LEGEND / ‘Drifter’ Boo Takagi Still an All-Star Ukulele Player at 91

By Yoshitaka Tsujimoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

10:00 JST, November 4, 2024

Today, at the age of 91, Boo Takagi has a big public presence as a comedian and also as a leading ukulele player. But there was a time when he was the least visible member of The Drifters, a hugely popular five-member comedy group whose TV show “Hachiji Dayo! Zenin Shugo” (It’s 8 o’clock! Everyone get together) was a monster hit with a peak rating of over 50%.

However, Takagi says that he still has a special affection for The Drifters, calling the troupe “my life itself.”

The program aired on the TBS network on Saturday nights from 1969 to 1985.

The Drifters were once a band that toured U.S. military camps in Japan. In 1964, the band was in danger of disbanding as many members left, leaving behind Chosuke Ikariya, Cha Kato and a few others. That was when Ikariya took notice of Takagi, then 31 years old and playing with another band.

Takagi started playing the ukulele in high school. As a college student, he was absorbed in the activities of his Hawaiian band, and he became a professional musician after graduation. But Ikariya asked Takagi to join The Drifters not out of respect for his musical skills but because “he was fat.” That made him a perfect fit for the band’s shift to comedy.

Also joining the band were Chu Arai, “a short guy with a funny face,” and Koji Nakamoto, a musician friend of Takagi who “just happened to be in contact.”

When the five met at a yakitori restaurant in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, Ikariya declared, “Kato will be in the front,” which meant that Takagi would play a supporting part.

“I thought I would be the one in the spotlight, so honestly, I felt a sense of rivalry with him,” Takagi said.

Hajime Hana, who was at the height of his popularity at the time and had been with The Drifters’ entertainment agency longer than they had, gave each of them a stage name. It was then that the reborn Drifters began their rise to prominence.

Little to do or say

From its debut in 1969, every episode of “Zenin Shugo” aired live, opening with Ikariya’s call of “Hachiji Dayo!” (It’s 8 o’clock!). The members rehearsed thoroughly to perform physically challenging comedy skits. There was no ad-libbing. In 1974, Ken Shimura joined the group, replacing Arai.

Compared to Shimura and Kato, who dispensed countless gags, and Nakamoto, who was an active part of the show’s gymnastics segments, Takagi was given little to do or say.

Theater researcher Keisuke Sasayama said: “The Drifters used teamwork, bringing the five of them together into one unit to make people laugh. Takagi, Nakamoto, Kato and finally Shimura would come out on stage, and each time the audience laughed more. If each member tried to get the biggest laugh for himself, it would have never created the laughter The Drifters did.”

Boo’s tolerant approval

When Takagi was on stage, he could appear as though he was just running around with no direction. The rock band Kinniku Shojo Tai, also known as King-Show, released the song “Ganso Takagi Boo Densetsu” (The Original “Legend of the Boo Takagi”) in 1989. Its lyrics include the phrase, “I’m helpless. Aren’t I just like Boo Takagi?” It was considered so derogatory that its planned release was halted at one point, until Takagi himself gave permission for it to go forward.

Kenji Ohtsuki, who wrote the lyrics, said in appreciation: “It seems like he let us get away with it because he knew we were young guys doing something stupid without understanding what we were doing. If it weren’t for ‘Boo’s tolerant approval,’ I wouldn’t be here today.”

Takagi’s open-mindedness was also essential to The Drifters.

Leader Ikariya and the other three members often did not communicate well with each other. Ikariya would complain about the three to Takagi, who was his age, at an izakaya pub, while the three members who were much younger than Ikariya “would come to me when they didn’t dare to talk to Cho-san (Ikariya’s nickname) directly,” Takagi said. He supported the group of individualists.

An impressive role

The “fifth man” of the five-member group was finally given an impressive role in the Fuji Television’s “Dorifu Daibakusho” (The Drifters’ big laugh), which began in 1977, as one of the “Kaminari-sama” (The Thunders).

In the skits, The Thunders, played by members of The Drifters, including Takagi, talk to each other above the clouds. Takagi, not usually very assertive, got big laughs for the way he grumbled lines like, “You people don’t understand how important I am to you.”

At one New Year’s party, popular comedian Hitoshi Ueki told Takagi, “You’re doing funny stuff. It’s important to keep doing things like that.” Takagi said, “Ueki also kept using his killer gag ‘Oyobidenai’ (Oops! I wasn’t invited) for a long time.”

Takagi became determined to continue doing it. He came up with various ways to keep entertaining the audience, such as using musical instruments. His character’s green perm and tiger-print pants are now his trademark.

Takagi takes center stage

Takagi gave his first solo concert in 1998 with a reunited Hawaiian band. The audience erupted when he said: “[When I was with The Drifters], Cho-san was in the center, with Kato next to him. It took me a long time to get to the center of the stage.”

After “Zenin Shugo” ended, Ikariya told the other members, “It’s time for each of us to do what we want.” The five then went their respective ways.

Takagi acted on stage for a while but eventually chose the ukulele. Ikariya died, followed by Shimura and Nakamoto, but Takagi is still active, giving concerts in Hawaii. He thoroughly rehearses until just before each concert, just as he did with The Drifters.

“Kato plans to stay active until he’s 108. [Since I’m 10 years older than him,] I’ve got to be active until I’m 118. I don’t think I’ll die,” Takagi said.

Popular in Hawaii, too

Guitarist Yoshio Nomura spoke about Takagi.

I first met Takagi when I appeared on “Zenin Shugo” as a member of the Tanokin Trio (an idol group formed with Toshihiko Tahara and Masahiko Kondo). He was a star, so we didn’t interact with him beyond saying hello. The first time I really talked to him was on his NHK ukulele program in 1999. Later, Kazuyuki Sekiguchi of Southern All Stars invited me to join “1933 Ukulele All Stars,” for which Takagi was a key performer.

Even at his age, he’s very talkative. If I ask him one question, he always gives me five or six answers.

As soon as a concert is over, he will say, “I actually wanted to sing that song,” and include it in the next concert. His enthusiasm is amazing.

His ukulele playing skills are really great. He once showed me a nice technique and spent 30 minutes or so trying to teach me how to do it, but I couldn’t do it at all. He probably plays in his own way, but his way is really moving.

He is so famous in Hawaii. When I’m in Hawaii for a concert and talk to a local ukulele shop owner, I’m always asked if I’m with Boo Takagi. While the members of his band are being introduced [during a concert], Takagi will play a solo, and the audience always gives a big cheer. He’s an indispensable part of the All Stars.

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