Sukiyaki Number 1
Sukiyaki, by Kyu Sakamoto, reached the top spot on the pop charts.
Kyu Sakamoto from Kawasaki, Japan, reached the number one spot on the pop music charts with Sukiyaki. The popular song captivated American music buyers and was at the top of the Billboard pop chart for three weeks. In Japan, where Sakamoto was enormously popular, Sukiyaki was known as Ue O Muite Aruko (I Look Up When I Walk). The entertainer met an untimely fate in 1985. Kyu Sakamoto was one of 520 people who perished in the crash of a Japan Air Lines flight near Tokyo. He was 43 years old.
There are at least a couple of square dance versions of Sukiyaki. I have a singing call version that has the original Japanese lyrics (spelled out phonetically).
Relevant Records
- Sukiyaki (Circle D 258)