was a Japanese singer and actor.
He was best known outside Japan for his international hit song "Ue o Muite Arukō" (known as "
Sukiyaki
is a Japanese dish that is prepared and served in the ''nabemono'' (Japanese hot pot) style.
It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in ...
" in English-speaking markets), which was sung in Japanese and
sold over 13 million copies. It reached number one in the United States
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in June 1963, making Sakamoto the first Asian recording artist to have a number one song on the chart. He was also the first Japanese artist to have a number one single on the Australian singles chart.
Sakamoto was killed on 12 August 1985 in the crash of
Japan Air Lines Flight 123
Japan Air Lines Flight 123 (JAL123) () was a scheduled domestic Japan Air Lines
, also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tok ...
, along with 519 others on board the flight.
Life and career
Early years: 1941–1949
Childhood in Kawasaki and Kasama
![Kyu Iku Sakamoto](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Kyu_Iku_Sakamoto.JPG)
Sakamoto was born on 10 December 1941, in
Kawasaki,
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
, to Hiroshi Sakamoto, a cargo tender officer, and his second wife, Iku. He was the youngest of his father's nine children, which is why he was nicknamed , meaning "lil nine". Kyū is also an alternate reading of the ''
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
'' of his given name, .
In the summer of 1944, during the
air raids over the greater Tokyo area, Kyu's mother took her three children to live with their maternal grandparents in rural
Kasama,
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
. They moved back to Kawasaki in 1949. Their father's company had been closed by the American occupation forces and he opened a restaurant.
1956–1958
Teenage life
In 1956, Kyu's parents divorced. His mother was given custody over her three minor children including Kyu, and they adopted the mother's maiden name, Ōshima. His older half-siblings kept their father's surname, Sakamoto. Kyu started playing guitar in high school, but he soon began singing.
First recordings (1959–1960)
JVC and Toshiba Records
In May 1958, when Sakamoto was 16 years old, he joined the Japanese pop-band
The Drifters
The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...
that had been formed three years earlier. Sakamoto was unhappy about his position in the band as second vocalist, and this often led to fights with the other members. His big breakthrough as a band member came 26 August 1958, when he sang at the annual music festival Western Carnival at the Nichigeki Hall. After a quarrel that ended in a fight with two of the other members, Sakamoto left the band in November 1958.
For a short period of time, Sakamoto returned to his studies and focused on entering university. By December 1958, he joined his classmate's Hisahiko Iida's band called Danny Iida and Paradise King. He replaced Hiroshi Mizuhara as singer. Sakamoto's career began to rise to expectations, where he ended his studies and left school. In June 1959, the band got a record deal at the JVC record company. The Paradise King and Sakamoto released their song "Kanashiki Rokujissai" in August 1960, which became a great hit. In the time after they released a number of songs that became very popular. This led to Sakamoto obtaining a record deal at the
Toshiba Records
, formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...
company and left the Paradise King aiming at a solo career.
Solo career (1961–1985)
Debut album and international success (1961–1964)
![Kyu Sakamoto 1964](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Kyu_Sakamoto_1964.png)
Sakamoto's solo career was inaugurated with the love song "
Ue o Muite Arukō
, alternatively titled "Sukiyaki", is a song by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto, first released in Japan in 1961. The song topped the charts in a number of countries, including the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1963.
The song grew to become one o ...
" written by
Rokusuke Ei and
Hachidai Nakamura
was a Japanese songwriter and jazz pianist.
Biography
Hachidai Nakamura was born in Tsingtao, Republic of China, to Japanese parents, before moving to Kurume at a young age, where he attended high school. He graduated from Waseda University in ...
. The song was first heard on the
NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
entertainment program ''Yume de Aimashō'' on 16 August 1961. It became a smash hit and was released on red vinyl on October 15. It remained the highest selling record until January 1962, three months after its release.
His international breakthrough came in 1963 during a visit to Japan by
Louis Benjamin
Isaac Louis Benjamin (17 October 1922 – 20 June 1994) was a British entertainment business executive and theatre impresario. Among other leading positions between the 1960s and 1980s, he chaired Pye Records, was a managing director at ATV ...
, an executive of British record company
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...
. Hearing the song several times, Benjamin decided to bring it back to England. Due to concerns that the title would be too hard for English-speakers to pronounce or remember, the song was renamed "
Sukiyaki
is a Japanese dish that is prepared and served in the ''nabemono'' (Japanese hot pot) style.
It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in ...
", after the Japanese cooked beef dish familiar to the English. The new title was intended to sound both catchy and distinctive in Japanese, but other than the language, it had no actual connection to the song.
Initially, Pye Records released an instrumental version of the song recorded by
Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen. After that became a hit in England,
His Master's Voice
His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...
(HMV) released the original, which also sold well, reaching sixth place in HMV's most sold records. In 1963, Capitol Records released the song in the US with the alternate title, eventually selling over one million copies,
and remaining number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number one single for three weeks in June 1963.
After the international success of "Ue o Muite Arukō", Sakamoto went on a world tour that lasted from summer of 1963 to the beginning of 1964. Among the countries he visited were the United States (including Hawaii), Germany, and Sweden. During his time in the U.S., he was invited to appear in several television shows. On 13 August 1963, he landed at
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
and that evening, was a guest of television program ''
The Steve Allen Show
''The Steve Allen Show'' was an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, ''. Sakamoto was also expected to appear on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
,'' but his appearance was canceled owing to a scheduling conflict with the production of his upcoming movie, ''Kyu-chan Katana o Nuite''.
Sakamoto had only one other song reach the U.S. charts, "China Nights (Shina no Yoru)" (Capitol 5016), which peaked at number 58 in 1963. His only American album, ''Sukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits'' (Capitol 10349), peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart (now known as the Billboard 200) in 1963 and remained on the Pop Albums chart for 17 weeks.
He received his sole foreign
Gold Record
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...
of the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) by Capitol Records on 15 May 1964 in
Hotel Okura
is a luxury hotel opened in 1962 in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is operated by Okura Hotels and was a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. The historic main wing was demolished in 2015, with a modern replacement on the site opened in 2019, ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
.
Later appearances
During the
1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...
, he was featured on the Swedish TV-program ''
Hylands hörna
''Hylands hörna'' ("Hyland's corner") was a Swedish talk show presented by Lennart Hyland. Broadcast between 1962 and 1983, it was the first talk show in Sweden.
The show started as a radio program on 10 October 1961. It moved to television in 19 ...
'' broadcast live from Tokyo.
In 1968, Sakamoto and Hachidai Nakamura participated in the international singing contest Festival Internacional da Canção in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
with the song "Sayonara, Sayonara" and finished in 7th place.
Marriage and family
In 1971, Sakamoto married Japanese actress
Yukiko Kashiwagi
is a Japanese actress and was the wife of Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto from 1971 until his death in 1985. In the 1970s, Kashiwagi retired from her career as an actress and instead presented a series of welfare performances with her husband in chi ...
. The couple had two daughters,
Hanako and .
Death
On August 12, 1985, Sakamoto was aboard
Japan Air Lines Flight 123
Japan Air Lines Flight 123 (JAL123) () was a scheduled domestic Japan Air Lines
, also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tok ...
(departing from Tokyo), heading to Osaka for an event. The plane crashed into two ridges of
Mount Takamagahara
Mount Takamagahara (高天原山, ''Takamagahara-yama'') is a mountain in the Gunma Prefecture of Japan, near Ueno village. Its measurement is tall. Takamagahara is the world of heaven in Japanese mythology.
The crash of Japan Airlines Flight ...
in
Ueno, Gunma
is a village located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 1,149 in 571 households, and a population density of 6.3 persons per km2. The total area of the village is . The village has the lowest population den ...
, a disaster that remains the
deadliest single-aircraft accident in history with 520 people killed, including Sakamoto. He was interred at Chōkoku-ji Temple in the central
Minato-ku area in Tokyo.
Legacy
His most popular song, "
Ue o Muite Arukō
, alternatively titled "Sukiyaki", is a song by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto, first released in Japan in 1961. The song topped the charts in a number of countries, including the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1963.
The song grew to become one o ...
" ("I look up when I walk") remains the only Japanese song to reach number one on the
''Billboard'' pop charts in the United States, a position it maintained for three weeks in 1963. It was also the first-ever Japanese language song to enter the Australian charts, where it reached #2. In addition, it made the UK charts, though it only climbed to number 6 with no further chart entries.
"Ue o Muite Arukō" has been
covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
multiple times over the years, beginning with the instrumental by
Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen. "Ue o Muite Arukō" was also covered as an instrumental, by English pianist
Johnny Pearson
John Valmore Pearson (18 June 1925 – 20 March 2011) was a British composer, orchestra leader and pianist. He led the ''Top of the Pops'' orchestra for sixteen years, wrote a catalogue of library music, and had many of his pieces used as the ...
, during 1982. Well-known English-language cover versions include a 1981 cover by
A Taste of Honey
''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...
and a 1995 cover by
4 P.M., both of which made the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. In 1989,
Selena's ''
self-titled album'' contained a Spanish translation of the Taste of Honey cover which was released as a single in 1990. The English lyrics have also appeared in whole or in part in songs by performers including
Slick Rick
Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer.
He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...
and
Doug E. Fresh
Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...
(1985's "
La Di Da Di
"La Di Da Di" is a song performed by Doug E. Fresh, who provides the beatboxed instrumental, and MC Ricky D (later known as Slick Rick), who performs the vocals. It was originally released in 1985 as the B-side to " The Show". The song has since ...
"),
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...
(1985's "The Show Stopper"),
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
(1993's "Lodi Dodi", a "La Di Da Di" cover),
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (1995's ''Bless Da 40 Oz.''),
Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...
(1995's "
Ask of You
"Ask of You" is a song by American singer Raphael Saadiq, released as a single from the ''Higher Learning'' soundtrack. It was Saadiq's biggest solo hit, peaking at number 19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 2 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Ho ...
", another to make the Hot 100),
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
(1997's "Everything") and
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...
(1999's "So Fresh", featuring Slick Rick).
An American version by
Jewel Akens
Jewel Eugene Akens (September 12, 1933 – March 1, 2013) was an American singing, singer and record producer.
Career
He recorded with The Medallions on Dootone, with The Four Dots on Freedom, and then with singer Eddie Daniels as "Jewel and Edd ...
with different English lyrics was written for it. Titled "My First Lonely Night (Sukiyaki)" in 1966, the song reached number 82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
On 16 March 1999,
Japan Post
was a Japanese statutory corporation that existed from 2003 to 2007, offering postal and package delivery services, Retail banking, banking services, and life insurance. It's the nation's largest employer, with over 400,000 employees, and run ...
issued a stamp commemorating Sakamoto and "Ue o Muite Arukō".
The stamp is listed in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue as Japan number 2666 with a face value of 50 yen.
Discography
* ''
Sukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits'' (1963)
* ''
Very Best of Kyu Sakamoto'' (1994)
* ''
Kyu Sakamoto Memorial Best
{{Infobox album
, name = Kyu Sakamoto Memorial Best
, type = compilation
, artist = Kyu Sakamoto
, cover = Kyu Sakamoto Memorial Best (Kyu Sakamoto album - cover art).jpg
, alt =
, released = 2005
, recorded = ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Kyu Sakamoto CD & DVD The Best'' (2005)
Filmography
*
''Takekurabe'' (1955)
* ''
Everything Goes Wrong
is a 1960 in film, 1960 Cinema of Japan, Japanese Sun Tribe film directed by Seijun Suzuki and starring Tamio Kawachi and Yoshiko Yatsu in her film debut. The story follows Jirō, a rebellious high schooler, in his Sadomasochism, sadomasochistic ...
'' (1960)
* ''
Kigeki: ekimae danchi'' (1961)
* ''Ue o Muite Arukō'' (1962)
* ''
Shichiji ni aimashō'' (1963)
* ''
Clap your hands when you are happy'' (1964)
* ''
Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon
, also known as ''Space Gulliver'', is a 1965 Japanese animated feature that was released in Japan on March 20, 1965 and in the United States on July 23, 1966.
Plot
The story concerns a homeless boy named Ricky, or Ted in the Japanese version. ...
'' (1965)
* ''
Kyūchan's Big Dream'' (1967)
* ''
Tokkan'' (1975)
Biography
* ''
Ue o Muite Arukō: Sakamoto Kyū Monogatari'' (made-for-TV movie, TV Tokyo, 2005)
See also
*
Kyū Sakamoto Memorial Hall
*
6980 Kyusakamoto, an outer main-belt asteroid, named in his honor
References
External links
*
*
* , watching clip of Sakamoto on Steve Allen Show (1963)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakamoto, Kyu
1941 births
1985 deaths
Japanese male pop singers
Capitol Records artists
Universal Music Japan artists
People from Kawasaki, Kanagawa
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Japan
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1985
Musicians from Kanagawa Prefecture
20th-century Japanese male singers
20th-century Japanese singers
20th-century Japanese male actors