Haruo Minami

Started as a “roukyokushi”, and went on to sing “kayou roukyoku” which borrowed themes from “roukyoku”.
He has a great drive to please his fans and is widely famous for the quote “My fans are God”. Is known to be the first male artist to wear a “kimono” on stage.
Came back to Japan in 1949 after the loss of the war in Manchuria. Made a comeback as a roukyoushi, and in June 1956 changed his stage name to Minami Haruo where he debuted as a pop singer.　In 1958, performed at “The 9th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen”.
From 1960, became the first singer to become the chairperson for a large hall and held a stage for 1 month. Since then, has performed annually in Nagoya in January, Osaka in March, and Tokyo in August for 20 years. The biggest accomplishment for Minami, however, is that he, up until this day, remains the only singer to hold a 1-month show at Kabukiza, the hall of fame of “kabuki”.
In 1970, in honor of his singing the theme song “Sekai no Kuni kara Konnichiwa” for the Japan World Exposition, he was featured on a memorial stamp issued in Lyberia in commemoration of the Japan World Exposition. He was the first Japanese celebrity to appear on a stamp in a foreign country.
In 1986, at “The 37th NHK Kouhaku Uta gassen”, made the record for the most consecutive appearances for the show with 29 consecutive appearances.
In 1992, introduced a house sound with the single “House Omanta Bayashi”. Collaborated with Denki Groove at a live event called “HARUO IN DANCE BEAT”. He has caught the attention of many people by incorporating musical essences from various musical genres: notably, his rapping in the single “Jan・Night・Jan” (ending theme song for the anime “Super Zugan” aired by Fuji Television) attracted much attention. On December 31, 1999, appeared at “The 50th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen”, which was his first appearance in 10 years, and the 31st appearance on the show. Unfortunately, this became his last appearance on the show.
On April 14th, 2001, died in a hospital in Tokyo due to prostate cancer. He died at the age of 77.
During his lifetime, he released 1,058 songs, and his total singles sales marked 25.1 million copies.
Official Website: http://www.minamiharuo.jp/

Haruo Minami