Motoharu Sano (佐野 元春, born March 13, 1956, in Taitō, Tokyo), is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. A graduate of Rikkyo University, Sano is a frontman with a history of performing in several bands which feature music both in Japanese and occasionally, English, playing songs that often have a rock and roll sound to them. In 2007, Rolling Stone Japan ranked his album Someday number 11 on a list of the greatest Japanese rock albums of all time.^[1]

Additionally, he has spent a year in New York City, even doing a radio show there.

Sano took part in a special two-day concert commemorating Takashi Matsumoto's 45th anniversary as a lyricist held at the Tokyo International Forum on August 21–22, 2015.^[2] He performed lead vocals on "Haikara Hakuchi" with the surviving members of Happy End, Matsumoto, Haruomi Hosono and Shigeru Suzuki, in place of the deceased Eiichi Ohtaki.^[3]

Discography

Albums

• Back to the Street (1980)
• HeartBeat (1981)
• Someday (1982)
• No Damage (1983)
• Visitors (1984)
• Cafe Bohemia (1986)
• Heartland (1988)
• NapoleonFish Day (1989)
• Time Out! (1990)
• Slow Songs (1991)
• Sweet16 (1992)
• No Damage2 (1992)
• The Circle (1993)
• The Golden Ring (1994)
• Fruits (1996)
• The Barn (1997)
• Stones and Eggs (1999)
• The 20th Anniversary Edition (2000)
• Club Mix Collection (2000)
• Grass (2000)
• Spoken Words Collected Poems 1985–2000 (2000)
• In Motion 2001 (2002)
• Someday Collector's Edition (2002)
• The Legend Early Days of Motoharu Sano (2003)
• Visitors 20th Anniversary Edition (2004)
• In Motion 2003 (2004)
• The Sun (2004)
  • The Sun Studio Edition (2005)
  • The Sun Live at NHK Hall (2005)
• The Singles (2006)
• The Essential Cafe Bohemia (2006)
• Coyote (2007)
• Beatitude (2007)
• NapoleonFish Day Special Edition (2008)
• Very Best of Motoharu Sano (2010)
• SideWalk Talk (2011)
• Zooey (2013)
• Tokyo Chic (2014)
• Visitors Deluxe Edition (2014)
• Blood Moon (2015)
• Maniju (2017)