fell in love with it instantly! Such a catchy song, and I have to say the excitement of watching Rieko sing with MAX made me rewind that tape over and over again, til I knew I just HAD to have the “real” single for myself!
Having only heard the Rieko Miura / MAX rendition of the song, I was completely blown away hearing AKIKO ‘s cool R&B vocals signing the song for the first time HOLY CRAP, now THIS was the way the song was MEANT to be sung! Happy Little Time quickly became my favorite single at the time, and it became to opening track for the cassette mixes I was making for friends and myself!
