THE HAPPENINGS FOUR

Prog Related • Japan

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The Happenings Four biography
The roots of The HAPPENINGS FOUR can be traced to a five-piece Latin rock outfit SUNRISE, formed by Kuni KAWACHI (organ, keyboards, voices), Chito KAWACHI (drums, voices), and Pepe YOSHIHIRO (bass, voices) in 1964. Through gigging lots of times in Latin bars or dancing saloons, they could be approved by Mickey CURTIS, who let them appear on stage around Tokyo in 1966. At the same time Tome KITAGAWA (percussion, voices) was recruited and SUNRISE got to be a four-piece band. In the following year they were named The HAPPENINGS FOUR by Toshiro MAYUZUMI, a Japanese 'new classical music' composer, and released the debut EP at the end of 1967. As a 'guitar-less' band, and with marvelously skilled and promising play, they rose to stardom in Japan.

In 1968, the debut album of The HAPPENINGS FOUR "Magical Happenings Tour" was released, which could be much appreciated as a progressive pop one around the Japanese music scene in those days, terribly infested with lots of childish pop bands. In their second album "Classical Elegance BAROQUE 'N' ROLL" (1969) Kuni KAWACHI arranged traditional pop songs blended with pieces of classic music. Every rock & pops fan was so surprised at this arrangement and technique nobody could shoot out in Japanese rock scene that they stood more and more unrivaled. "The World Of Outsider" (1970) showed more serious, more political soundscape and lyrics in collaboration with Nobuhiko SHINOHARA, a keyboardist making their musical viewpoint more aggressive and more progressive, and Osamu KITAYAMA, a songwriter and a psychiatrist. After this album released, Kuni KAWACHI and his 'flowery' friends - Joe YAMANAKA and Hideki ISHIMA - started their project named KUNI KAWACHI TO KARE NO TOMODACHI and released their one and only album "Kirikyogen" (1970).

In 1971 The HAPPENINGS FOUR were at the peak of their activity and popularity. Besides gigging on many stages and festivals, they released "Hikishio Michishio" (1971), much appreciated as one of the most progressive and conceptual Japanese rock albums around early 70s. Kuni played an active role for writing and composing almost all songs in this album, and his extreme activity might bear a bit of friction with the other members - sad to say, The HAPPENINGS FOUR were disbanded in 1972.

However, their progressive spirits never die. Kuni, Chito, Pepe, and Tome finally came together fo...The roots of The HAPPENINGS FOUR can be traced to a five-piece Latin rock outfit SUNRISE, formed by Kuni KAWACHI (organ, keyboards, voices), Chito KAWACHI (drums, voices), and Pepe YOSHIHIRO (bass, voices) in 1964. Through gigging lots of times in Latin bars or dancing saloons, they could be approved by Mickey CURTIS, who let them appear on stage around Tokyo in 1966. At the same time Tome KITAGAWA (percussion, voices) was recruited and SUNRISE got to be a four-piece band. In the following year they were named The HAPPENINGS FOUR by Toshiro MAYUZUMI, a Japanese 'new classical music' composer, and released the debut EP at the end of 1967. As a 'guitar-less' band, and with marvelously skilled and promising play, they rose to stardom in Japan.

In 1968, the debut album of The HAPPENINGS FOUR "Magical Happenings Tour" was released, which could be much appreciated as a progressive pop one around the Japanese music scene in those days, terribly infested with lots of childish pop bands. In their second album "Classical Elegance BAROQUE 'N' ROLL" (1969) Kuni KAWACHI arranged traditional pop songs blended with pieces of classic music. Every rock & pops fan was so surprised at this arrangement and technique nobody could shoot out in Japanese rock scene that they stood more and more unrivaled. "The World Of Outsider" (1970) showed more serious, more political soundscape and lyrics in collaboration with Nobuhiko SHINOHARA, a keyboardist making their musical viewpoint more aggressive and more progressive, and Osamu KITAYAMA, a songwriter and a psychiatrist. After this album released, Kuni KAWACHI and his 'flowery' friends - Joe YAMANAKA and Hideki ISHIMA - started their project named KUNI KAWACHI TO KARE NO TOMODACHI and released their one and only album "Kirikyogen" (1970).

In 1971 The HAPPENINGS FOUR were at the peak of their activity and popularity. Besides gigging on many stages and festivals, they released "Hikishio Michishio" (1971), much appreciated as one of the most progressive and conceptual Japanese rock albums around early 70s. Kuni played an active role for writing and composing almost all songs in this album, and his extreme activity might bear a bit of friction with the other members - sad to say, The HAPPENINGS FOUR were disbanded in 1972.

However, their progressive spirits never die. Kuni, Chito, Pepe, and Tome finally came together for the restart of The HAPPENINGS FOUR in 2001 - 30 years later. They released the fifth album "Happening A Go Go" in 2005.read more

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THE HAPPENINGS FOUR discography

Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

THE HAPPENINGS FOUR top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

5.00 | 1 ratings

Magical Happenings Tour
1968

5.00 | 1 ratings

Classical Elegance - Baroque 'n' Roll
1969

4.00 | 1 ratings

Outsider No Sekai
1970

4.67 | 8 ratings

Hikishio Michishio
1971

5.00 | 1 ratings

Happening A Go Go!
2005

THE HAPPENINGS FOUR Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

THE HAPPENINGS FOUR Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

THE HAPPENINGS FOUR Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

THE HAPPENINGS FOUR Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

THE HAPPENINGS FOUR Reviews

Showing last 10 reviews only

Hikishio Michishio by HAPPENINGS FOUR, THE album cover

Studio Album, 1971
4.67 | 8 ratings
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Hikishio Michishio
The Happenings Four Prog Related

Review by DamoXt7942
Forum & Site Admin Group Avant/Cross/Neo/Post Teams

What a Neues forty years ago.

This album "Hikishio Michishio" was released after "'Kirikyogen" by KUNI KAWACHI TOKARE NO TOMODACHI. Contrary to 'Kirikyogen' with strong taste of Flowers (Joe and Hideki), "Hikishio Michishio" should be Kuni's album, with full of his concept and attitude for progressive rock all over the world. 1971 was absolutely a dawn, golden year for Japanese progressive rock scene - Flower Travellin' Band's "Satori", Speed Glue and Shinki's "Eve", Love Live Life + One, People, and this one were released one by one - and the most beautiful and most plaintive album of these all should be this HAPPENINGS' last one I do emphasize. Also amazing that Kuni's psychedelically tragic organ keeps making dramatic sounds from start to finish ... not straightly but eccentrically.

Even the first track "Hikishio Michishio (An Ebb Tide And The Flood Tide)", one of the most popular songs, shoots complex drum kicks and an enthusiastic voice tragedy with alarming old-fashioned organ sounds. "Tsuruhashi To Shovel (A Pick And A Shovel).....Part 1 ~ 3" are the story about a public worker, who has been fated to work with a pick and a shovel to die. A human tragedy continued forever indeed ... Nobuhiko's tragic voices should let us weep, as if we must live without any friend except the stuffs. Furthermore, in "Denki-isu (Electrocution)" an innocent man is just executed on an electric chair, with his hope of regeneration. Dark, depressive scenes go ahead with somewhat comfortable interlude (intoxication by facing death?) and hopeless lyrics. This track should be their masterpiece, let me say.

The longest track "Shi - Shi Ni Chokumen Sita Ningen No Johtai To Shinri (Death)" is a mixture of a mellow organ-based psychedelic progressive pop and rhythmical (bravo rhythm section) heavy rock, with Tome's passionate voices. The second track "Kane No Naru Ki (Money Tree)" has a bulky psychedelic flavour into Tome's trailing echoic voices and Kuni's brainwashing ancient psych-organ solo. The comfort zone for us is only "Sakura To Kawara-yane Ga Mieru Machi (On The cherry Tree & The Tiled Roof Of Street)" I suggest?

Exactly the dawn of Japanese organ-psychedelic progressive rock.

Thanks to DamoXt7942 for the artist addition.