Misora Hibari to have 1,001 song anniversary box set released + Guinness World Record? (original) (raw)

On June 20th, the 23rd anniversary event held in honor of nationally-renowned singer Misora Hibari�s death (real name: Katou Kazue, age at time of death: 52, died in 1989) occurred at the Imperial Hotel in the Uchisaiwaichou neighborhood in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo; Itsuki Hiroshi (63) and Ishikawa Sayuri (53), who knew Misora when she was alive, along with 620 others who had some sort of connection with Misora, attended the memorial.

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It was announced that on August 3rd that�a 58 CD and DVD anniversary box set, named �Hibari Senya Ichiya�, with 1001 songs will be released for sale, and those associated with the compilation noted the possibility of a Guinness World Record, �which shows how the �Hibari Densetsu (Hibari Legacy)� continues.

On this day, her eldest son, Katou Kazuya (39), President of Hibari Productions, announced that as a special project for the 23rd�anniversary of his mother�s death, a 56 CD and 2 DVD anniversary box, called �Hibari Senya Ichiya� (�120,000), would be released for sale.

The �Singles Collection� will make up 32 of the disks, and it will be comprised of 580 songs, from her debut single, �Kappa Boogie-woogie�, released in 1949, to her last single, �Kawa no Nagare no you ni�, released in January of 1989.�The �Cover Collection�will make up 17 disks, and it will be comprised of 304 songs that include jazz songs, folk songs, and more sung by Misora.� Of the remaining disks, 5 disks will have 93 original songs, the 2 karaoke DVDs will have 24 songs, and 2 special CDs will have live recordings.� Together, the number of songs on the CDs and DVDs add up to 1001 songs.

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In 1989, a 35 disk collection (517 songs) was released for sale, and in 1995, a 45 disk box set (660 songs) was released for sale, but this is the first time that a collection of Misora Hibari�s songs have exceeded 1000. Having picked from almost 1500 songs, Katou proudly stated that, �I thought for a long time that 1001 songs would be an amazing number.�

Even veteran music industry insiders stated that they could not recall a collection of more than 1000 songs by a single singer released for sale. Columbia Japan has already applied for recognition by the Guinness World Records, and insiders have stated that, �If they apply, the possibility that they will be recognized is exceedingly high."

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Misora Hibari became the first woman to receive the Kokumin Eiyoshou (People's Honour Award), and the total number of recorded sales of songs for Misora Hibari is 80,000,000 copies.

Source & Photo: Yomiuri