MEET JAPAN'S ANSWER TO GARTH BROOKS

MEET JAPAN'S ANSWER TO GARTH BROOKS

KUMAMOTO CITY, Japan (Wireless Flash) -- A man that's being called the Japanese Garth Brooks is turning into a country music phenomena in the Land of the Rising Sun. Performer Charlie Nagatani is Japan's biggest country singer and has been wowing Asian audiences with his Tokyo twang for more than 40 years. The teriyaki troubadour says he was bitten by the country bug in 1956 after some friends hired a fiddle band for his birthday party. He's since sang with several big name American country acts including Emmylou Harris, Bill Monroe and Porter Wagoner. Although Charlie has made country music cool in Japan, he says he has no interest in replacing guitars with kyotos or recording "Achy Breaky Heart" in Japanese.