Crystal King, a Japanese pop rock and kayōkyoku band, was formed in 1971. The group initially consisted of vocalists Monsieur Yoshisaki and Masayuki Tanaka, guitarist Michio Yamashita, pianist Kimiharu Nakamura, keyboardist Hiromi Imakiire, drummer Ken Kanefuku, and bassist Hidetoshi Nomoto. Crystal King's breakthrough came at the end of 1979 with their debut single "Daitokai", which sold 1.5 million copies and won two prestigious song festivals: the 18th Yamaha Popular Song Contest and the 10th World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo. The band continued to release successful singles, including "Shinkirō" (1980), "Shojo Kōkai" (1980), "Passion-Lady" (1981), "Ceccile" (1982), and "Setouchi kōshinkyoku (IN THE MOOD)" (1984). Internationally, Crystal King is best known for writing and performing the first two songs of the anime Fist of the North Star, "Ai o Torimodose!!" and "Yuria ... Eien ni", with the original single selling over 500,000 In 1986, Tanaka left Crystal King to pursue a solo career but suffered a vocal injury in 1989 that ended his singing career. The remaining members continued as Cross Road, occasionally reuniting with Tanaka. The band officially disbanded in 1995, after which Yoshisaki continued performing as Crystal King as a solo project.
