Tin Pan Alley

Originally known as Caramel Mama, this Japanese quartet featured Haruomi Hosono (bass), Shigeru Suzuki (guitar), Tatsuo Hayashi (drums), and Masataka Matsutoya (keyboards), and were active from the mid '70s. They released two albums under their own name (Caramel Mama, and Tin Pan Alley 2), along with notable collaborations with Norio Maeda (Soul Samba/Holiday In Brazil), and Ayumi Ishida (Our Connection). As Caramel Mama they backed Yumi Arai and Minako Yoshida on their early albums, among many others. The 1979 album Fairy Tale Pop, sans Hosono, was also credited to Tin Pan Alley. Hosono, Suzuki and Hayashi reformed as Tin Pan and issued a self-titled album in 2000, before touring behind Akiko Yano in 2014/15 (see the Satogaeru Concert albums).