Ryōzō Yokomori
Adapted his accordion accompaniment to singers on Japanese television, making the instrument familiar to generations of viewers.
- Years
- 1933–2012
- Country
- Japan
- Instrument
- Accordion accompaniment
Ryōzō Yokomori was born in Yokohama and taught himself accordion. From the 1960s through the 1980s he became a familiar presence on Japanese song and variety television, including TBS’s Owarai Atama no Taisō and Nippon TV’s Star Tanjō!.
His specialty was following a singer in real time, adjusting tempo and key rather than forcing a fixed accompaniment. He also played piano for auditions and drew on a broad knowledge of songs. He thought of accompanying singers as his calling and made relatively few records; a posthumous 2018 compilation gathered surviving performances of Shōwa songs. His work shows how the accordion functioned in live Japanese popular entertainment.
Selected works, recordings and publications
- スター誕生！ / Star Tanjō!1970s–1980s
Television appearances and live accompaniment for singers.
Release / publisherTelevision performance
Publication source - アコーディオンは歌う～昭和歌謡名曲選～2018
Posthumous two-disc collection of surviving accordion performances.
Release / publisherNippon Crown · 2018
Publication source