CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA
Encyclopedia
is the first opening theme song of the anime
series Dragon Ball Z
and is the fifteenth single by J-pop
artist Hironobu Kageyama
. It was released on vinyl
, cassette
, and mini CD
on May 1, 1989 in Japan
only. It is coupled with the first Dragon Ball Z closing theme "Detekoi Tobikiri Zenkai Power!" performed by Manna. The song opened for the first 200 episodes of the TV series and the first nine movies of the film series. It has been re-recorded in many other languages with an English version performed by Kageyama himself that was released on his third greatest hits album entitled "Mixture
" in 1996.
exclusive; however, it omits one track mislabelled as "Cha-La Head-Cha-La (2005 ver. Instrumental)", however, this version lacks the "mobi[le-re]make version". The 2005 recording would go on to serve as the theme song for Japanese release of the video game Super Dragon Ball Z
four months later. This version would peak 118 on Oricon.
compilation and the 2006 Speed Buyuden compilation feature a version by Lee Tairon.
The Italian band Highlord recorded a version that appears as a bonus track on the Japanese release of their album Instant Madness. The anime cover band Animetal
recorded their take on "Cha-la Head-Cha-la". Performed by vocalist Eizo Sakamoto in the style of 1980's Heavy Metal. It first appeared on Animetal Marathon VII as part of the "Jump Into The Fire mini-Marathon" at the end of the disc.
The Animetal version also appears on Animetal's 2006 "Decade of Bravehearts" Concert CD/DVD.
In 2007 the compilation album Zakkuri! Paratech feature the song as part of a megamix performed by the 777BOYS. They would later team up with Pinpon and produce another version for J-Anime! Hyper Techno & Trance.
The anime adaptation of the yonkoma
manga Lucky Star substitutes conventional ending theme-songs with parodies of famous anime songs, episode five of which was "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" sung by the lead character, Konata. This was done at the request of Aya Hirano
, Konata's voice actress, who is said to be a great fan of Kageyama. The song was later released as a part of ending-song compilations CD for the show. In 2008 another version would be recorded by Black Steel on the compilation Hi-Speed Kirakira Jk.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
and is the fifteenth single by J-pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
artist Hironobu Kageyama
Hironobu Kageyama
is a Japanese musical artist prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game, and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the pop group Lazy. By the early '80s, the band split and Kageyama went solo...
. It was released on vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, cassette
Cassette single
A cassette single is a music single in the form of a Compact Cassette.- History :...
, and mini CD
Mini CD
Mini CDs, or “pocket CDs” are CDs with a smaller diameter and one third the capacity.-Formats:Amongst the various formats are the* Mini CD single, a small disc. The format is mainly used for audio CD singles in certain regions , much like the old vinyl single...
on May 1, 1989 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
only. It is coupled with the first Dragon Ball Z closing theme "Detekoi Tobikiri Zenkai Power!" performed by Manna. The song opened for the first 200 episodes of the TV series and the first nine movies of the film series. It has been re-recorded in many other languages with an English version performed by Kageyama himself that was released on his third greatest hits album entitled "Mixture
Hironobu Kageyama Best Album 3: Mixture
is a compilation album by Jpop artist Hironobu Kageyama. It was released on April 20, 1996 in Japan only.- Album Information :This album is very sought after by Dragon Ball Z fan for its inclusion of English versions of the three Z series theme songs "Cha-La Head-Cha-La", "We Gotta Power", and...
" in 1996.
Development
At the time Kageyama had been reading the Dragon Ball manga in Shonen Jump for quite some time when he was offered the job to record the song. He states that he was so shocked when the offer came up. Kageyama considers the song to be his best work as people are always happy when they sing it.Track list
- "Cha-La Head-Cha-La"
2005 Re-release
In 2005 Kageyama was called back to record a new version of "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" called "Cha-La Head-Cha-La (2005 Ver.)". This version features a completely different composition. The release is coupled with a re-recording of "We Gotta Power" called "We Gotta Power (2005 Ver.)" which Kageyama performed as well. A "Self Cover" version featuring Kageyama on cover was also released as an iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
exclusive; however, it omits one track mislabelled as "Cha-La Head-Cha-La (2005 ver. Instrumental)", however, this version lacks the "mobi[le-re]make version". The 2005 recording would go on to serve as the theme song for Japanese release of the video game Super Dragon Ball Z
Super Dragon Ball Z
Super Dragon Ball Z is a cel-shaded 3D fighting video game, based on the manga Dragon Ball written by Akira Toriyama. It was originally released in Japanese and European arcades running on System 246 hardware, and later for the PlayStation 2...
four months later. This version would peak 118 on Oricon.
Track list
- Cha-La Head-Cha-La (2005 ver.)
- We Gotta Power (2005 ver.)
- Cha-La Head-Cha-La (DJ Dr.Knob Remix)
- We Gotta Power (Yuki Nakano Remix)
- Cha-La Head-Cha-La (mobi[le-re]make version)
- Cha-La Head-Cha-La (2005 ver. Instrumental)
- We Gotta Power (2005 ver. Instrumental)
Covers
Since its release, the song has been covered by many artists. In 2001, the Anipara Kids recorded a version for the album Club Ani para presents: Ani para Best & More. In 2004 the compilation album Anime Trance 2 features a version by Tora + R-SEQ. The 2005 Anime SpeedAnime Speed
Anime Speed is a megamix compilation album of Dancemanias Speed series, released by EMI Music Japan in 2005. The album features uptempo cover remixes of popular theme songs for various anime works such as Dragon Ball Z, Slam Dunk and Neon Genesis Evangelion...
compilation and the 2006 Speed Buyuden compilation feature a version by Lee Tairon.
The Italian band Highlord recorded a version that appears as a bonus track on the Japanese release of their album Instant Madness. The anime cover band Animetal
Animetal
was a Japanese novelty heavy metal band who specialized in metal covers of theme songs from classic and modern Japanese anime and tokusatsu television series....
recorded their take on "Cha-la Head-Cha-la". Performed by vocalist Eizo Sakamoto in the style of 1980's Heavy Metal. It first appeared on Animetal Marathon VII as part of the "Jump Into The Fire mini-Marathon" at the end of the disc.
The Animetal version also appears on Animetal's 2006 "Decade of Bravehearts" Concert CD/DVD.
In 2007 the compilation album Zakkuri! Paratech feature the song as part of a megamix performed by the 777BOYS. They would later team up with Pinpon and produce another version for J-Anime! Hyper Techno & Trance.
The anime adaptation of the yonkoma
Yonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
manga Lucky Star substitutes conventional ending theme-songs with parodies of famous anime songs, episode five of which was "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" sung by the lead character, Konata. This was done at the request of Aya Hirano
Aya Hirano
from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer who has had roles in several anime, visual novels, and TV commercials in Japan. She was contracted to Space Craft Produce, a branch of the Space Craft Group, for her voice acting career, and for her singing career,...
, Konata's voice actress, who is said to be a great fan of Kageyama. The song was later released as a part of ending-song compilations CD for the show. In 2008 another version would be recorded by Black Steel on the compilation Hi-Speed Kirakira Jk.
External links
- "Kageyama Complete!" listing 1989 version
- Team Entertainment page 2005 version