Murasaki-Impact[1976]Japan

Murasaki was originally formed by keyboardist George Murasaki in 1971 on the island of Okinawa in southwestern Japan. Okinawa became the focus of public attention in 1972,when it was returned to Japanese administration after being under the control of the US military ever since the end of World War II.Just around this time,mainland Japanese record companies started approaching Murasaki,which had become very popular among the US servicemen stationed on the island as well as among the young local Okinawan rock music fans.Murasaki landed a recording contract in 1975 with a major recording company currently known as Tokuma Japan.Murasaki released two studio albums in 1976 – the first in April and the second in December–each selling more than 40,000 copies at a time most Japanese bands struggled to sell a fraction of that.The band gained national attention and registered strongly on the mainland Japanese rock scene immediately after its debut,but broke up only two years later.Murasaki,playing on and around US military bases against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, entertained GI’s in Koza City,popularizing the hard rock and rhythm and blues styles that became known as Okinawan rock.After the initial breakup,George Murasaki went on to form a band called “George Murasaki & Mariner.” The new band recorded two studio albums in California in 1978 and 1979,but it,too,was short-lived.