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Kyu Sakamoto (December 10, 1941 - August 12, 1985) was a Japanese singer and actor. He is ranked at number 18 in a list of Japan's top 100 influential musicians by HMV Japan. His most popular song, "Ue o muite aruko-" ("I look up when I walk") was popular around the world. In 1963, the British record label Pye Records released a cover version of the song by Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen. They were concerned that English-speaking audiences might find the original title too difficult to remember/pronounce, so they gave it the new title of "Sukiyaki'". This title was retained when Capitol Records in the United States, and His Master's Voice (HMV) in the UK, released Kyu Sakamoto's original version a few months later. The song topped the Billboard pop charts in the United States for three weeks in 1963 - to date the only song sung entirely in Japanese to do so. In the UK, it was the first ever Japanese language song to enter the charts, but only went to number 6 with no further chart entries. On August 12, 1985, Kyu Sakamoto died in the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123. Before the aircraft crashed, Sakamoto wrote a farewell note to his wife, Yukiko Kashiwagi.
Kyu Sakamoto (December 10, 1941 - August 12, 1985) was a Japanese singer and actor. He is ranked at number 18 in a list of Japan's top 100 influential musicians by HMV Japan. His most popular song, "Ue o muite aruko-" ("I look up when I walk") was popular around the world. In 1963, the British record label Pye Records released a cover version of the song by Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen. They were concerned that English-speaking audiences might find the original title too difficult to remember/pronounce, so they gave it the new title of "Sukiyaki'". This title was retained when Capitol Records in the United States, and His Master's Voice (HMV) in the UK, released Kyu Sakamoto's original version a few months later. The song topped the Billboard pop charts in the United States for three weeks in 1963 - to date the only song sung entirely in Japanese to do so. In the UK, it was the first ever Japanese language song to enter the charts, but only went to number 6 with no further chart entries. On August 12, 1985, Kyu Sakamoto died in the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123. Before the aircraft crashed, Sakamoto wrote a farewell note to his wife, Yukiko Kashiwagi.
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