Entertainment Mar. 02, 2011 - 04:14AM JST ( 3 )

TOKYO —

Southern All Stars frontman Keisuke Kuwata, 55, who made a triumphant comeback on NHK’s New Year’s Eve program “Kohaku Uta Gassen,” after undergoing surgery for esophageal cancer last year, has released a new solo album which has rocketed to the top of Japan’s Oricon album chart.

The new album, titled “Musicman,” is his first solo since 2002’s “Rock and Roll Hero.” The album marks Kuwata’s fourth decade in the No. 1 album slot, which he also achieved with “Keisuke Kuwata” in the 1980s, “The Sun of Solitude” in the ‘90s and “Top of the Pops” in 2002.

Kuwata has become the third artist after Yumi Matsutoya, 57, and Hideaki Tokunaga, 50, to emerge from collaborative music to hit the No. 1 album slot as a solo artist four decades in a row.

Kuwata wrote a jubilant thank you message on the official homepage of his weekly Tokyo FM radio show, “Kuwata Keisuke no Yasashii Yoasobi,” which read, “I want to thank my family, my staff, all my friends and especially my fans!”