Oyoge! Tayaki-kun, by Shimon Masato
This was the first ever number one song by an anime singer.
The song first appeared accompanied by a short animation on a children's television programme, Hirake! Ponkikki, in 1975. As soon as it aired, it struck a chord with many adults, including disgruntled salarymen who sympathised with the character. Fuji Television started getting inundated with requests for a record release and spoke to the record company which owned the music rights for the show, Canyon Records(later Pony Canyon). The original singer, Ikuta Keitaro, had unfortunately signed a contract with a rival record company, and thus a new version of the song was recorded with Shimon Masato ...
