Popular singer Joe Yamanaka died of lung cancer Sunday morning at a hospital in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, a music industry source close to him said. He was 64.
Known as the vocalist of the rock band Flower Travelin' Band, Yamanaka also pursued a solo career as a singer and as an actor, appearing in the 1977 movie "Ningen no Shomei" ("Proof of the Man") and singing its theme song, which became a hit tune.
Yamanaka announced in March last year that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.