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沢田研二
(Kenji Sawada)
As frontman of The Tigers, Kenji Sawada became one of Japan's preeminent singers
during the late 1960s, as well as one of the country's first teen idols. He
launched a popular solo career during the group's final years and remained at
the forefront of Japanese pop culture for decades, winning nearly a dozen
Japanese Record Awards along the way. Born in Tsunoi, Iwami, on June 25, 1948,
Sawada joined The Tigers's lineup in 1966 and adopted the nickname of "Julie."
The group's first single was "Smile for Me," a Barry Gibb composition that
reached Number 3 on the Japanese charts. Mor...
