Jump to content

Yū Aku

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by John (talk | contribs) at 22:31, 25 September 2017 (top: clean up, deflag, overlink, replaced: Japan → Japan (3) using AWB). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Yū Aku
Birth nameHiroyuki Fukada
Also known asSeijin Tamu
Born(1937-02-07)7 February 1937
Awaji Island, Hyogo, Japan
Died1 August 2007(2007-08-01) (aged 70)
Minato, Tokyo, Japan
GenresJapanese pop (kayōkyoku, pop, enka, rock, folk, novelty)
Occupation(s)lyricist, poet, novelist
Websitewww.aqqq.co.jp

Yū Aku (阿久 悠, Aku Yū) (occasionally credited as You Aku) (February 7, 1937 – August 1, 2007), was a Japanese lyricist, poet, and novelist.

He was famous for contributing lyrics to many recording artists since 1967. Mainly during the 1970s, more than 20 of them reached #1 on the Japanese Oricon chart, and 7 singles sold more than a million copies. Over 500 of his compositions which were released as singles have entered the Japanese record chart, and they sold in excess of 68 million copies from 1968 to 2007, making him the most commercially successful Japanese lyricist up to that point.[1] As of 2015, total sales of the singles he has written exceed 68.3 million copies, making him the second best-selling lyricist in Japan behind only Yasushi Akimoto.[2]

Throughout his 40-year career as a lyricist, Aku won the Japan Record Award five times. He was also acclaimed as a novelist, and produced several award-winning works. In 1999, Aku received the Purple Ribboned Medal of Honor from the Government of Japan, in honor of his long-term contributions to the Japanese entertainment industry.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Yu Aku, one of the most notable lyricists in the 20th century died". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Original Confidence. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  2. ^ "【オリコン】秋元康氏、作詞シングル総売上が1億枚突破「34年間の積み重ね」". Oricon (in Japanese). 2015-12-09. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  3. ^ "Yu Aku , aged 70, died of ureter cancer". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. Retrieved 2008-12-04.