Saburo Kitajima goes gold at 74

Enka star Saburo Kitajima (74) has just set a new record. He is now the oldest artist to have a certified gold single in Japan (100,000 copies sold), thanks to his “Fuufu Isshou” released in January.

“Fuufu Isshou,” which speaks of his marriage (Kitajima celebrated his 50th anniversary last year), went on sale on January 1 of this year. It entered the sales charts at #10, setting the record for oldest solo artist (73 years, 3 months) to rank in the Top 10. In September, it broke 100,000 in sales, and his record label applied for gold certification at the end of the month. It was officially certified on October 10.

Kitajima turned 74 on October 4. The previous record-holder for oldest artist to receive gold certification was Italian composer Ennio Morricone, whose soundtrack for the movie “The Legend of 1900″ was certified in April 2002, when Morricone was 73 years and 6 months old.

Next year, Kitajima will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his show business career.

Source:
Sankei Sports