Sachiko Kobayashi

Sachiko Kobayashi
Genres	Enka
Occupation(s)	Singer, Voice Actress, Actress
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1963–present
Website	Official website

Sachiko Kobayashi (小林 幸子, Kobayashi Sachiko^?), born on December 5, 1953 in Niigata, Japan, is a female Japanese enka singer and occasional voice actor. She previously worked alongside the Pokémon Company, under the alias "Garura Kobayashi".

When Sachiko Kobayashi was 9 years old in 1963, she became the champion of "Uta Mane Tokuhon (歌まね読本)", and was scouted by famous Japanese composer and guitarist Masao Koga. Although Sachiko Kobayashi was only a grade four student, her voice was said to be exactly like well-known Japanese enka singer Hibari Misora.

One year later, Sachiko Kobayashi and her family left their hometown, Niigata, Niigata and headed to Tokyo where Sachiko released her debut song, "Usotsuki Kamome (ウソツキ鴎)".

In 1968, she acted as the heroine in "Aoi Taiyou (青い太陽)", a TV drama produced by TV Asahi. The drama's ending song was also credited to her. However, after 1968, Sachiko Kobayashi's level of celebrity dropped, thus causing her to get fewer TV appearances and other opportunities.

In 1979, her song "Omoide Sake (おもいで酒)" became the best seller of the year, winning the 21st Japan Record Awards, and causing her to be popular again. As a result, she was asked to take part in the illustrious annual end-of-year music show "Kōhaku Uta Gassen". After 1979, Sachiko Kobayashi became considered one of the most famous enka singers in Japan until now.

In July 2015 it was announced that a Vocaloid called "Sachiko" was being released by Yamaha based upon her voice for the Vocaloid 4 engine.

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Wikipedia