were a Japanese vocal duo comprising the twin sisters Emi (, Itō Emi) and Yumi Itō (, Itō Yumi). They were born in Nagoya on April 1, 1941. Their voices were close in timbre, which resulted in their singing together sounding like a solo artist using double tracking or reverb.
Early life
Emi and Yumi were born identical twins to Hideyo and Tsukiko Ito on Tuesday April 1, 1941 in the city of Tokoname in Aichi Prefecture. Emi was older than her twin sister Yumi.
Career
While in high school, the twins performed at a Nagoya night club as the Ito Sisters, and were discovered by Watanabe Productions founder Shin Watanabe. They were brought to Tokyo in 1958, where they became the first clients for Watanabe Productions. In 1959, the Peanuts became a hit at the Nichigeki theater. That same year, they released their first recording, "Kawaii Hana" ("Cute Flower"). Unusual for Japanese singers at the time, the duo had success in Germany, as well as in Austria. In 1963 Caterina Valente was in Japan where the duo caught her attention. Valente invited them to Germany. On the occasion of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Michael Pfleghar produced the opening ceremonies, where both were also invited, and the musical director Heinz Kiessling produced German-language recordings with them, including "Souvenirs from Tokyo". In 1965, Pfleghar cast them in two other shows "The Smile in the West" and "Schlager-Festspiele". In total, they released eight singles in the German language between 1964 and 1967. In 1965 "Souvenirs from Tokyo" reached No. 18 on the Austrian charts and spent 2 weeks at No. 40 on the German Billboard charts. In 1967 "Bye, Bye Yokohama" spent 4 weeks on the Germany charts, rising to No. 30. In 1966, the duo also performed at the Olympia in Paris. Yumi died on May 18, 2016, at the age of 75.
Discography
- 可愛いピーナッツ (Cute Peanuts) (1959)
- ピーナッツ民謡お国めぐり (Peanut Folk Song Country Tour) (1960)
- ヒットパレード (The Hit Parade) (1960)
- 夢で会いましょう (I'll See You in My Dreams) (1961)
- ヒットパレード第2巻 (The Hit Parade Vol. 2) (1962)
- ヒットパレード第3巻 (The Hit Parade Vol. 3) (1962)
- フォークソング (The Folk Songs) (1963)
- 人気の基準 (Popular Standards) (1963
- ヒットパレード (The Hit Parade) (1963)
- ヒットパレード第4巻 (The Hit Parade Vol. 4) (1964)
- ヒットパレード第5巻 (The Hit Parade Vol. 5) (1964)
- ヒットパレード第6巻 (The Hit Parade Vol. 6) (1965)
- Souvenirs aus Tokio (1965)
- ヒットパレード第6巻 – ヨーロッパ周辺 (The Hit Parade Vol. 6 – Around Europe) (1966)
- ザ・ピーナッツ・デラックス (The Peanuts Deluxe) (1967)
- ゴールデンデラックス (Golden Deluxe) (1968)
- フィーリング・グッド – ピーナッツの新しい次元 (Feelin' Good – New Dimension of the Peanuts) (1970)
- ザ・ピーナッツ・ダブル・デラックス (The Peanuts Double Deluxe) (1971)
- ザ・ピーナッツ・ベスト・アルバム (The Peanuts Best Album) (1971)
- 華麗なるフランシス・レイ・サウンド ザ･ピーナッツ最新映画主題歌を歌う (Brilliant Frances Ray Sound – The Peanuts Sing the Latest Movie Theme Song) (1971)
- 世界の女たち (Women in the world) (1972)
- スーパーディスク 20 Superdisc 20 (1972)
- ザ・ピーナッツ・オン・ステージ (The Peanuts On Stage) (1972)
- ザ・ピーナッツ・ベスト20/指輪のあとに (The Peanuts Best 20/After the Ring) (1973)
- 情熱の砂漠 (Passion Desert) (1973)
- スーパーディスク 20 (Superdisc 20) (1973)
- 気になる噂/ベスト・オブ・ザ・ピーナッツ (ki ni naru uwasa/Best Of The Peanuts) (1974)
- ザ・ピーナッツベスト20 (The Peanuts Best 20) (1974)
- 永遠の (Eternal!) (1975)
- ザ・ピーナッツ・ベスト20 (The Peanuts – Best 20) (1975)
- ザ・ピーナッツ (Big Star Series – The Peanuts) (1976)
- ザ・ピーナッツ (Big Star W Series – The Peanuts) (1977)
- ピーナッツオリジナル (The Peanuts Original) (1978)
- ピーナッツポップス (The Peanuts Pops) (1978)
- ピーナッツラブ (The Peanuts Love) (1978)
- ベストスターWデラックス (Best Star W Deluxe) (1979)
- スーパースター・ベスト・アルバム ザ・ピーナッツ (Super Star Best Album – The Peanuts) (1979)
- 記念碑 (Monument) (1980)
- ザ・ピーナッツ・ベスト (The Peanuts Best) (1980)
- ピーナッツの歴史第一巻 (The Peanuts History Vol. 1) (1983)
- ピーナッツの歴史2巻 (The Peanuts History Vol. 2) (1983)
- ザ・ピーナッツ・ベスト (The Peanuts Best) (1984)
- ザ・ピーナッツ・オン・ステージ (The Peanuts On Stage) (1984)
- ザ・ピーナッツ・ベスト・アルバム (The Peanuts Best Album) (1985)
- D.C.恋のフーガ (D.C. koi no fuuga) (1987)
- D.C. (Retro) (1988)
Kōhaku Uta Gassen appearances
Kōhaku Uta Gassen is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year||#||Song||No.||VS||Remarks
|-
|1959 (Showa 34)/10th||1||Jounetsu No Hana (情熱の花)||7/25||Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars||
|-
|1960 (Showa 35)/11th||2||Kanashiki Juurokusai (悲しき16才)||11/27||Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars (2)||
|-
|1961 (Showa 36)/12th||3||Suku Suku (スク・スク)||19/25||Dark Ducks||
|-
|1962 (Showa 37)/13th||4||Furimukanaide (ふりむかないで)||5/25||Dark Ducks (2)||
|-
|1963 (Showa 38)/14th||5||Koi No Vacation (恋のバカンス)||22/25||Duke Aces||
|-
|1964 (Showa 39)/15th||6||Una Sera Di Tokyo (ウナ・セラ・ディ東京)||24/25||Kyu Sakamoto||Second Finale
|-
|1965 (Showa 40)/16th||7||Rock And Roll Music (ロック・アンド・ロール・ミュージック)||21/25||Duke Aces (2)||
|-
|1966 (Showa 41)/17th||8||Rome No Ame (ローマの雨)||16/25||Jackey Yoshikawa and His Blue Comets||
|-
|1967 (Showa 42)/18th||9||Koi No Fugue (恋のフーガ)||22/23||Ai Jyoji||Second Finale (2)
|-
|1968 (Showa 43)/19th||10||Glass No Shiro (ガラスの城)||6/23||Teruhiko Saigō||
|-
|1969 (Showa 44)/20th||11||Una Sera Di Tokyo (2)||20/23||Frank Nagai||
|-
|1970 (Showa 45)/21st||12||Tokyo No Hito (東京の女)||3/24||Nomura Masaki||
|-
|1971 (Showa 46)/22nd||13||San Francisco No Hito (サンフランシスコの女)||18/25||Masaaki Sakai||
|-
|1972 (Showa 47)/23rd||14||Sayonara Wa Totsuzenni (さよならは突然に)||11/23||Billy BanBan||
|-
|1973 (Showa 48)/24th||15||Una Sera Di Tokyo (3)||12/22||Tsunehiko Kamijō||
|-
|1974 (Showa 49)/25th||16||Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (ブギウギ・ビューグル・ボーイ)||20/25||Akira Fuse||
|}
References
Sources
External links
- Nippop Profile | The Peanuts
- Extensive discography