B'z

The fact that B'z are the biggest rock act in Japan and the entirety of Asia is well evidenced by their induction into the Hollywood Rock Walk -- they are the only band from Asia to get this honor. Also consider the status of duo's guitarist, Tak (Takahiro) Matsumoto, as a Gibson Signature Artist (along with the likes of B.B. King and Ace Frehley). Finally, the band's record sales speak for themselves -- B'z have sold more than 75 million records in their native country, and none of their stylistic wanderings, in which they have indulged a lot, going from dance-rock to hard rock to blues to J-pop and back, have been able to diminish their popularity. B'z were started in 1988 by guitarist Matsumoto, who played as a session musician for popular bands TM Network and Mari Hamada and released a solo album, Thousand Wave, that was well received by critics. Matsumoto decided to pass the vocal duties to someone else and, by means of a newspaper ad, robbed the Japanese education world of an aspiring math teacher named Koshi Inaba, who became the vocalist of the newly formed duo that picked the moniker B'z. As Matsumoto explained later, they wanted to do a little alphabet play and name themselves A'z, but then decided it sounded too much like "AIDS" and settled for the next letter. The bandmembers proved their seriousness right away, refusing to tour in support of their first album on the grounds that they didn't have enough material for the fans, and thus recording their second LP, Off the Lock, right after their eponymous debut (1988) and embarking on their first tour -- dubbed Live Gym, which became a template for all of their subsequent tours -- in 1989. Soon afterwards B'z reached the top: the single "Taiyou No Komachi Angel" from their third album, the fittingly named Break...