Mickie Yoshino -
Piano, Hammond Organ, Keyboards- Composer, Arranger & Producer
Born in 1951 in Yokohama, Japan.
His musical career began as junior high school student, playing in night clubs as well as the U.S. military base in Yokohama.
Mickie (pronounced "Mickey") became a member, at the age of 15, of the The Golden Cups, a group known as the pioneer of the Japanese blues scene in 1967 and the band went on to release several smash hits.
When he left the band in 1971, he went to study music at the Berklee School Of Music in Boston . At Berklee, he studied piano with Charlie Banacos, and arranging with Gary Burton. He formed a group while there called "Flesh & Blood" and played in the Boston rock scene, sometimes opening for up and coming groups, Aerosmith and Boston.
After graduating Berklee, Mickie returned to Japan to form the group "Godiego"
( pronounced Go-die-Go). Godiego dominated the hit charts from 1978 through the mid-80's, and is credited with changing and influencing the Japanese "pop" music scene.
In the UK Godiego became known for doing the theme song for a series aired on the BBC, called "The Water Margin." The song got up to number 16 in the UK singles chart.
Satril label released the album "The Water Margin" in UK & Europe. But Godiego's biggest hits in Japan came from a TV series called "Monkey", and this too was aired by the BBC. This series went on to become and remains a "cult Japanese TV series" with Videos and DVDs sold not only in the UK, but in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa etc. "Gandhara" and "Monkey Magic" were the most well known songs.
Godiego also attracted international attention when they wrote and released "Beautiful Name." the theme song for Unicef's International Child Of the Year.
Mickie was also very involved with Roland in the development of synthesizers and digital stage pianos in 70's and 80's. Godiego was one of the first rock bands to use the first guitar synthesizer for both recordings and live performances.
In 1980, Godiego was the first rock group to perform in China, a history making event. They also perfomred for 60,000 people in Katmandu, Nepal. They also played in Australia and the US. Around 1985, Godiego broke up, until they reunited in 1999/2000 for a 17 concert nation-wide tour.
In the later '80's, Mickie helped to found the PAN school of music in Tokyo and Yokohama. He has also released his own albums such as "Longway from home", and worked with many musicians including Paul Jackson (ex. Herbie Hancock), Jennifer Batten (Jeff Beck, Michael Jackson), Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) and Ray Parker Jr., Char and Shuichi Hidano.
In the early 2000's, Mickie participated in the reunion of the Golden Cups and a documentary film, "The Golden Cups One More Time" was produced by Altamira Pictures The movie showed the band's influence on so many Japanese rock players.
Mickie has remained in demand as a writer and arranger, and in 2005 he won a Japanese Acadamy Award for his music in the film "Swing Girls."
Mickie reformed Godiego in 2006 with the most popular members Yukihide Takekawa(vo), Takami Asano(g), Steve Fox(b) and Tommy Snyder(d).
Godiego had big project as a 3 year series of concerts for Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space, 2007-2009.
In 2014, Yoji Yoshizawa(g&b) joined the band and they continue to tour, release CDs & DVDs.
Mickie has a wide range of relationship in his musical activities.
He formed a crossover musical units called "EnTRANS" with Takayuki Inoue,(g) Yoshihiro Naruse(b), Nobuo Yagi(blues harp) and Syuichi Hidano (Taiko drums).
He plays with Jazz players such as Kenji Hino(b)and Masa Kohama(g).
Mickie, who originated in blues rock and developed through increasingly complex styles of music. Stay tuned!