"Sukiyaki" by A Taste of Honey

     Hello friends! Thanks for tuning into Kyle’s Radio Dial, the blog that reawakens your musical memories! Today, we turn our spotlight to an early ‘80s smooth R&B classic, itself a cover of an early ‘60s pop hit, which has inspired various future recordings beyond what the original authors intended. Get a glass of sake, settle into something comfy, and listen to A Taste of Honey and “Sukiyaki”. (hey... that rhymes rather nicely!)

 

“It’s all because of you… I’m feeling sad and blue…

You went away… now my life is just a rainy day…”

 

“Sukiyaki”, known in Japan as “Ue Wo Muite Aruko” (translating to “I Look Up As I Walk”), has enjoyed several U.S. top 10 versions. There’s the iconic original by Kyu Sakamoto, which topped the U.S. Hot 100 in 1963, and remains the only Japanese language song to have achieved such a feat on the U.S. charts. In 1994, R&B group 4 P.M. released a soulful rendition of the track, peaking at #8 on the Hot 100 in that year. But the version the Dial is spotlighting today is the early ‘80s hit cover by California based disco act A Taste of Honey.

 

Interestingly, A Taste of Honey’s cover bears a strong influence from traditional Japanese music due to band-member Hazel Payne’s playing of the koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. By contrast, Sakamoto’s original drew its influences from American pop of the pre-British invasion era, and featured no instrumentation associated with The Far East.

 

“Untouchable memories… seem to keep haunting me…

Of love so true… that once turned all my gray skies blue...”

 

Released as a single in 1981, and reaching US #3 pop, US #1 R&B, and US #1 A/C, A Taste of Honey’s soulful reading of the track features  new lyrics which were not a translation of the Japanese originals. Instead the group’s vocalist Janice-Marie Johnson wrote new English words to fit the music, relating the story of a heartbroken woman pining for her former lover. The only Japanese word on the track is Janice’s whispered “Sayonara” which closes the song. It gets me every time… all the feels.

 

In order to clear the rewritten cover for inclusion on A Taste of Honey’s 1980 LP “Twice As Sweet”, the copyright holders of the original song stipulated that Johnson was not to receive songwriting credit or payment for her efforts.

 

No doubt the album sales of “Twice As Sweet” were largely driven by the success of the “Sukiyaki” single, (by far the biggest hit from the LP), so even if Janice wasn’t directly paid for her new English lyrics, you could argue that she indirectly was, since the LP probably wouldn’t have sold as well without the rewritten cover tune, resulting in a smaller paycheck for Janice overall.

 

“If only you were here… you’d wash away my tears…

The sun would shine… and once again, you’d be mine all mine…”

 

Then there’s the question as to if Johnson was able to get payment from groups that interpolated or sampled her lyrics in later recordings. Slick Rick’s 1985 hip hop classic “La Di Da Di” famously uses a verse of Janice’s lyrics, as does Snoop Dogg’s 1993 cover of the same tune. Other soul and hip hop artists including Salt N Pepa, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Mary J Blige, and Raphael Saadiq have interpolated portions of “Sukiyaki” in their own output as well, with Saadiq’s tune “Ask of You” having the greatest chart impact of this group, reaching US #19 pop and US #2 R&B in 1995. Unless I’m able to make contact with Janice directly, I doubt I’ll ever know for sure if she received any credit or royalties from these later recordings.

 

Typically, to accompany my reviews, I provide a link to the spotlighted song’s music video when available, but in this case, I’ve decided to provide footage of A Taste of Honey’s 1981 appearance on Soul Train. This lovely Japanese inspired performance of their classic hit is beautiful in any language, and let’s be honest here… Don Cornelius is just THAT SMOOTH. Enjoy… and, you’re welcome.

 

KYLE’S RADIO DIAL – The more you listen… the MORE you remember!

 

“But in reality… you and I will never be…

Cause you took your love away from me…

You took your love away from me…

Sayonara.”