Casey Rankin (1946-2009) was an American musician who moved to Japan in 1971 and spent the rest of his life there. His music is much better known in Japan than in the USA.
His main activity in Japan was in writing jingles and theme music. He had particularly big success with the rock band Shogun and music for Tantei Monogatari TV series, Bad City by Shogun and Lonely man. He also wrote the theme song for the film 蘇える金狼 (Yomigaeru Kinro).
Casey died in 2009 from esophageal cancer (cancer of the throat).
The Japanese Wikipedia claims that Casey was a helicopter crewman in the American military during the Vietnam war, but doesn't give any references for this. If you can confirm or deny it, please let me know at the email at the bottom of the page.
The first part of Casey's online bio, from around 1969 to 1980. Casey describes how his Japanese wife forced him to move to Japan, his band Short Hope, his jingle writing career, and the Shogun era.
The second part of Casey's online bio, from 1980 to the 2000s, describes his continuing musical career.
Has a discography, which doesn't include all of Casey's jingles.