, is a Japanese singer and songwriter from the Aichi Prefecture. She has released 25 albums, including 6 live concert albums, and is a notable figure in Japanese music of the 1970s and 1980s.
Biography
Upbringing
Junko Yagami was born in the Aichi prefecture. Born on January 5, 1958, in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, as the eldest daughter of Ryozo Yagami, who was born in the founding family of Yagami Seisakusho and later became the company's fourth chairman.
She started learning the piano at the age of 3 and Japanese dance from the 1st grade of elementary school. She has loved singing since she was a child, and even at home she continued to sing the songs of The Peanuts and Shirley Bassey, which surprised her parents.
On the other hand, Yagami said about her childhood, "When I was in elementary school, I was very clumsy and awkward, and I didn't like myself. The child who was good at exercising was touted and prominent, but I was shy and totally unobtrusive."
When she entered Aichi Shukutoku High School, she formed a folk guitar circle and sometimes went to school festivals at other schools with them. She started attending Yamaha's vocal talent school and was devoted to singing practice. She started writing songs while she was in high school, and when she was 16 years old in 1974, she wrote and composed the song "Everyone on a Rainy Day" for the first time.
Pre-debut
Yagami participated in the 8th Yamaha Popular Song Contest (Popcon) held on October 13, 1974, and won the Outstanding Song Award for "Everyone on a Rainy Day". At the same tournament, "Time of Happiness" was also nominated and selected as a prize-winning song. Yagami was the only one who was nominated for two songs in the same tournament and won a prize at the same time after the final round was held at Tsumagoi. After that, she participated in the 5th World Popular Song Festival with "Junko's Dream" and advanced to the finals.
Regarding music activities while attending Aichi Shukutoku High School, Yagami said, "Because it was a school that did not allow flashy things, I was called to the staff room every time I entered a contest and was warned to refrain from doing so."
On December 10, 1974, she made her pre-debut on the AARD-VARK label of Canyon Records with the single "Rainy Day Hitotsugoto". The following year, on 10 February 1975, the second single "Happy Time" was also released.
She also participated in the 9th Popcon held in May 1975 and won the Excellent Song Award for "To the Land of Happiness". She also participated in the 6th World Popular Song Festival with "Hand in Hand" and won for the second consecutive year. Yagami says she was invited by a foreign artist who participated in the World Popular Song Festival and decided to take on the challenge of overseas music festivals and contests. In 1976, when she was in her third year of high school, she participated in the 17th Chilean Music Festival (Festival de Viña, the largest music festival in South America held in Vina del Mar, Chile), singing "I Shall Forget" in Japanese clothes with the orchestra in the background and she won 6th place.
After graduating from high school, she went on to the path of music, and from 1976 before her professional debut to 1980 after her debut, she appeared with Takashi Kawamura on the band program "Dede and Junko's Music Trip" provided by Reiyukai on Nippon Cultural Broadcasting.
"Small Sakuragai" produced at the time of debut was a slow tempo folk song-like song, but it was not announced at that time. "Popcon Super Selection Junko Yagami Best" was released on 26 March 2003, as one of the best album "Popcon Super Selection" series released by King Records to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Popcon.
Full-scale debut
On January 5, 1978, on her 20th birthday, she made her full-scale debut as a professional singer with the single "Memories are too beautiful" from Discomate Records. This song was the 25th highest on the Oricon chart and was a hit with sales of 120,000 copies. On June 25 of the same year, the debut album "Memories are too beautiful" was released and became a hit at the 5th place on the Oricon chart.
Also, from the beginning of her debut, it was epoch-making at that time that she led the exclusive backing band "Melting Pot" composed of selected members from Nem Conservatory.