Kyû Sakamoto

"Ue o Muite Aruko" was featured in the soundtrack of the 2011 Studio Ghibli film From Up on Poppy Hill. In one scene, an animated Kyu Sakamoto is seen performing the song on the television.

The plane crash he died in remains (as of 2007) the worst single plane crash in history and the worst-ever air disaster in Japanese history.

He was an actor, known for Charlie's Angels (2000), Inherent Vice (2014) and The Double (2013). He was married to Yukiko Kashiwagi.

On 16 March 1999, Japan Post issued a stamp commemorating Kyu Sakamoto and "Sukiyaki". The stamp is listed in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue as Japan number 2666 with a face value of 50 yen.

Was one of the 520 people killed when a Japan Airlines 747 crashed near Tokyo on August 12, 1985. He was 43.

His song "Sukiyaki" has been covered multiple times over the years, beginning with the instrumental by Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen. Sukiyaki was also covered as an instrumental, by English pianist Johnny Pearson, during 1982. Well-known English-language cover versions include a 1981 cover by A Taste of Honey and a 1995 cover by 4 P.M., both of which made the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. In 1989, Selena's self-titled album contained a Spanish translation of the Taste of Honey cover which was released as a single in 1990. The English lyrics have also appeared in whole or in part in songs by performers including Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh (1985's "La Di Da Di"),[10] Salt-N-Pepa (1985's "The Show Stopper"), Snoop Dogg (1993's "Lodi Dodi", a "La Di Da Di" cover), Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (1995's "Bless Da 40 Oz."), Raphael Saadiq (1995's "Ask of You", another to make the Hot 100), Mary J. Blige (1997's "Everything") and Will Smith (1999's "So Fresh", featuring Slick Rick).

In 1971, Sakamoto married Japanese actress Yukiko Kashiwagi. The couple had two daughters, Hanako and Maiko.

In 1968, Sakamoto and Hachidai Nakamura participated in the international singing contest "Festival Internacional da Canção" in Rio de Janeiro with the song "Sayonara, sayonara".

During the 1964 Summer Olympics, he was featured on the Swedish TV-program Hylands hörna broadcast live from Tokyo.

His song "Sukiyaki" (Japanese title: "Ue O Muite Aruko" ("I Look Up When I Walk"]) was #1 for three weeks on the US charts starting the week ending June 13, 1963, the only Japanese-language song to go to #1 in the US.

For a short period of time, Sakamoto returned to his studies and focused on entering the university. But in December 1958, he joined his classmate's Hisahiko Iida's band called "Danny Iida and Paradise King". He replaced Hiroshi Mizuhara as singer. Sakamoto's career took off, he ended his studies and left school. In June 1959, the band got a record deal at the JVC record company. "Danny Iida and Paradise King" and Sakamoto released their song "Kanashiki rokujussai" in August 1960, which became a great hit. In the time after they released a number of songs that became very popular. This led to Sakamoto obtaining a record deal at the Toshiba Records company and left "Danny Iida & Paradise King" aiming at a solo career.

In 1956, Kyu Sakamoto's parents divorced. Iku was given custody over her minor children and they adopted the surname Oshima. The older children kept their father's name. Kyu started playing in high school, but he soon began singing.

In the summer of 1944, during the air raids over the greater Tokyo area, his mother took her children to live with their grandparents in rural Kasama. They moved back to Kawasaki in 1949.

Kyû Sakamoto was born on November 10, 1941 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan.