The Foote Files: Kyu Sakamoto
(CBS 11) - Today's song was a #1 hit from 1963… and sung all in Japanese!!
Kyu Sakamoto (born November 10, 1941 in Kawasaki, Japan and died on August 12, 1985 in a plane crash) was a Japanese adult contemporary singer that scored big in the summer of 1963 with "Sukiyaki." It was released in May that year, was #1 on both the Billboard Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and stayed on the charts for twelve weeks. He was the first Asian recording artist to have a #1 hit on the charts. Unfortunately, he never would have another Top 40 song in America.
The song was released in 1961 in Japan and then 1963 in the U.S. and the UK. The alternate name is "Ue o Muite Aruko" which translates to "I Look Up As I Walk."
Written by Hachidai Nakamura and produced by Koji Kusano, running 3:05 on the Capitol Records label, the lyrics in English go like this:
It's all because of you,
I'm feeling sad and blue
You went away,
Now my life is just a rainy day and I love you so,
How much you'll never know
You've gone away and left me lonely.
The song also was #1 in Australia, Canada, and Norway, in addition to Japan and U.S.
As a side note, the plane crash that killed Sakamoto, Japan Airlines Flight 123, headed to Osaka for an event, was the single deadliest aircraft accident in history, with 520 people who all perished.
You can hear this song on SIRIUS XM 60's On 6 with Phlash Phelps, Dave Hoeffel, Pat St. John, Shotgun Tom Kelly, and Mike Kelly.