Junko Yagami

Junko Yagami (八神 純子, Yagami Junko, born 1958), is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Aichi Prefecture. She has released 25 albums, including 6 live concert albums, and is a notable figure in Japanese music of the 1970s and 1980s.

Yagami was born in 1958 in Nagoya, Chūbu, Japan as the eldest daughter of Ryozo Yagami, the founder and fourth chairman of Yagami Mfg. Co. Ltd. Yagami learned the piano at the age of 3 and Japanese dancing from the first grade. Yagami recalled, "I've loved singing ever since I was a little girl, and sang the songs of The Peanuts (ザ・ピーナッツ) and Shirley Bassey songs towards the wall at home." She attended Aichi Shukuto Senior High School. After graduating from high school, she went on to do music from 1976 onward. Her professional debut began in 1980. After her debut, she appeared on a program named “Dede and Junko's Music Trip”.

At age 16 she took part in the 8th (1974) Yamaha Popular Song Contest with the song Alone on a Rainy Day (雨の日のひとりごと) that was then released on 10 December 1974 as a single by Canyon Records/AARD-VARK. Her other entry into the contest The Time of Happiness (幸せの時) was also released as a single on 10 February 1975. Her 1978 single みずいろの雨 (Mizuiro no ame) was a large hit. She took part in the 31st (1980) Kōhaku Uta Gassen. Throughout the 80s she continued releasing numerous popular albums such as 1985's COMMUNICATION. In 1986, Yagami married singer J.J. Stanley and took on the married name Stanley. She has also worked under the name June Stanley.

As of 2019, she lives in the United States and remains active as both a recording and concert artist in the US and Japan.

She released her 19th album "There you are" in 2016 and in 2019 held a concert tour titled Live　キミの街へ～Here　We　Go！ across Japan.

Studio Albums

Live Albums

Cover Albums

Soundtracks

Compilations