Hiro Yanagida -

Hiro Yanagida — 柳田博義 (May 7, 1947) — is a Japanese keyboardist who played in the bands Apryl Fool, Food Brain, and Love Live Life + One during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1970 and 1978, he released six solo albums on Liberty, Atlantic, URC, and CBS/Sony.

Background

Hiro Yanagida was born Hiroyoshi Yanagida on May 7, 1949, in Tokyo, Japan. He started violin in elementary school and turned to electric guitar amid the Ventures boom in junior high. Elder brother Yu Yanagida played guitar in the Rikkyo University band Doctors and helped organize the PEEP concert series. Yanagida later attended Rissho University.

A Musicolor Records audition brought Yanagida together with singer Chu Kosaka. Yanagida brought bassist Kiichi Sugiyama and drummer Koichi Yoshimura into the resulting Floral lineup, while Musicolor added guitarist Eiji Kikuchi. Yanagida started as a guitarist but shifted to organ under the influence of Ray Manzarek of The Doors. The Floral issued the 1968 Nippon Columbia singles “Namida wa Hanabira” and “Samayou Fune” while Yanagida studied at Rissho University. The group also opened for The Monkees in Japan and played dance halls and discos in Tokyo.

The Floral reorganized in 1969 when Sugiyama and Yoshimura cleared out, respectively, for bassist Haruomi Hosono and drummer Takashi Matsumoto. The quintet became Apryl Fool and spent June and July on a self-titled Columbia album. Apryl Fool split after the album release, and Yanagida joined the Eddie Ban Group.

Yanagida formed Food Brain in 1970 with guitarist Shinki Chen, drummer Hiro Tsunoda, and bassist Keiju Ishikawa for the Koji Wakamatsu film Shinjuku Mad. Louis Louis Kabe replaced Ishikawa for the Food Brain album Social Gathering. Yanagida then played organ and harpsichord alongside Tsunoda, guitarist Kimio Mizutani, bassist Ishikawa, violinist Hiroki Tamaki, and flutist Nozomu Nakatani on his first solo album. Liberty/Toshiba issued Milk Time near the end of 1970, with Yanagida credited as composer, arranger, and conductor.

Discography: