(McClure, 2016)

My Choice: Big in Japan

For my choice, I decided to showcase a few rock and roll acts that have had a lot of notable success in Japan! Enjoy these classic bands playing their hearts out!

(Jordan, 2012)

The Ventures were a surf-rock instrumental group that although from the U.S, they truly made their mark in Japan. When they first came to the country, the tour company could only afford the full lineup, so only Don Wilson and Bob Bogle the cofounders went and were the opening act for singers Bobby Vee and Jo Ann Campbell. Thanks to good publicistis and industry professionals in Japan, the Ventures came strong for their second tour with the full lineup and about 5,000 people waiting at the airport to greet them. Three years after the tour, they had five of the top selling singles in the country. In 2010, they received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette award from the Japanese government (Hamlin, 2010).

(Alive, 2019)

When the Beatles came to Japan in 1966 as part of a world tour, they were the first band to play the NIppon Budokan. This was considered controversial in those days because the Budokan was mainly used as a sacred place for martial arts competitions. Protests were held, but the band had plenty of security including 35,000 policemen that wouldn't even let them leave the hotel room. Nontheless the shows had a good following as seen by the video above (McClure, 2016).

(Trick, 2009) 

Cheap Trick is considered to be one of the biggest bands in the world but before they went to Japan, they were not doing well back home in the US. Despite a series of critically acclaimed albums, their sales were not doing too well, three albums had flopped, and touring was draining their finances even more. In Japan, it was a different story: They had three Gold albums and a string of top ten hits. To capitalize on this success, Cheap Trick toured the country with 5,000 screaming fans waiting for them. A live album was recorded for their performance at the Budokan. Cheap Trick at Budokan became a smash hit in Japan and soon reached America making Cheap Trick stars. The most popular song on the album was "I Want to Want Me" (Sharp, 2008).