is the 14th single released in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and the first single released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, by Japanese duo Pink Lady. The song was recorded for their debut American album '' Pink Lady''. The duo debuted the song in May 1979 on a

Leif Garrett Leif Garrett (born Leif Per Nervik; November 8, 1961) is an American singer, actor, and television personality. He worked as a child actor, then in the 1970s became famous as a teen idol in music. He later received much publicity for his dru ...

TV special. The song's peak position in Japan on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

chart was 19, and on the American

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

was 37. This was the first release of the duo to fail to make the top 10 in Japan. In addition to the all-English version of the song which was a hit in the U.S., Pink Lady recorded a bilingual version for the album ''

We Are Sexy is the fifth studio album by Japanese idol duo Pink Lady, released through Victor Entertainment on December 1, 1979. The album contains two medleys, covers, and a Japanese version of their first American hit " Kiss in the Dark". Several of these ...

'', with the chorus in English and the verses in Japanese. The B-side of the single is a cover of

The Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroqu ...

's "

Walk Away Renée "Walk Away Renée" is a song written by Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, and Tony Sansone for the band the Left Banke, released as a single in July 1966. Steve Martin Caro is featured on lead vocals. It spent 13 weeks on the US charts, with a top s ...

". Pink Lady became the first Japanese recording act to chart in America since

Kyu Sakamoto was a Japanese singer and actor. He was best known outside Japan for his international hit song "Ue o Muite Arukō" (known as " Sukiyaki" in English-speaking markets), which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached numbe ...

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 ...

") 16 years earlier, and the first to have a hit sung in English, as Sakamoto's hit was sung in Japanese. Coincidentally, "Kiss in the Dark" was released a year before

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 ...

's '' Twice As Sweet'' album. The album featured A Taste of Honey's cover of the song "Sukiyaki," which became a hit in the U.S. In Japan, the single sold 350,000 copies. A re-recorded version of the song was included on the 2-disc greatest hits album, ''

Innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity ...

'', released in December 2010.

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* * {{authority control Songs about kissing 1979 singles 1979 songs Pink Lady (band) songs English-language Japanese songs Disco songs Song recordings produced by Michael Lloyd Elektra Records singles Victor Entertainment singles