I must confess that my all-time favorite wannabe group is a Japanese family act who called themselves The Finger 5. The group started out in 1967 with the three oldest brothers of the Tamamoto family, Kazuo, Mitsuo and Masao. Originally they performed at the bar owned by their parents in Okinawa as the "All Brothers" and later changed their name to the Baby Brothers in 1970 when they signed with King records and released three singles which did not sell well.
In 1972, they added their younger brother Akira and little sister Taeko to the group and were rechristened Finger 5. Borrowing heavily from the Jackson 5's look and style, they unabashedly released several cover versions of Jackson 5 songs, including "I Want You Back," "The Love You Save," "I'll Be There" -- all in Japanese. They were pop sensations in Japan, where they had several hit singles, made countless concert and television appearances, and even made their own movies. Their music, like that of the Jackson 5 in their early Motown days, consisted mostly of bubblegum songs about puppy love and school-yard affairs. Here they are singing one of their early hits, "Love Call 6700." Akira, the smallest brother here, wearing the gigantic glasses, sings lead vocals, with little sister Taeko joining in for an extra dose of cute.
Unfortunately, fame took its toll on the young pop stars, and in 1975 the oldest brother Kazuo dropped out of the act. After a goodbye tour in Japan that year, they relocated to the United States and sank into obscurity -- otherwise known as adulthood.
Tomorrow: The Brady Bunch
Does anyone know why they called themselves the FINGER 5?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they were thinking that there were 5 fingers of differing sizes on one hand. When they tried for a comeback, they dropped the 5 and just called themselves The Fingers (kind of like The Jacksons).
ReplyDeleteBy the way, they also covered "Get It Together" and "Going Back to Indiana" (as "Going Back to Okinawa") If anyone else knows of any J5 tunes they covered, please let me know.
ReplyDeleteThis is a cover tune of "I 'll Be There"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmTY_naB8ls&feature=channel
And, this is a cover tune of "The Love You Save":D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHIHx5IRs2A&feature=related
Yeah, those are the ones I linked to above. There's also I Want You Back in the original post.
ReplyDeleteI like their cover version of I'll Be There, and the photos someone has chosen to accompany it.
"and sank into obscurity -- otherwise known as adulthood." -Boy I love your writing! Thanks for the clips, this blog is so thorough. And let's not forget all the kids, inspired by the J5, trying so hard in neighborhoods all over the world but didn't get this far. We had one around here called the Williams Seven Ways.
ReplyDeleteHa Ha, Anon @ 11:25. My friends Paula, Portia, Janet and I were PPJK. We only got as far as designing an LP cover and perfecting our dance moves.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone wants to see the main singer (with the glasses) how he looks now, visit his website: www.t-akira.com. He still performs in Japan, at age 50.
ReplyDeleteNot only that, but Akira (the main singer with the glasses) has a new single called Uchina (Okinawa). His voice has matured beautifully, and he is performing with a group called S-4 which consists of three other pop singers from the 70s.
ReplyDeleteTell the Finger 5 to go to hell. Jackson 5 all the way!
ReplyDelete