is the first opening theme song of the Dragon Ball Z anime series and the sixteenth single by Japanese singer Hironobu Kageyama. It was released on vinyl, cassette, and mini CD on May 1, 1989. It is coupled with the first Dragon Ball Z closing theme, performed by Manna.
"Cha-La Head-Cha-La" opened the first 199 episodes of the TV series and the first nine movies of the film series. The single sold 1.7million copies. It has been re-recorded in many other languages, with an English version performed by Kageyama himself that was released on his third greatest hits album entitled Hironobu Kageyama Best Album 3: Mixture in 1996.
Background and recording
"Cha-La Head-Cha-La" Hironobu Kageyama received the offer to record the opening theme song to Dragon Ball Z from the director of Columbia Records. With his background in a rock band, Kageyama said this director had previously revitalized his career by choosing him to sing the theme to Dengeki Sentai Changeman when he wanted a rock singer who could sing the upbeat theme songs that were being written for anime in increasing number in the 1980s. This director told Kageyama he would be singing the theme to Dragon Ball Z and wanted him involved from the earliest stage. Kageyama had been reading the Dragon Ball manga in Weekly Shōnen Jump for quite some time and was shocked when he was offered the job.
Kageyama and his band made a demo of the song that the singer described as American rock in the vein of Bon Jovi. But he was astonished when he heard Kenji Yamamoto's final arrangement, which was very different, and was initially unsure if it was even good. According to Kageyama, Yamamoto loved club music and incorporated elements of it in the song. He described the bass as bouncy and funky, and the guitar as being played more like a keyboard. Kageyama said, "At the time, mainstream rock music did not have that kind of sound, and there were no arrangers who could have made arrangements like that. I think the sound as well as the lyrics were quite innovative." However, he also said that there are elements familiar to the British rock he grew up listening to everywhere in the song.
Yukinojo Mori received the request to write the lyrics to the theme song from Columbia. He later speculated that they had probably heard the themes he had written for the Kinnikuman anime and knew his methods and approach to writing anime themes. Because of the music's complex chords and structures that can not be played with a single guitar, Mori sensed an atmosphere of progressive rock, which he is a fan of. The lyrics that gave the song its title of "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" are a combination of different Japanese phrases. The first "Cha-La" comes from and means "to pretend nothing happened", while "Head-Cha-La" comes from , which means "It's OK." Mori explained, "A lot of things might have happened in my life up until this point, but once I reset myself it all becomes OK and I'm ready to give things another shot. I tried to write lyrics that expressed that feeling while still rhyming. A lot of people say that emptying your head of thoughts makes you empty inside, but actually it's the opposite. It's a sort of punk attitude that means you can shake it off and empty your mind. It also means that no matter what happens, you're undefeatable.", "That's why we decided to write it as 'HEAD-CHA-LA'". When he first saw the lyrics, Kageyama initially thought it was a joke. But having known Mori since he was a teenager, the singer realized it was just the type of "crazy" thing he would do. He also said that, while most lyricists of the time prioritized showing off their own style through the lyrics, Mori prioritized the singer's enjoyment, "so his way of thinking was undoubtedly rock 'n roll. The thought that doing things that other people are already doing is dull and boring is pretty central to his character as a creator."