was a Japanese rock band that was formed in 1967. They were connected to Japan's counterculture movement and noted for their mixture of early heavy metal with psychedelic and progressive rock. They received wide acclaim from critics but failed to achieve commercial success and separated in 1973 to pursue individual careers. The band reunited in late 2007, but permanently disbanded after the 2011 death of vocalist Joe Yamanaka.

While the band's releases have never sold well they continue to be held in high regard by the music industry. Their albums have never been out of print and they continue to be made available on new audiophile formats such as SHM-CDs. Former members of the Flower Travellin' Band continue to perform FTB songs live together under the name Flower Power with other musicians.

History

The band was initially started as a side-project by Yuya Uchida when he returned to Japan after visiting his friend John Lennon in England in the mid-1960s, where he was introduced to various upcoming artists such as Cream and Jimi Hendrix. Yuya wanted to introduce a similar sound to the Japanese, and formed the "Flowers" as a cover band with various group sounds musicians, and two vocalists; male singer Hiroshi Chiba and female singer Remi Aso. They released the album Challenge! in 1968, featuring covers of songs by Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company, in addition to an original song. The cover caused a stir in the Japanese media as it depicted each member posing naked.

In 1969, after the release of the album, Remi Aso and guitarist Katsuhiko Kobayashi relocated to the United States. Yuya dropped all the remaining members, except drummer George Wada, recruited guitarist Hideki Ishima and vocalist Joe Yamanaka from the blues group Mystic Morning and bassist Jun Kobayashi, and formed the Flower Travellin' Band as a band that would appeal to international audiences. Their first releases were backing jazz trumpeter Terumasa Hino on the single "Crash" followed by the mini-album Anywhere in 1970, made to emulate the Flowers' release by means of cover songs and a nude photo on the album's front. The Flower Travellin' Band performed prior to Lighthouse, and drew a standing ovation for their set, plus a call for an encore. That year, they had several other concerts, for example, one in Toronto's Stanley Park Stadium, and another in Hamilton, Ontario, While in Toronto they recorded their second original album Made in Japan and were approached by GRT Records. Hideki Ishima continued his studies of the sitar, which he began around 1968, under Indian classical musician Manilal Nag and his Japanese apprentice in 1998. In 2000, he invented the sitarla, which combines the qualities of a solid-body electric guitar and the sitar. Yuya Uchida died from pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital on March 17, 2019, aged 79.

Members

  • – drums <small>(1967–1973, 2007–2011)</small>
  • – vocals, harmonica <small>(1969–1973, 2007–2011, his death)</small>
  • – sitarla, guitar, sitar <small>(1969–1973, 2007–2011)</small>
  • , formerly – bass <small>(1969–1973, 2007–2011)</small>
  • – keyboards <small>(2007–2011)</small>
  • – percussion, backing vocals, producer <small>(1967–1973, died 2019)</small>
  • – vocals, guitar <small>(1967–1969)</small>
  • – guitar <small>(1967–1969)</small>
  • – guitar, backing vocals <small>(1967–1969)</small>
  • – bass <small>(1967–1969)</small>
  • – vocals <small>(1967–1968)</small>
  • – vocals <small>(1968–1969)</small>

;Timeline

<div align="center"><timeline>

ImageSize = width:1100 height:350

PlotArea = left:150 bottom:100 top:0 right:50

Alignbars = justify

DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy

Period = from:01/01/1967 till:08/07/2011

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4

Colors =

id:band value:gray(0.60) legend:Band

id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals

id:Guitars value:green legend:Guitar

id:Sitar value:teal legend:Sitar,_Sitarla

id:Keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards

id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass

id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums

id:Producer value:yellow legend:Producer

id:Lines value:black legend:Releases

id:bars value:gray(0.92)

Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1967

ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1967

LineData =

at:07/25/1969 color:black layer:back

at:10/21/1970 color:black layer:back

at:04/05/1971 color:black layer:back

at:02/10/1972 color:black layer:back

at:02/25/1973 color:black layer:back

at:09/17/2008 color:black layer:back

BarData =

bar:Flowers text: Yuya Uchida & the Flowers

bar:FTB text:Flower Travellin' Band

bar:Chiba text:Hiroshi Chiba

bar:Nakamura text:Kento Nakamura

bar:Aso text:Remi Aso

bar:Yamanaka text:Joe Yamanaka

bar:Katushiko text:Katsuhiko Kobayashi

bar:Susumu text:Susumu Oku

bar:Ishima text:Hideki Ishima

bar:Shinohara text:Nobuhiko Shinohara

bar:Hashimoto text:Ken Hashimoto

bar:Kobayashi text:Jun Kobayashi

bar:Wada text:George Wada

bar:Uchida text:Yuya Uchida

PlotData=

width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)

bar:Flowers from:01/01/1967 till:09/01/1969 color:band

bar:FTB from:11/01/1969 till:12/01/1973 color:band

bar:FTB from:07/01/2007 till:end color:band

bar:Chiba from:01/01/1967 till:07/01/1968 color:Vocals

bar:Nakamura from:07/01/1968 till:06/01/1969 color:Vocals

bar:Aso from:01/01/1967 till:09/01/1969 color:Vocals

bar:Yamanaka from:11/01/1969 till:12/01/1973 color:Vocals

bar:Yamanaka from:07/01/2007 till:end color:Vocals

bar:Ishima from:11/01/1969 till:12/01/1973 color:Guitars

bar:Ishima from:07/01/2007 till:end color:Sitar

bar:Katushiko from:01/01/1967 till:09/01/1969 color:Guitars

bar:Susumu from:01/01/1967 till:09/01/1969 color:Guitars

bar:Shinohara from:07/01/2007 till:end color:Keyboards

bar:Hashimoto from:01/01/1967 till:09/01/1969 color:Bass

bar:Kobayashi from:11/01/1969 till:12/01/1973 color:Bass

bar:Kobayashi from:07/01/2007 till:end color:Bass

bar:Wada from:01/01/1967 till:12/01/1973 color:Drums

bar:Wada from:07/01/2007 till:end color:Drums

bar:Uchida from:01/01/1967 till:12/01/1973 color:Producer

width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)

bar:Aso from:01/01/1967 till:09/01/1969 color:Guitars

bar:Ishima from:11/01/1969 till:12/01/1973 color:Sitar

</timeline>

</div>

Discography

Yuya Uchida & the Flowers

;Studio albums

  • Challenge! (1969) – Debut album.

;Singles

  • "Last Chance" b/w "Flower Boy" (1969) – Single.
  • "Flower Boy" b/w "Last Chance" (1969) – Single.)

;Compilations

  • Satori (1971) – Canada-only compilation album.
  • The Times (1975) – A best-of album.

;Videos

  • Resurrection (2008) – DVD.

;Others

  • Kirikyogen (1970) – Album by Kuni Kawachi, sometimes co-credited to the Flower Travellin' Band although only Yamanaka and Ishima took part.

References

  • Official Flower Travellin' Band website
  • Official Joe Yamanaka website
  • Official Hideki Ishima website
  • Official Nobuhiko Shinohara website
  • Official Yuya Uchida website
  • Official Yuya Uchida International website