+ scroll down for Sukiyaki by A Taste of Honey
Sakamoto Kyū is also known by his Western-order name of Kyū Sakamoto. See more about his name below.
Single:
上を向いて歩こう/ Ue o Muite Arukō / I Look Up as I Walk / Sukiyaki entered the Australian singles chart* on 22 June 1963 and was a #1 hit. The song was #19 in the Top 100 of 1963.
Songwriters:
Nakamura Hachidai (known internationally as Hachidai Nakamura), Ei Rokusuke
Producer:
Kusano Kōji
Record label of Australian release:
HMV
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
BONUS SONG BELOW – version of Sukiyaki by A Taste of Honey
Kyū’s name:
Sakamoto Kyū is aka Hisashi “Kyu” Sakamoto and legally registered in Japan as Hisashi Ōshima. His Western-order name is Kyū Sakamoto. “Kyū” (九) literally means “nine.”
Wikipedia:
Kyū was a Japanese singer and actor, best known outside Japan for his international hit song 上を向いて歩こう, or I Look Up as I Walk, alternatively titled Sukiyaki in English-speaking markets. It was sung in Japanese and sold more than 13 million copies.
The lyrics by Ei Rokusuke tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears will not fall, with the verses describing his memories and feelings.
The record topped the charts in Japan for three months in 1961 and was the #1 song of the year.
In 1963, a record company in the USA released it there with the erroneous title Sukiyaki, the name of a Japanese hot-pot dish with cooked beef. However, the word “sukiyaki” does not appear in the song’s lyrics, nor does it have any connection to them; it was used only because it was short, catchy, recognisably Japanese, and more familiar to English speakers. The song was therefore known by that name in Anglophone countries like Australia.
A Newsweek columnist compared the re-titling to issuing Moon River in Japan under the title “Beef Stew”.
Sadly, Kyū was one of 520 people who died in Japan’s worst ever plane crash in terms of lives lost, en route from Tokyo to Osaka in 1985. He was 43 years old.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyu_Sakamoto and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki_(song)
Lyrics:
I look up while I walk
So the tears won’t fall
Remembering those spring days
But tonight I’m all alone
I look up while I walk
Counting the stars with teary eyes
Remembering those summer days
But tonight I’m all alone
Click for full lyrics in Japanese and English
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 60s
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
BONUS – Sukiyaki by US group A Taste of Honey
Sukiyaki entered the Australian singles chart* on 15 June 1981 and peaked at #24.
A Taste of Honey vocalist Janice-Marie Johnson always adored Sukiyaki. She contacted the song’s Japanese lyricist Ei Rokusuke who provided her with a literal translation of what he had written. From that, Janice-Marie endeavored to write a new set of lyrics she felt would capture the spirit of the song. Like the original, it had no mention of a Japanese hot-pot dish with cooked beef.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki_(song)#A_Taste_of_Honey_version
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