Once known as the "singing bank manager," these days Kei Ogura could be called the "singing recovering cancer patient."

Best known for his 1975 hit single "Shikuramen No Kaori (Scent Of Cyclamen)," singer/songwriter Ogura spent 26 years working for Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank before he decided to devote himself full-time to his musical activities in 1993.

"I write 50 to 100 songs a year -- that's my pace," says Ogura, whose rather sentimental brand of kayokyoku (traditional Japanese pop) has proven consistently popular over the years.