right on, man. one of my all-time favorite artists from Japan is Ryuichi Sakamoto, but they're not related. i had not heard this track before. it's crazy to think that in 1963 this was number ONE on the Billboard top 100 for Three Weeks. that is so wild. thanks so much, Jamel the Music Teacher. you opened my mind and my ears a little bit more today. rock on, man.
REQUEST. THE Flower travelin’ band - House of the rising son. They’re a Japanese rock band from the early seventies, not sure if they are any video of them. The critics said they were what Black Sabbath should have been. They have some good yet different stuff. Thank you
lovely song. I live in Japan and this song gets selected almost every time I do karaoke with Japanese co-workers and friends - still popular to this day and by now, I can sing every word.
I'm from the UK and i have been playing this song for over 50 years, one of the most beautiful songs ever writen, we have the English words to it as we,ll so can sing along to it, ............... RIP MR SAKAMOTO
@@SKYTIERNORTHWEST umm taste of honey did not sing a translation if the song. They made up English words they could have used the translation. I really hate the English version. Love this one
This song was so popular, and played on the radio so much, that we could all sing along without knowing what the heck we were singing. He was such a pleasant guy, always smiling. So sad when he died so young.
I remember, he was on the Ed Sullivan show, I was allowed to watch this show' I was very young, 7, years old, I was listening, to it, I started crying' I didn't understand it, but my young heart did' 💕 🇨🇦
He had a beautiful, emotion filled voice. I remember this came out when I was a child. It blew up, it was everywhere. One of the songs you don't know the words, but you love the beauty.
This song makes me cry, especially when I think of him writing that letter to his wife and daughter while that plane was going down causing the end of all of those people. His voice was incredible.
Oh, God, was he on that Korean airline that lost the vertical fin on the tail, making the rear end of the jet swing left and right repeatedly for several minutes as they descended?
@@kennethlatham3133 It was Japan Airlines 123 (August 12, 185) which had difficulties 12 minutes into the flight crashing 32 minutes later. 520 of the 524 on board were killed. It was the deadliest plane crash in history. A heartbreaking story for everyone involved that just makes this song so much sadder, yet still compelling to hear. My memory of the song goes back to when I was four or five years old. It also brings back memories of where I was, and who I knew, in those days.
I grew up with this version of the song. My dad was stationed in Yokosuka Japan in the 70s and fell in love with it. He learned all the words even though he never really got good at speaking Japanese. Said the first time he heard it, even before he got someone to translate it for him, he knew what it was about, and that it made him miss home and my mom.
It’s honestly beautiful that you listened to this growing up; I heard it on TV as a Japanese kid (I’m half Japanese) growing up in Tokyo. I gotta say that there’s really no way to communicate just how emotional the nuance of the Japanese is in the lyrics, but I’m so weirdly happy to find out that you listened to this over in the states too
I was only six years old when I first heard and fell in love with this beautiful song. My mother had been amazed that I was in tears listening to it. Although it seems to have cheerful music there was something very sad about it to me.... though I could only (just about) speak English.
I played this for my aunt in the nursing home because she lived in Japan as a young wife. Her husband was stationed there. She couldn't remember much, but she could hum right along to this.
OMG, can't believe you're doing this! Huge memory from my childhood! My mum and dad had this record. Me and my brother made up our own words, trying to sound clever, ha ha!!
My favourite group of the moment is from Japan - Arashi - I have not a clue what they are singing, but I love their songs (they have done a couple in English though :-)
Oh wow!! My mom had this record, so I grew up listening to this song. I can sing all the lyrics in Japanese, but I never knew the English version of Sukiyaki!! 💗 Chills here too!! I don't speak Japanese, I just phonetically learned to sing along. Thank you Jamal!! 🤗
Correct. Japan Airlines flight 123, the deadliest plane crash in history. More than 500 died, yet somehow 4 survived. I think of this whenever I hear that wonderful song.
@@markburnham7512 In the JAL air disaster 520 people lost their lives. Today, March 27 in 1977 is actually when the worst aviation crash occurred. 583 died when a KLM 747 and a Pan Am 747 collided on the airport runway on Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands.
@@netescape7771 the JAL was the worst SINGLE plane air crash. The KLM one you refer to was a larger toll because it was two 747's that crashed on a runway. The JAL is still the largest loss of lives for a single plane.
You have to remember, this was not long after the war. 'Shintaro', was on our TVs in the afternoon, and this was on the radio. The kids loved them, but our parents were perplexed. This was in Australia, possibly the same in the USA.
It was the same way in Japan. The elders didn't want to associate with us unless our blue eyes blonde haired baby was with us. Young people like We were at the time didn't carry around the same scars there elders did and loved American music and culture.
@@Momspennies2 l never heard anything bad said about this song by Adults in Detroit , we tried to sing along to it as best as we could. This is the first time l ever saw the lyrics. l was ten in 1963.
Yes, there was plenty of post-war anti-Japanese hostility in the US for years after, so the fact that a Japanese pop song could become the most popular song in America less than 20 years after the end of the war is nothing short of amazing.
I bought a original record from 1962, and I love it, fell in love with this song on the internet and now i have it part of my collection, Music is a beautiful thing.
I lived in Japan for 4 years and this song is still popular, and I remember many nights in a Japanese Izakaya drinking sake with the locals and then singing this drunk at karaoke and they were surprised I could sing it in Japanese. Miss those days
Taste of Honey I think that’s the version that goes “If only you were here, I’d wash away my tears, the sun would shine and you’d be mine all mine....” that’s the version I know as a GenXer, and the one I think Jamel was trying to recall.
When I was a little girl this song always made me feel like I was riding a horse in some dusty town in a Western. Reminds me of being in the car with my parents, and this would play on the radio
The actual title is "Ue o Muite Arukō". It was given the title "Sukiyaki" in English because it was a Japanese word that was short easy to pronounce and familiar to most Westerners.
And I personally absolutely refuse to ever refer to this song as "Sukiyaki". Sukiyaki is a damned food that has absolutely _nothing_ to do with the actual song. It's kinda like me, as a Dutch guy, referring to Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love" as "Twinkie" because it's American, short, easy to pronounce and familiar to me.
Wow, Your reaction bought a tear to my eye. I love that you love this Jamal. He was killed on Japan Air Lines Flight 123. 520 people lost their lives that day.. So sad.
Singing this in Japanese is my karaoke bar party trick. I'm nowhere near as good of a singer as he was, but this gaijin can throw down with some nihongo. Thanks for reacting to it!
Good on you! I was planning to sing this in Japanese at our yearly off-Broadway SXSW gig here in Austin, but COVID beat cover. I was going to end it by singing the last line in English.
I remember that song when I was around 6 years old. About two decades ago I found that song and kept it in my collection of my best ever. Awesome vocal and composition. Thanks Kyu and RIP.
when i lived in Osaka back in the nineties i used to do this when we went out for karaoke and amazed the locals with my flawed Japanese in a cockney accent this was literally the only thing i could say in Japanese , luckily the people there loved trying out their English its a lovely song beautifully sung and recorded
1963 I was 6 living in Japan and moving to the US, this song was number 1 in Japan and was a hit song when we arrived in America. A very comforting thing for a little kid in a new land. God rest your soul Mr. Kyu Sakamoto, and thank you. This song still makes me feel good today.
l remember this song as a 10 year old boy riding to my little league baseball games in Detroit Metro Area. # 1 song all Summer. l heard it on Sirius Radio last week for the first time in 40 years!
I'm proud to say that both this song and Dominique were in my MP3 player, long before I saw this video or your comment. Years now. At least 10-15 years. And before that, my CD player.
This was one of my Mom's favorite songs. She played it often. No matter how many times I hear this, my goosebumps on top of goosebumps that cover my entire body. Thank you for stirring the memory pot Jamel.
Long before you kids tuned in to Japanese anime shows or Korean pop, your grandparents were singing along in Japanese to this song. We didn't know the words, unless you listened to the English version he did, but we could sure sing along phonetically. What a beautiful tune.
There were a lot of instrumentals back in the early sixties, and because you couldn't understand any of the words it was like a sudo instrumental, absolutely beautiful,when I hear the lead in with the xylophone it takes me right back to 63 and gives me goose bumps.
While many versions of this song has been sung by other artists, nothing but nothing comes near the original by Kyu Sakamoto....Yes, this is just beautiful...what I enjoy the most is watching the faces of those who review this song. Each and every one begins to smile and sway with the music and their eyes open wide in delight when Kyu whistles....it's a joy to behold. Sadly Kyu died in the crash of JAL Flight 123, in 1985, at 43 years of age. It was the worst single crash in aviation history. Thanks for the review and RIP Kyu, you brought and continue to bring enjoyment to people around the world with your beautiful voice and this beautiful song. ♥
Thank you I was eight and this song is one of my favorite and I ended up growing up loving to hear the original. When I heard he died I cried. Fell in love with his voice.
I was in junior high when this was on the radio. We all sang along the best we could, phonetically. We'd act like we knew what the song was about, act all worldly wise and cool, "Yeah, man, you know that's Cherokee . . . " We were in Texas, and that was about as exotic as we could dream of. Japanese never entered our minds. lol!
My sister & I performed a dance to & sung this song in the late 70’s with our classmates. I never forgot the words & still have a copy of an 8mm film of our performance. I’m so happy to hear it was performed at the Olympics & has finally gained/regained global exposure. It’s a beautiful song & I, too, get goosebumps when I hear it performed, especially this Sukiyaki OG version. Thank you for sharing this. I admire your platform diversity. It sets you apart in the most tasteful of ways & is truly attractive to a broader audience than the lot of YT channel hosts. Outstanding work! I just subscribed & am sharing ya. Had to “like” it even though I really love it.🥰
Thank you for the reacting to this great song. My parents had it on the single 45 vinyl and I remember playing it a lot. There's something about it that has always drawn me in. Thank you for keeping great music alive.
My mom loves this song so much. I bought her an original 45 rpm record and she played it a lot at home. Thanks Jamal! You are such an endearing soul and love your reactions to discovered music. God bless and rock on!
I was 14 in 1963 and this was all over the radio we were singing it everywhere, and no one knew a damn word but boy it hit the charts and it stuck with all of us.
Great example of how a melody is what makes a song great. If a song doesn't have any melody, is it a song? My generation loved this song and gathered a sense of the sadness because of the melody and the great performance of the singer, even though we had no idea what he was singing about. Thanks Jamel for doing this one. Great memories! Keep up the good work!
I've always loved this song. We were very fortunate 10 years ago to be on a Dinner Cruise in Bali. This song was played by the DJ and a table of Japanese Seniors sang along with it beautifully. You could tell by their smiles that this song meant so much to them.
I live in Hollywood. This song was huge in my childhood. I learned to sing it phonetically and when I see Japanese tourists I might sing this way loud and my words come out a bit Japanese and a lot of gibberish. What a beautiful melody and your interpretation ain't half-bad. How to confuse and engage a Japanese tourist group (the tour guide has a flag on a stick - I'm not making this up) with song. Sayanora.
When I was in high school in the early 70’s, I would hear this song on the radio as I studied for finals, a really soft breeze would be coming in the window and as I would look out the window watching the sunset , life seemed very good and I was just thankful. Every time I hear that song, I remember that moment.
Hello from Japan. Thank you thank you thank you soooo much for featuring this song. This song is for us Japanese citizen "Another National Anthem". Every time when we feel so sad, for example a big disaster like Tsunami in 2011, we sing this song and feel "It's okay to cry in tears, but let's get walk on....." I'm so impressed with you Jamel, cause you completely understand the true meaning of this song. Cheers!!
You, young man, are a connoisseur. It gives me such pleasure to see someone your age highlight and appreciate a piece of music from so far outside your generation. This song, with its haunting melody, was and is a part of the fabric of my life. It always brings joy and tears to me whenever I hear it. I’m always transported back to those summer evenings with my friends and cousins where we enjoyed outdoor fun while listening to this and so many other tunes on the radio till well after the sun went down. Thank you so much for turning the spotlight on this song and the wonderful young man who brought it to the world and left us too soon. Well done sir.
A little like when you watch the Magnificent 7 and realise they just lifted (nicked) the entire story of the 7 Samurai then repacked it as a cowboy film.....
They didn't lift (nick) the plot, they bought the rights from Toho. In fact, Toho was sued by the writers for not paying them from the remake money Toho got.
Akira Kurosawa (writer/director of Seven Samurai) was so pleased with the way The Magnificent 7 was done, he sent John Sturges (director) a samurai sword as a gift in appreciation.
@@JohnInTheShelter you might have first asked 'what do you mean by 'nicked '? I would have said 'I didn't mean stolen'...but hey, leaping before asking is also a way :D
@@vaughnhansen3771 I remember reading that...great respect. So many movies like that though.. Like KIll Bill being lifted from Lady Snowblood or A fist Full of Dollars being taken from Yojimbo...AND has happened the opposite way with Unforgiven
The Repository of All Knowledge relates: "[The lyricist] wrote the lyrics while walking home from a Japanese student protest against the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, expressing his frustration and dejection at the failed efforts. However, the lyrics were purposefully generic so that they might refer to any lost love."
Goosebumps is right! And to think he was singing about looking up to the sky so his tears wouldn’t fall. RUP KYU🌹Happiness lies beyond the clouds. Happiness lies above the sky.
This was a huge hit here in Hawaii when I was a little kid, kind of timeless music when you think about it, I've never heard it analyzed as you did here. The whistling at the end was pretty cool.
Jamal, you got my "thumbs up" for this. I love what you are doing, and have for a long time. BTW, you mentioned that Sakamoto died in a plane crash -- which he did, the crash of Japan Airlines flight 123 in 1985, still the deadliest crash in aviation history -- and also mentioned a few others who died similarly. Actually, I have noticed that an AMAZING number of musicians and singers have died in plane (or helicopter) crashes. Here is a partial list: Glen Miller (1944) Buddy Holly (1959) Ritchie Valens (1959) J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson (1959) Patsy Cline (1963) Jim Reeves (1964) Otis Redding (1967) Jim Croce (1973) Lynyrd Skynyrd band members (1977) Keith Green (1982) Ricky Nelson (1985) Stevie Ray Vaughan (1990) John Denver (1997) Personally, if I was a recording artist (as if!), I wouldn't go near an airplane, especially a small private plane.
Check out the French song "Dominque" (from 1963) by The Singing Nun for another #1 hit in the USA and worldwide in a foreign language. Immensely catchy.
I love that you seem to take the songs that I grew up with and loved and appreciate them for yourself. ELO and now this, you see Music stretches all across of our lives
I loved this song. I had a neighbor who was a sergeant in the Army and his Japanese wife was like a second mother to me. Amazing lady, she was a Japanese police woman after WWII and was an interpreter for the US during the occupation. Sadly she passed away several years ago. The song came out around the time I used to hang out with her kids. Whenever I her this song, I think of her. RIP Kyu Nakamoto and RIP Nobuko, I miss you.
You are in the right field. Your dancing to the song made me smile the whole time. Thank you for enjoying it. I also enjoy world music. I am glad to find someone like you who passes on this beauty to others. I am old and enjoy your videos.
i was 9 and this is another example of music lyrics transcending language. :) the city i was born we had an asian restaurant and each booth had those mini jukebox at the table where you could play music and sukiyaki was a fav....man i haven't thought about that in many years, thanks for the memory :)
Another Sakamoto to check out... Ryuichi. Brilliant, brilliant composer. Saw him live in NYC a few years ago, with Spike Lee in the audience. Great film scores.
As an 8 year old I adored this man's voice and this song. I had such a crush on him. I listen to this song a few times a year. Love it still like I was 8 years old again.
Brother, you brought me to tears... I mean sobbing, snot dripping tears! My Mom played this song all the time when I was a kid in the late 50s/early 60s! She would sing along as she did chores and sometimes my Dad would join in. I remember most of her records from Japan were a translucent green but this one was red! The English version was by Taste of Honey in the early 80s. I would sing both versions to put my sons to sleep. Brother, I love you! You brought back great memories of my Mom! Thanks!
Jamel_AKA_Jamal I was so excited to see this reaction come up on your play list. I knew you would love it, and it warms my heart to see so many positive reactions to this song and the fond memories that so many of your subscribers are posting about. Thank you for your mission "To Keep Great Music Alive." Songs like this most definitely need to be remembered and not be lost to the dust bin of history. 🥰🥰🥰
I just wanted to add - at the time I suggested this song I had absolutely no idea that it had been "covered." I have listened to the remakes since then and NOBODY holds a candle to the original. 🙄
My parents had this record, which was really different from their other music selections. Thanks for the happy memories of me as a kid in the 1960's trying to sing along in Japanese with Kyu Sakamoto. Feel my spirit lifting. Love you!
I grew up in Japan and he was extremely popular and Sukiyaki remains one of my favorite songs which I play when I miss the beauty of Japan. Oh, it was A Taste of Honey who did the English version in the 80's and change the translation, followed by a Black group called, I think 4FPM, whom I think was London based.
His name is pronounced like the letter 'Q'. The Japanese place the family name first, so Sakamoto is his given name. Japan still mournes his loss in the crash of JAL 123 on Aug. 12, 1985. The plane took so long going down before finally crashing, that he had time to write a letter to his wife and daughter. We still love you Kyu-kun!!
SO COOL! I had forgotten about this song, but the title tickled some long dead memory and caused me to click on your video. So glad I did. Thank you for the memories.
It was pretty cool when radio wasn’t programmed by corporate consultants. You never knew what might make it into the top 40 on radio. There was nothing like it. Just talent.🧨
A-a-a-a-a-n-d THAT is what is why "today's music sucks". Actually, there are many musicians cooking up great stuff---there always are---but they don't stand a chance in hell for their music to be heard because the mammoth, grotesque corporate machine OWNS the radio. The '60's were so ripe because of AM radio. You go find a Top 40 list from back then---I used to pick them up at record stores---you'd have rock 'n' roll, country, soul, girl groups, Motown, sunshine pop, novelty songs, the occasional show tune, even, and they'd all get played on your local---LOCAL---AM station. If you didn't like a song, well, you'd just sit tight and wait it out; there'd be another by in two minutes and fifty-three seconds, just like a bus. There would be a live disc jockey at that station with his lines open for you to call and request your favourite new sound. You could dedicate it. You could joke with the DJ. You could shoot the 💩 with the DJ. They had their loyal followings and they were part of our lives. Fifty years later you see old timers like me reminiscing on social media platforms about our favourite DJ's. Those of us musically inclined dreamed of getting a song on that little radio. It was an achievable goal. Does it look like an achievable goal to anyone now? Of course, the death of the record business changed things, but that's another topic for next week's show.
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The group was Taste of Honey. Sukiyaki is the song.
right on, man. one of my all-time favorite artists from Japan is Ryuichi Sakamoto, but they're not related. i had not heard this track before. it's crazy to think that in 1963 this was number ONE on the Billboard top 100 for Three Weeks. that is so wild. thanks so much, Jamel the Music Teacher. you opened my mind and my ears a little bit more today. rock on, man.
Did you see that 2 Rockin Grannies gave you a shout out the other day?
REQUEST. THE Flower travelin’ band - House of the rising son. They’re a Japanese rock band from the early seventies, not sure if they are any video of them.
The critics said they were what Black Sabbath should have been. They have some good yet different stuff. Thank you
Kyu is pronounced Q. Far better version the Selena. Sissel Korkjebo's version is the best cover of this song.
lovely song. I live in Japan and this song gets selected almost every time I do karaoke with Japanese co-workers and friends - still popular to this day and by now, I can sing every word.
So great to read that.
It is like the "Unchained Melody" of Japanese karaoke. Even when I was in Japan, I heard it almost every night there.
You should see the clip on here of Michael Jackson doing a bit of it!
Wish I could sing every word, but I can only pronounce the words without knowing what theyean.
I'm from the UK and i have been playing this song for over 50 years, one of the most beautiful songs ever writen, we have the English words to it as we,ll so can sing along to it, ............... RIP MR SAKAMOTO
No one else ever did justice to this song. He made such a beautiful haunting recording.
uhm Taste of Honey had the best version and Selena was pretty close
@@SKYTIERNORTHWEST umm taste of honey did not sing a translation if the song. They made up English words they could have used the translation. I really hate the English version. Love this one
Jewel Akens made a pretty solid delivery with the English translation. And maybe so Bobby Dee as well if he ever released a full version of it.
Even performing live, Kyu Sakamoto never really nailed it. There was magic in the recording studio the day this record was made.
Goose bumps and tears..i followed his life.. amazing. He had such an aura!
i remember as a child when this was popular. Did not know what he was saying but I thought it was beautiful song.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen the translation and I was around when it came out.
Gorgeous isn't it.
One of the highest selling singles, only two Japanese songs made it to billboard I think, sukiyaki and another.
This song was so popular, and played on the radio so much, that we could all sing along without knowing what the heck we were singing. He was such a pleasant guy, always smiling. So sad when he died so young.
I remember, he was on the Ed Sullivan show, I was allowed to watch this show' I was very young, 7, years old, I was listening, to it, I started crying' I didn't understand it, but my young heart did' 💕 🇨🇦
Good thing it was not like the song in the Soesman Language Training commercial then.
He had a beautiful, emotion filled voice. I remember this came out when I was a child. It blew up, it was everywhere. One of the songs you don't know the words, but you love the beauty.
This song makes me cry, especially when I think of him writing that letter to his wife and daughter while that plane was going down causing the end of all of those people. His voice was incredible.
Oh, God, was he on that Korean airline that lost the vertical fin on the tail, making the rear end of the jet swing left and right repeatedly for several minutes as they descended?
@@kennethlatham3133 It was Japan Airlines 123 (August 12, 185) which had difficulties 12 minutes into the flight crashing 32 minutes later. 520 of the 524 on board were killed. It was the deadliest plane crash in history. A heartbreaking story for everyone involved that just makes this song so much sadder, yet still compelling to hear. My memory of the song goes back to when I was four or five years old. It also brings back memories of where I was, and who I knew, in those days.
@@obbor4 Deadliest single plane crash in history.
i’m crying just reading your comment
obbor4: Same here.
Hello, this was the first Asian song to be #1 on Billboard top 100 In 1963. It held that title until BTS in 2010. Many covers since.
This was the first non-English song to hit the number one spot on Billboard Hot 100 June 5, 1963.
And the last non-American number one before the Beatles.
And the only Japanese song to go to #1 in the USA.
@@bradparnell614 Didn't Dominique by the Singing Nun reach number one in December 1963?
@@kittyprydekissme Yes, you are correct, December 7th (Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day) 1963.
Now the only other Asian artist is BTS since Kyu. They now have four number ones in Billboard. They are South Korean. Great music
I grew up with this version of the song. My dad was stationed in Yokosuka Japan in the 70s and fell in love with it. He learned all the words even though he never really got good at speaking Japanese. Said the first time he heard it, even before he got someone to translate it for him, he knew what it was about, and that it made him miss home and my mom.
It’s honestly beautiful that you listened to this growing up; I heard it on TV as a Japanese kid (I’m half Japanese) growing up in Tokyo. I gotta say that there’s really no way to communicate just how emotional the nuance of the Japanese is in the lyrics, but I’m so weirdly happy to find out that you listened to this over in the states too
I was only six years old when I first heard and fell in love with this beautiful song. My mother had been amazed that I was in tears listening to it. Although it seems to have cheerful music there was something very sad about it to me.... though I could only (just about) speak English.
Oh yes we did, and still do, love this song! ❤
I was young 6 year old when I feel in love with this song, and never forgotten it! Still listens when I need soothing!
I played this for my aunt in the nursing home because she lived in Japan as a young wife. Her husband was stationed there. She couldn't remember much, but she could hum right along to this.
I've always loved this song. Brings me to tears feeling his want and sorrow in his song with not a damn clue what's being sung peace
OMG, can't believe you're doing this! Huge memory from my childhood! My mum and dad had this record. Me and my brother made up our own words, trying to sound clever, ha ha!!
My favourite group of the moment is from Japan - Arashi - I have not a clue what they are singing, but I love their songs (they have done a couple in English though :-)
This was a 10,000 mile crossover hit covered by multiple American artists.
Oh boy, this takes me way back. No idea what he was singing, but it was so beautiful.
One of the greatest melodies of all time.The covers NEVER rivaled the original.
Because the covers are not a translation
@@neeleynonea and just not done very well.
The german and french versions are abominations.
His Voice really was so lovely.
I was three when it came out, and remember hearing it a lot as a kid.
Oh wow!! My mom had this record, so I grew up listening to this song. I can sing all the lyrics in Japanese, but I never knew the English version of Sukiyaki!! 💗 Chills here too!! I don't speak Japanese, I just phonetically learned to sing along. Thank you Jamal!! 🤗
A classic song. He died a tragic death think, an airplane crash. But it was a big hit.
Correct. Japan Airlines flight 123, the deadliest plane crash in history. More than 500 died, yet somehow 4 survived. I think of this whenever I hear that wonderful song.
@@markburnham7512 In the JAL air disaster 520 people lost their lives. Today, March 27 in 1977 is actually when the worst aviation crash occurred. 583 died when a KLM 747 and a Pan Am 747 collided on the airport runway on Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands.
@@netescape7771 the JAL was the worst SINGLE plane air crash. The KLM one you refer to was a larger toll because it was two 747's that crashed on a runway. The JAL is still the largest loss of lives for a single plane.
@@greatunz67 it was shot down by North Korea or Russia
The aircraft he was on was shot down by a Soviet fighter.
He was marvelous, lots of teens singing this with out knowing the words.
Everyone loved this song. We sang along, having no clue what the words meant and we didn't care. The feelings this song evoked were so fine.
You have to remember, this was not long after the war. 'Shintaro', was on our TVs in the afternoon, and this was on the radio. The kids loved them, but our parents were perplexed. This was in Australia, possibly the same in the USA.
It was the same way in Japan. The elders didn't want to associate with us unless our blue eyes blonde haired baby was with us. Young people like We were at the time didn't carry around the same scars there elders did and loved American music and culture.
@@Momspennies2 l never heard anything bad said about this song by Adults in Detroit , we tried to sing along to it as best as we could. This is the first time l ever saw the lyrics. l was ten in 1963.
Yes, there was plenty of post-war anti-Japanese hostility in the US for years after, so the fact that a Japanese pop song could become the most popular song in America less than 20 years after the end of the war is nothing short of amazing.
The human voice is the greatest instrument. Good singers are such a joy!
Björk said that once. I'm afraid I have to agree. Anyway, next to percussion, it's the most primal musical expression.
I bought a original record from 1962, and I love it, fell in love with this song on the internet and now i have it part of my collection, Music is a beautiful thing.
I lived in Japan for 4 years and this song is still popular, and I remember many nights in a Japanese Izakaya drinking sake with the locals and then singing this drunk at karaoke and they were surprised I could sing it in Japanese. Miss those days
Taste of honey did an English version back in the early 80’s
A group called 4PM (For Positive Music) did an English acapella version in the 90's.
Taste of Honey I think that’s the version that goes “If only you were here, I’d wash away my tears, the sun would shine and you’d be mine all mine....” that’s the version I know as a GenXer, and the one I think Jamel was trying to recall.
Yes - that is the version I knew. I never heard this. I really like it! What a great voice!
(And he was really good looking lol)
An English version but not a translation if the song. Some writer made up new words in English and plagiarized the tune
@@neeleynonea This one might help ;) ua-cam.com/video/gocJpfbWnCo/v-deo.html
When I was a little girl this song always made me feel like I was riding a horse in some dusty town in a Western. Reminds me of being in the car with my parents, and this would play on the radio
I am so glad you covered the original of this.
The actual title is "Ue o Muite Arukō". It was given the title "Sukiyaki" in English because it was a Japanese word that was short easy to pronounce and familiar to most Westerners.
And I personally absolutely refuse to ever refer to this song as "Sukiyaki". Sukiyaki is a damned food that has absolutely _nothing_ to do with the actual song. It's kinda like me, as a Dutch guy, referring to Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love" as "Twinkie" because it's American, short, easy to pronounce and familiar to me.
@@rdevries3852 Absolutely agree. A newsweek writer said it would be like releasing Moon River in Japan as Beef Stew.
That's about right. Imagine a popular Chinese song such as "Rose, Rose I love you" and calling it "Chopsuey" .
@@rdevries3852 Imagine someone calling 'Het Dorp' van Wim Sonneveld 'Frikandel'
Wow, Your reaction bought a tear to my eye. I love that you love this Jamal. He was killed on Japan Air Lines Flight 123. 520 people lost their lives that day.. So sad.
Singing this in Japanese is my karaoke bar party trick. I'm nowhere near as good of a singer as he was, but this gaijin can throw down with some nihongo.
Thanks for reacting to it!
Good on you! I was planning to sing this in Japanese at our yearly off-Broadway SXSW gig here in Austin, but COVID beat cover. I was going to end it by singing the last line in English.
Henna gaijin!
@@KeshHarp Sōdesu!
@@scottconnell1583 Nihongo Jozu, ne!
@@KeshHarp Arigatōgozaimasu!
I’ve loved this song since I was a kid, and I’m 68 now.
I remember that song when I was around 6 years old. About two decades ago I found that song and kept it in my collection of my best ever. Awesome vocal and composition. Thanks Kyu and RIP.
when i lived in Osaka back in the nineties i used to do this when we went out for karaoke and amazed the locals with my flawed Japanese in a cockney accent this was literally the only thing i could say in Japanese , luckily the people there loved trying out their English
its a lovely song beautifully sung and recorded
I could not be more pleased to see this on your channel. Hubby and I played this at our wedding 20 years ago. I LOVE this song. 💜
1963 I was 6 living in Japan and moving to the US, this song was number 1 in Japan and was a hit song when we arrived in America. A very comforting thing for a little kid in a new land. God rest your soul Mr. Kyu Sakamoto, and thank you. This song still makes me feel good today.
l remember this song as a 10 year old boy riding to my little league baseball games in Detroit Metro Area. # 1 song all Summer. l heard it on Sirius Radio last week for the first time in 40 years!
This song was on heavy radio rotation when I was a kid. I always loved it. It stood out like a sore thumb, but in such a good way.
Great recommendation for whoever mentioned it - this was a huge hit.
Always loved his voice, now follow this up with "Dominique" by The Singing Nun's 1963
exactly
Sadly, she died tragically too. When funding for her community centre was cut drastically, she and her assistant committed suicide.
I'm proud to say that both this song and Dominique were in my MP3 player, long before I saw this video or your comment. Years now. At least 10-15 years. And before that, my CD player.
@@vhfgamer I'm old enough that I had both on vinyl, just so pure not like the autotuned crap of today...
Dominique
This was one of my Mom's favorite songs. She played it often. No matter how many times I hear this, my goosebumps on top of goosebumps that cover my entire body. Thank you for stirring the memory pot Jamel.
Long before you kids tuned in to Japanese anime shows or Korean pop, your grandparents were singing along in Japanese to this song. We didn't know the words, unless you listened to the English version he did, but we could sure sing along phonetically. What a beautiful tune.
As it was playing, I remembered singing along with this on my car radio...The Japanese words suddenly flowed out...not bad for 76!!
I first heard this while in high school in the early 60's. Mind was blown.
I love this beautiful old song! 🎶🥰. Remember it well from my childhood.
There were a lot of instrumentals back in the early sixties, and because you couldn't understand any of the words it was like a sudo instrumental, absolutely beautiful,when I hear the lead in with the xylophone it takes me right back to 63 and gives me goose bumps.
I love this with all of my heart.
I lived in Japan for many years. This song was like Japan's second national anthem.
While many versions of this song has been sung by other artists, nothing but nothing comes near the original by Kyu Sakamoto....Yes, this is just beautiful...what I enjoy the most is watching the faces of those who review this song. Each and every one begins to smile and sway with the music and their eyes open wide in delight when Kyu whistles....it's a joy to behold. Sadly Kyu died in the crash of JAL Flight 123, in 1985, at 43 years of age. It was the worst single crash in aviation history. Thanks for the review and RIP Kyu, you brought and continue to bring enjoyment to people around the world with your beautiful voice and this beautiful song. ♥
Thank you I was eight and this song is one of my favorite and I ended up growing up loving to hear the original. When I heard he died I cried. Fell in love with his voice.
I was in junior high when this was on the radio. We all sang along the best we could, phonetically. We'd act like we knew what the song was about, act all worldly wise and cool, "Yeah, man, you know that's Cherokee . . . " We were in Texas, and that was about as exotic as we could dream of. Japanese never entered our minds. lol!
My sister & I performed a dance to & sung this song in the late 70’s with our classmates. I never forgot the words & still have a copy of an 8mm film of our performance. I’m so happy to hear it was performed at the Olympics & has finally gained/regained global exposure. It’s a beautiful song & I, too, get goosebumps when I hear it performed, especially this Sukiyaki OG version. Thank you for sharing this. I admire your platform diversity. It sets you apart in the most tasteful of ways & is truly attractive to a broader audience than the lot of YT channel hosts. Outstanding work! I just subscribed & am sharing ya. Had to “like” it even though I really love it.🥰
Thank you for the reacting to this great song. My parents had it on the single 45 vinyl and I remember playing it a lot. There's something about it that has always drawn me in. Thank you for keeping great music alive.
One of the most beautiful songs ever written.
A tune that wasn't even in English and still was a big hit in the U.S.! Man died tragically young! My mother had this on a 45!
My mom loves this song so much. I bought her an original 45 rpm record and she played it a lot at home. Thanks Jamal! You are such an endearing soul and love your reactions to discovered music. God bless and rock on!
I was 14 in 1963 and this was all over the radio we were singing it everywhere, and no one knew a damn word but boy it hit the charts and it stuck with all of us.
It was just so beautifully different when it was released. I was thirteen.🇬🇧
The song you were singing was by a group called A Taste Of Honey.
They also had a hit song called
Boogie Oogie Oogie.
Great example of how a melody is what makes a song great. If a song doesn't have any melody, is it a song? My generation loved this song and gathered a sense of the sadness because of the melody and the great performance of the singer, even though we had no idea what he was singing about. Thanks Jamel for doing this one. Great memories! Keep up the good work!
I've always loved this song. We were very fortunate 10 years ago to be on a Dinner Cruise in Bali. This song was played by the DJ and a table of Japanese Seniors sang along with it beautifully. You could tell by their smiles that this song meant so much to them.
I absolutely love this song. Was a favourite of my Mums. She introduced me to it as a child - and have loved it ever since.
I live in Hollywood. This song was huge in my childhood. I learned to sing it phonetically and when I see Japanese tourists I might sing this way loud and my words come out a bit Japanese and a lot of gibberish. What a beautiful melody and your interpretation ain't half-bad. How to confuse and engage a Japanese tourist group (the tour guide has a flag on a stick - I'm not making this up) with song. Sayanora.
When I was in high school in the early 70’s, I would hear this song on the radio as I studied for finals, a really soft breeze would be coming in the window and as I would look out the window watching the sunset , life seemed very good and I was just thankful. Every time I hear that song, I remember that moment.
First Asian song to reach #1 on Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
Hello from Japan. Thank you thank you thank you soooo much for featuring this song.
This song is for us Japanese citizen "Another National Anthem". Every time when we feel so sad, for example a big disaster like Tsunami in 2011,
we sing this song and feel "It's okay to cry in tears, but let's get walk on....."
I'm so impressed with you Jamel, cause you completely understand the true meaning of this song. Cheers!!
You, young man, are a connoisseur. It gives me such pleasure to see someone your age highlight and appreciate a piece of music from so far outside your generation. This song, with its haunting melody, was and is a part of the fabric of my life. It always brings joy and tears to me whenever I hear it. I’m always transported back to those summer evenings with my friends and cousins where we enjoyed outdoor fun while listening to this and so many other tunes on the radio till well after the sun went down. Thank you so much for turning the spotlight on this song and the wonderful young man who brought it to the world and left us too soon. Well done sir.
I do remember this sweet song from long ago. This is going waayyy back.thanku for playing this !
Thank you so much for reacting to this. No matter where I am when I hear it, I am transported straight back to summer 1963.
I remember hearing this on the radio and fell in love with this song. I get chills hearing this . Thank you!
I was in Jr Hi in 1960 when this came out, every radio station in Seattle played, beautiful song we couldnt get enough of, no wonder it went to #1
#1 song and a one hit wonder from this wonderful artist... covered by tons of artists! Mr. Sakamoto deserves so much more credit!! RIP namaste!
A little like when you watch the Magnificent 7 and realise they just lifted (nicked) the entire story of the 7 Samurai then repacked it as a cowboy film.....
They didn't lift (nick) the plot, they bought the rights from Toho. In fact, Toho was sued by the writers for not paying them from the remake money Toho got.
Akira Kurosawa (writer/director of Seven Samurai) was so pleased with the way The Magnificent 7 was done, he sent John Sturges (director) a samurai sword as a gift in appreciation.
@@JohnInTheShelter you might have first asked 'what do you mean by 'nicked '? I would have said 'I didn't mean stolen'...but hey, leaping before asking is also a way :D
@@vaughnhansen3771 I remember reading that...great respect. So many movies like that though.. Like KIll Bill being lifted from Lady Snowblood or A fist Full of Dollars being taken from Yojimbo...AND has happened the opposite way with Unforgiven
@@grantpaterson1016 nicked has always meant stolen or taken a piece of.
The Repository of All Knowledge relates: "[The lyricist] wrote the lyrics while walking home from a Japanese student protest against the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, expressing his frustration and dejection at the failed efforts. However, the lyrics were purposefully generic so that they might refer to any lost love."
Goosebumps is right! And to think he was singing about looking up to the sky so his tears wouldn’t fall. RUP KYU🌹Happiness lies beyond the clouds. Happiness lies above the sky.
Goosebumps, always when I listen to this beautiful song. Thank You!
This was a huge hit here in Hawaii when I was a little kid, kind of timeless music when you think about it, I've never heard it analyzed as you did here. The whistling at the end was pretty cool.
Jamal, you got my "thumbs up" for this. I love what you are doing, and have for a long time. BTW, you mentioned that Sakamoto died in a plane crash -- which he did, the crash of Japan Airlines flight 123 in 1985, still the deadliest crash in aviation history -- and also mentioned a few others who died similarly. Actually, I have noticed that an AMAZING number of musicians and singers have died in plane (or helicopter) crashes. Here is a partial list:
Glen Miller (1944)
Buddy Holly (1959)
Ritchie Valens (1959)
J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson (1959)
Patsy Cline (1963)
Jim Reeves (1964)
Otis Redding (1967)
Jim Croce (1973)
Lynyrd Skynyrd band members (1977)
Keith Green (1982)
Ricky Nelson (1985)
Stevie Ray Vaughan (1990)
John Denver (1997)
Personally, if I was a recording artist (as if!), I wouldn't go near an airplane, especially a small private plane.
I remember when this song first came out. No idea what the lyrics were but loved the whistling too.
Check out the French song "Dominque" (from 1963) by The Singing Nun for another #1 hit in the USA and worldwide in a foreign language. Immensely catchy.
Mahalo, Jamal. I love the oldies but goodies in any language. I remember this song and still love it. Bless you for playing it again.
It touches & transcends
All languages & culture,
A melody from the heart. ❤
Thank you for bringing this
Song forward for recognition,
God bless you.
I love that you seem to take the songs that I grew up with and loved and appreciate them for yourself. ELO and now this, you see Music stretches all across of our lives
I loved this song. I had a neighbor who was a sergeant in the Army and his Japanese wife was like a second mother to me. Amazing lady, she was a Japanese police woman after WWII and was an interpreter for the US during the occupation. Sadly she passed away several years ago. The song came out around the time I used to hang out with her kids. Whenever I her this song, I think of her. RIP Kyu Nakamoto and RIP Nobuko, I miss you.
You are in the right field. Your dancing to the song made me smile the whole time. Thank you for enjoying it. I also enjoy world music. I am glad to find someone like you who passes on this beauty to others. I am old and enjoy your videos.
i was 9 and this is another example of music lyrics transcending language. :)
the city i was born we had an asian restaurant and each booth had those mini jukebox
at the table where you could play music and sukiyaki was a fav....man i haven't thought about
that in many years, thanks for the memory :)
i remember this song from my childhood early 60s its so beautiful
Another Sakamoto to check out... Ryuichi. Brilliant, brilliant composer. Saw him live in NYC a few years ago, with Spike Lee in the audience. Great film scores.
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence or anything from black rain soundtrack
Listen to Risky by Iggy Pop and Ryuichi....Incredible tune!
@@chowter got the album, it rocks, my sister had piano one, but I've never been able to find it.
Gabriel yared soundtrack to betty blue is up there as well
@@dennybgood I found it on eBay a few years back.
As an 8 year old I adored this man's voice and this song. I had such a crush on him. I listen to this song a few times a year. Love it still like I was 8 years old again.
I reckon this is the first time in 30 years that I have heard this song, loved it then, love it now
Brother, you brought me to tears... I mean sobbing, snot dripping tears! My Mom played this song all the time when I was a kid in the late 50s/early 60s! She would sing along as she did chores and sometimes my Dad would join in. I remember most of her records from Japan were a translucent green but this one was red!
The English version was by Taste of Honey in the early 80s. I would sing both versions to put my sons to sleep.
Brother, I love you! You brought back great memories of my Mom! Thanks!
Jamel_AKA_Jamal I was so excited to see this reaction come up on your play list. I knew you would love it, and it warms my heart to see so many positive reactions to this song and the fond memories that so many of your subscribers are posting about. Thank you for your mission "To Keep Great Music Alive." Songs like this most definitely need to be remembered and not be lost to the dust bin of history. 🥰🥰🥰
I just wanted to add - at the time I suggested this song I had absolutely no idea that it had been "covered." I have listened to the remakes since then and NOBODY holds a candle to the original. 🙄
My parents had this record, which was really different from their other music selections. Thanks for the happy memories of me as a kid in the 1960's trying to sing along in Japanese with Kyu Sakamoto. Feel my spirit lifting. Love you!
I grew up in Japan and he was extremely popular and Sukiyaki remains one of my favorite songs which I play when I miss the beauty of Japan.
Oh, it was A Taste of Honey who did the English version in the 80's and change the translation, followed by a Black group called, I think 4FPM, whom I think was London based.
His name is pronounced like the letter 'Q'. The Japanese place the family name first, so Sakamoto is his given name. Japan still mournes his loss in the crash of JAL 123 on Aug. 12, 1985. The plane took so long going down before finally crashing, that he had time to write a letter to his wife and daughter. We still love you Kyu-kun!!
SO COOL! I had forgotten about this song, but the title tickled some long dead memory and caused me to click on your video. So glad I did. Thank you for the memories.
It was pretty cool when radio wasn’t programmed by corporate consultants. You never knew what might make it into the top 40 on radio. There was nothing like it. Just talent.🧨
A-a-a-a-a-n-d THAT is what is why "today's music sucks". Actually, there are many musicians cooking up great stuff---there always are---but they don't stand a chance in hell for their music to be heard because the mammoth, grotesque corporate machine OWNS the radio. The '60's were so ripe because of AM radio. You go find a Top 40 list from back then---I used to pick them up at record stores---you'd have rock 'n' roll, country, soul, girl groups, Motown, sunshine pop, novelty songs, the occasional show tune, even, and they'd all get played on your local---LOCAL---AM station. If you didn't like a song, well, you'd just sit tight and wait it out; there'd be another by in two minutes and fifty-three seconds, just like a bus. There would be a live disc jockey at that station with his lines open for you to call and request your favourite new sound. You could dedicate it. You could joke with the DJ. You could shoot the 💩 with the DJ. They had their loyal followings and they were part of our lives. Fifty years later you see old timers like me reminiscing on social media platforms about our favourite DJ's. Those of us musically inclined dreamed of getting a song on that little radio. It was an achievable goal. Does it look like an achievable goal to anyone now? Of course, the death of the record business changed things, but that's another topic for next week's show.
Well said, Sticks-of-TNT; THANK you!
This was such a huge hit back in the early 1960's. It was a hit Internationally.