In 1961 Japan's Kyu Sakamoto recorded "Ue o Muite Aruko" (I Look Up As I Walk) (Ei - Nakamura). Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen recorded an instrumental version and used the title "Sukiyaki" because they thought the original title too difficult for their audience. The title was retained by Capitol Records when they released the Japanese version. The song reached the top ten on the pop chart AND top twenty in the R&B category! To date is the only Japanese song to have achieved that position. Wikipedia states: The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears will not fall. The verses of the song describe his memories and feelings. Rokusuke Ei wrote this song while coming back from a protest against the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan and feeling dejected about the failure of the protest movement, but the lyrics were rendered purposefully generic so that they might refer to any lost love.

Using completely different lyrics, A Taste of Honey (Janice Johnson and Hazel Payne) album "Twice as Sweet" featured the single "Sukiyaki" (Nakamura - Johnson) that reached the top ten pop, number one Adult Contemporary and Soul charts in 1981.

4pm (For Positive Music) (Roberto Pena Jr, Reney Pena, Martiz Ware and Larry McFarland) added their single "Sukiyaki" (Nakamura - Johnson) to the album "Now's the Time" and in 1994 hit the top ten..