Alan Merrill, Blackbird, Denen Colloseum, 1969

アラン・メリル
In this clip at age 18, Alan Merrill is a pioneer, the first domestic market foreign pop star to be successful in that territory in the history of Japan's music scene. Here he bravely performs the Beatles song "Blackbird" solo, alone on acoustic guitar as opening act for Japan's most popular "group-sounds" band The Tigers. This show was at the Denen Colloseum in Tokyo 1969. It was the Tigers farewell tour, and the crowd was over 10,000 people.
Alan Merrill's situation was sort of (if you can imagine) as if a Japanese teenager was playing solo on acoustic guitar opening up for a Beatles farewell concert in London. Not an easy task. Merrill played a 10 song set that day, and did just fine I'm told.
A few years later Alan Merrill formed Japan's first successful glam rock band, Vodka Collins. He left Japan in 1974 for the UK and there was lead singer of a band called The Arrows, singing and writing the first released version of "I love rock n roll" in 1975, a song later covered by Joan Jett and Britney Spears.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Alan-Merrill
• アラン・メリル
• group-sounds
• gs
• denen-colloseum
• tigers
• blackbird
• 1969
• j-pop

[behindyoualltheway]

He was the first artist to be "big in Japan" in the local market. Remarkable really.

[tsunamisasumi]

すばらしい  !!

[liarsclub75]

*♪♫.✫*¨*Simply Fantastic!✶*¨`☮ ♪♫

[usafbrat50]

@jojoranter

I think he told me he still does. I had a great time there!

[jojoranter]

@usafbrat50 I wonder if he still has the Gibson? Sounds like you guys had fun at Expo!

[usafbrat50]

Yes! I met him backstage at Expo 70. I think he had a Gibson 335 which I really liked! All the bands hung out there at various times. We performed twice a day for 5 days in August. Very cool video, thanks for the memories!

[thickmickslick]

I saw Alan Merrill do a solo acoustic show last saturday night in New York City Dec 12, 2009 at Kennys in greenwich village on bleeker street. He was great!

[wexiflex]

Tokyo nineteen sixty nine!

[whataracket]

The young Alan M. - Fourty years ago.

[jojoranter]

Outdoor concert live on his own with just an acoustic guitar. Sweet!

[HengistTheGreat]

Goes double for me andicatz.