Hadashi no Megami
| Hadashi no Megami | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by B'z | ||||
| Released | June 2, 1993 | |||
| Promotions | #1 (Toyota "Corolla Levin" CM) | |||
| Length | 8:13 | |||
| Label | BMG Rooms Vermillion Records (2003 Remaster) | |||
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto | |||
| B'z singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Hadashi no Megami (裸足の女神, Barefoot Goddess) is the thirteenth single by B'z, released on June 2, 1993. Commonly associated with the band and its legacy, the title song was premiered live during later dates of B'z LIVE-GYM '93 "RUN", though the song would not be finished until afterward as Koshi at one point in its early phases re-wrote all of the lyrics. In the years since, it has become one of their most important live songs and ranks in as their all time fifth most played. A non-album single by nature, it was first collected on an album for B'z The Best "Pleasure" in 1998 and on B'z The Best "ULTRA Pleasure" in 2008 as well as B'z The Best XXV 1988-1998. Interestingly, the song was also covered by the band's longtime drummer Shane Gaalaas in Japanese as a single in the country and included on his debut solo album Primer. A music video for the song was also produced and aired on Japanese television at the time.
The title song is one of their top five most played live with over 300 performances to date. It has been performed during nearly every era of the band's history and was in especially heavy rotation in the early to mid 1990s, for which it was called upon for every date of B'z LIVE-GYM '94 "THE 9TH BLUES -Part1-" and its follow-up tour. An acoustic rendition was included as a focal point for most of B'z LIVE-GYM 2002 "GREEN ~GO★FIGHT★WIN~" while an intimate, extended version was shown for B'z LIVE-GYM The Final Pleasure "IT'S SHOWTIME!!" for the band's fifteenth anniversary in 2003. Its history at LIVE-GYM events is extensive and never has more than five years passed without it being performed. It has been included on numerous home videos as well, including "BUZZ!!" THE MOVIE and LIVE-GYM 2011 -C'mon-.
As with many other B'z singles at the time, a dedicated music video was not produced. Even more unusual is that the song initially was not performed on television. This changed in 2013 when a "B'z 25th Anniversary Special" edition of Music Station was broadcast. "Hadashi no Megami" was played in a medley with "LOVE PHANTOM" and "ultra soul" per fan demand. The title song was, however, used in a Toyota Corolla commercial at the time.
When released, "Hadashi no Megami" charted at the top of the Weekly Oricon Singles chart, where it remained for two weeks, with nearly 780,000 in sales in the first week alone. The single was the top selling for June 1993, the third best seller for July, and fifth for all of 1993, spending a total of 26 weeks on the chart. The single went on to sale over 1.7 million copies in total, earning it a Million certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
The single was simultaneously remastered and re-released on March 26, 2003 along with nine other of the band's older singles and the then-latest single, "IT'S SHOWTIME!!". On the daily chart at launch, B'z held a monopoly over the chart's top eleven slots, with the new single ranking at the top and the re-issues covering the remaining ten. Ultimately, B'z would set a record that week for holding nine of the Top 10 slots for the week of release, with "Hadashi no Megami" coming in just shy in eleventh place.
Track listing
All music and guitar by Tak Matsumoto. All lyrics and lead vocals by Koshi Inaba.
- Hadashi no Megami — Barefoot Goddess, 裸足の女神
- File:s13 01.ogg Considered by many an example of a quintessential B'z song, "Hadashi no Megami" has remained both a live and studio staple for the band since its release. While it is an upbeat song, it is guitar-driven and has all the rock elements expected of later B'z works. In fact, Koshi reflected on the song later saying it had a "very strong rock color to it" and that "the feeling it exudes during live shows is fantastic." As a result of having been performed live over 300 times, it has, naturally, appeared on several compilation albums and home videos. It is common during live performances for a breakdown to take place prior to the outro in which the band pause for the crowd to sing along to the coda.
- KARA・KARA — Drought
- File:s13 02.ogg Despite being overshadowed by some other B-sides from the era, "KARA・KARA" was still a live hit when performed during B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'93 "JAP THE RIPPER" where it appeared during both dates. While it has never appeared on an album or compilation other than being reprinted for B'z COMPLETE SINGLE BOX, a remix was collected on B'z The "Mixture" in 2000.
Reversion history
| Original Song | Reversion History |
|---|---|
| Hadashi no Megami SINGLE (1993)
|
KARAOKE: Hadashi no Megami [Karaoke Version] (1996) |
| KARA・KARA B-SIDE (1993)
|
REMIX: KARA・KARA -Mixture mix- (2000) |
Live appearances
Live Performances
- Hadashi no Megami [374 SHOWS]
B'z LIVE-GYM '93 "RUN" [30/49 SHOWS]- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'93 "JAP THE RIPPER" [2/2 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '94 "THE 9TH BLUES -Part1-" [55/55 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '94 "THE 9TH BLUES -Part2-" [32/32 SHOWS]
- Merry X'Mas ~ Mary Had a Little Lamb/Silent Night [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'95 "BUZZ!!" [12/12 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '98 "SURVIVE" [49/49 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2001 "ELEVEN" [43/46 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM in Taipei & Hong Kong 2001 [4/4 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2002 "GREEN ~GO★FIGHT★WIN~" [13/18 SHOWS] (Acoustic Version)
- B'z SHOWCASE 2003 "IT'S SHOWCASE!!" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM The Final Pleasure "IT'S SHOWTIME!!" [23/23 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2008 -GLORY DAYS- [6/6 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2011 -long time no see- [3/3 SHOWS]
- TV Asahi Dream Festival 2011 [1/1 SHOWS]
- Pepsi NEX presents B'z 1DAY LIVE [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2011 -C'mon- [26/26 SHOWS]
- AEROSONIC [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2013 -ENDLESS SUMMER- [1/30 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2015 -Shinagawa Uchouten NIGHT- [1/1 SHOWS]
- TV Asahi Dream Festival 2015 [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2017 -Hissatsu Hiokinin- [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2017 -B'z In Your Town- [11/11 SHOWS]
- ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2017 [1/1 SHOWS]
- RISING SUN ROCK FESTIVAL 2017 in EZO [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2018 -The Wall Of Rock- [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2018 -HINOTORI- [12/23 SHOWS]
- B'z PARTY Presents B'z Pleasure in Hawaii [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2019 -Makaitenshow- [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2019 -Whole Lotta NEW LOVE- [36/36 SHOWS]
- SUMMER SONIC 2019 [2/2 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820- [1/5 SHOWS]
- KARA・KARA [2 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'93 "JAP THE RIPPER" [2/2 SHOWS]
Home Videos
- Hadashi no Megami
- LIVE RIPPER: Pleasure'93 "JAP THE RIPPER"
- "BUZZ!!" THE MOVIE
- LIVE-GYM 2002 "GREEN ~GO★FIGHT★WIN~"
- LIVE-GYM Final Pleasure "IT'S SHOWTIME!!"
- Hidden Pleasure: LIVE-GYM '93 "RUN"
- LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2008 -GLORY DAYS-
- LIVE-GYM 2011 -long time no see-
- LIVE-GYM 2011 -C'mon-
- LIVE-GYM 2001 -ELEVEN-
- XXV Limited Edition DVD: Pleasure'93 "JAP THE RIPPER"
- TV Asahi Dream Festival 2015
- DINOSAUR Limited Edition: ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2017
- LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2018 -HINOTORI-
- LIVE-GYM 2019 -Whole Lotta NEW LOVE-
- SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820-
- KARA・KARA
Sales data
| No. | Cover | Single | Physical Copies Sold | Chart Positions | Certification | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST WEEK | LIFETIME | WEEK | MONTH | YEAR | ||||
| 13 | 
|
Hadashi no Megami |
778,336+ |
1,736,000+ |
1 |
1 |
5 |
Million |
Personnel
B'z
- Tak Matsumoto: Guitar, Music Composition, Arrangement
- Koshi Inaba: Vocals, Lyric Composition
Support Members
- Masao Akashi: Bass, Arrangement
- Jun Aoyama: Drums
- Toshihiko Furumura: Saxophone (Track 2)
- MARCY from EARTHSHAKER: Chorus (Track 1)
- Maki Ohguro: Chorus (Track 1)
Production
- B+U+M
- Chris Bellman: Remastering (2003 reissue, Bernie Grundman Mastering L.A., U.S.A.)