“Sukiyaki” #1 6/15/1963

The first Asian-language #1 hit in America was by Kyu Sakamoto in June 1963, actually titled “Ue o Muite Arukō" or “I Look Up When I Walk.” UK record executive Louis Benjamin heard the song on a 1961 trip to Japan where it had already topped their charts. He licensed the rights and had British jazz trumpeter Kenny Ball do an instrumental version, changing the title to “Sukiyaki” figuring that was the only Japanese word most English speakers understood. That would be like taking a beautiful American ballad and calling it “Cheeseburger.” Regardless, a Seattle DJ obtained a copy of the original and the record gained traction in the US. Sakamoto was one of 520 people who died in a 1985 Japan Airlines 747 crash.