Captain’s log, stardate 202006.21... 41/ 365 Part One: ‘Sukiyaki’, composed by Hachidai Nakamura and lyrics by Rokusuke Ei, was originally performed in Japanese by Kyu Sakamoto. At some certain points in my life, I recall listening to the English lyrics sung by various Japanese singers, including tonight on NHK’s Pop Music Club, but I never knew its history and its English lyrics version until today.
A Taste of Honey’s Janice-Marie Johnson first heard Sakamoto’s version as a kid on the radio, and wanted her mom to buy the single, even though she didn’t understand the language. Decades later during her singing career, Johnson, who wanted to be sung as a ballad and not as a disco version, wrote a new set of lyrics in English with production by the late George Duke. The single reached #3 on Billboard Hot 100, and would be their final hit on the chart.