On April 21, 2011, the actress and singer Yoshiko Tanaka, aka Sue from 1970s idol group the Candies, died after a relapse of the cancer that she had been living with for 20 years. A tragedy, at the relatively young age of 55, and one that comes during a period of deep soul-searching for the Japanese music business.

While the music industry now struggles amid declining sales, dynamic Korean imports, and the uncertain conditions following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Tanaka and the Candies, despite only being active for five years between 1973 and '78, have become icons of what is commonly regarded as the "golden age" of Japanese pop music — kayoukyoku, as it was then known.

Of course every generation paints the past in rose-tinted nostalgia, but it would be a mistake to dismiss music that made enduring stars of the Candies, as well as contemporaries such as Pink Lady (who continue touring to this day) and Momoe Yamaguchi. Naive as it may sound to modern ears, the golden age has much to teach the current J-pop generation — mired as it is in '90s knockoff ballads and ever-expanding massed dragoons of cheaply produced all-girl idol confectionary — about charm, character and songwriting craftsmanship.