1979 Spinoff Discography

January 25: The World of Leiji Matsumoto LP

With Yamato, Captain Harlock, and Galaxy Express 999 all on the air simultaneously, Leiji Matsumoto was riding higher than ever. There was no better time to collect all of his beloved anime themes onto a single album, which is exactly what Nippon Columbia did. It brought together opening and ending songs for all three of his biggest shows, plus Starzinger, Danguard Ace, and lesser-known “image themes” for Emeraldas and The Cockpit for a total of 14 tracks.

Promotional postcard shown above left.

April 5-8: Voice Voice Voice Festival

Aoni Production, a talent agency that handled a huge number of anime voice actors, held a 10th anniversary variety show in August 1978. It proved popular enough for a return engagement over four days in April. No fewer than 39 beloved actors participated, including Yamato alumni Kei Tomiyama (Kodai), Yoko Asagami (Yuki), Osamu Kobayashi (Zordar), Mari Okamoto (Teresa), and Akira Kamiya (Kato).

Songs and skits were on the roster, some of which put the actors in the shoes of their best known characters. Kodai, Yuki, Zordar, and Teresa all had things to say in a Yamato sketch, everyone participated in a crossover “symphonic drama,” and Leiji Matsumoto himself turned up to address the audience. The entire show was released on a double LP set by Columbia in June.

A set of three “autographed bromide cards” published after the event.

The cards featured on-stage photos of the actors for Zordar, Kodai, and Yuki with printed autographs.

April 16: Yamato theme in concert

Some of the rarest collectibles in the music category are these limited-edition pressings of local and regional concerts. It’s a testament to the penetration of Yamato that it was often combined with international pop hits such as (in this case) Feelings, My Way, and West Side Story. This particular performance took place on April 16 and was later released on LP. The conductor is indicated as “Loffery Flaute,” which is where the album title comes from.

April releases

Terebi Manga Action Deluxe (left) contained the Yamato theme and The Scarlet Scarf from Series 1, along with songs from Arrow Emblem Grand Prix, Star of the Giants, Gatchaman, and others.

Terebi Manga All-Star Roundup (right) contained the Yamato theme and Teresa Forever from Series 2, combined with songs from Captain Future, Gatchaman, Toei’s live-action Spider-Man, Galaxy Express, Treasure Island, and more.

1979 was a “record year” for these collections, so they’ll be ganged up when we reach the end of it.

June releases

Yamato content turned up on at least two different music releases in June. The first was a cassette from Nippon Columbia titled Anime Best Hit 20. The Yamato theme, The Scarlet Scarf, and Teresa Forever shared space with such worthy company as Galaxy Express 999, Cyborg 009, Voltes V, Raideen, Gatchaman, Captain Harlock, Triton, and Mazinger Z.

Then there was this oddball from Canyon Records (C20R0010C if you’re a collector), an all-disco album that covered the Yamato theme along with YMCA, Space Invaders, Superman, Lupin III, Popeye, and more.

July 1: Julie Best Hits album

Royal Straight Flush was the title of Kenji [Julie] Sawada’s first best-of album from Polydor; two more would follow with the same name, plus “II” and “III.” It’s part of the Yamato timeline because it reprinted his studio version of From Yamato With Love, giving everyone another chance to scoop it up. This album was later reissued on the Watanabe label in 2005 (for collectors, the serial number is UPCY-9093.)

August: Immortal Hero Series, Vol. 7

From Victor Music came a series of ten EPs, each containing six themes from anime and tokusatsu programs. Each song was a cover version, which cleared the rights for inclusion. Yamato could be found on volume 7.

November 26: 3 Big Anime Choral Suite concert

This is one of those events that would have been lost to history if a dedicated fan hadn’t held onto this single document. It’s a foldout program from a live concert that brought Yamato, Galaxy Express, and Captain Harlock into a single performance for the first time. Seven Yamato songs and four each from the others formed an unforgettable playlist. Since the event was sponsored by music rights holder Nippon Columbia, you could rightfully ask why it wasn’t released on an album, but the only answer would be, “Good question.”

November: Terebi Manga Karaoke Omnibus LP set

Nippon Columbia had released collections of TV theme songs for many years, but this was something new: a huge collection of favorites in karaoke form with all lead vocals stripped out. 64 songs were spread over four discs, opening and end titles from 32 programs including Yamato, Galaxy Express, Cyborg 009, Captain Harlock, and many more.

It also came with a substantial booklet with complete lyrics. See a selection of pages here.

December 1: Space Battleship Yamato b/w
Yamato!! The New Voyage

Anime Karaoke Series #2 45rpm single, 12/1/1979
Nippon Columbia, CK-546

The growing popularity of karaoke and the profusion of impossibly catchy anime themes collided at full force in the late 1970s, giving another lease on life to songs that had already been sold in other forms. This single brought the two catchiest Yamato tunes together for the first time. With Isao Sasaki’s voice removed, fans now had their own opportunity to be backed up by the Royal Knights (on side A) and the Feeling Free Chorus (on side B).

This single was the second in a series of five, all of which were derived from Terebi Manga Karaoke Omnibus (shown higher up the page). It was one of the last times the term “Terebi Manga” had been used in general commerce, since it was systematically being replaced by the word “anime” and would disappear altogether in another year or two. Of course, the smash success of Yamato was the catalyst in making that happen.

December: Isao Sasaki, New Best Hit 16

Sasaki was back with another collection of his greatest TV themes. Yamato!! The New Voyage, The Rival, and Teresa Forever were joined by three from Galaxy Express, three from Gatchaman, three from Ultraman, and more. An unusual choice was Requiem, the theme to a live-action cop drama titled G-Men ’75. Listen to it here.

Unknown dates

This is another “private label” release that falls into the “extremely rare” category, and it’s got a little something extra that makes it worth the hunt: the involvement of Hiroshi Miyagawa. He played piano for a medley of Yamato songs with a choir providing vocals, including the love theme from Farewell (which has never been released on a major label). Miyagawa himself appeared on the back cover with this message:

In October 1978, I received a persistent request from the Tokyo Academy Boys and Girls Choir to rewrite my Symphonic Suite Yamato for a chorus, since many children had requested it. This record is the result of that arrangement. The piece was created by me playing the piano at a rehearsal in Kichijoji, Musashino City, under the guidance of conductor Kazushige Takano, and the resulting musical style is a direct reflection of that experience. Therefore, it is a unique piece not found in the score. Just as Yamato continues to live on endlessly in search of fairy tales in space, I offer my greetings with the hope that the Tokyo Academy Boys and Girls Choir will continue to flourish.