I. George

アイ・ジョージ(I. George) is a Japanese singer born in Hong Kong on September 27, 1933. His father is Japanese and his mother is Spanish Filipino. In 1953, he became Nagashi (Street singer) and was singing even at US military camp in Japan. He passed the Teichiku Records singer's recruitment exam. He made a debut with "裏街ながしうた" (Uramachi Nagashi Uta) with stage name 黒田春雄 (Haruo Kuroda). Teichiku wanted to sell him as a Kayōkyoku singer. But he wanted to work as a jazz singer. He released several Kayōkyoku and left Teichiku records. In 1959, he became an exclusive singer of 'Club Arrow', the biggest nightclub in Osaka. In December 1959, he became an undercard singer of Trío los Panchos Japanese performances and debuted as Ai Joji. And he again signs a record contract with Teichiku records. From October 8th to 10th in 1963 he performanced at Carnegie Hall in New York City that the first Japanese did in the States.