Kyu Sakamoto 坂本 九 1941-1985
《支那の夜》給他改篇成英、日兩語版本歌詞的 "China Nights (Shina No Yoru); 1963年面世, 打進當年美國 "U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart" 第五十八位。
原名 Hisashi Sakamoto 坂本 尚志, 1941年, 生於神奈川縣, 川崎市, 家中最年幼, 排行第九, 因而得小名"Kyu 九"。十五歲在中學時期, 父親陷經濟問題, 酗酒引致家庭破裂; 兄姊八人, 祇有他跟隨外祖父一起生活, 因而由父姓 Sakamoto 改以母親姓氏 Oshima (大島)。就讀高校開始學習音樂, 十七歲自組流行樂隊 "The Drifters" 任主歌手。他的成名歌曲作品之一《何時都有明天》(明日があるさ) 。一曲成名後, 仍熱衷於傷殘和老人的社會服務; 1964年東京傷殘人士奧運會, 以此曲作大會主題歌曲。
"Sukiyaki" 一曲登上 "U.S. Single Chart" 榜首達三個星期, 世界銷量達一千三百萬張, 成了首位來自亞洲榮登這榜首的歌手。他唯一的專輯「Sukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits」, 以當中的歌曲《上を向いて歩こう》中譯: (昂首向前走), 即英文曲"Sukiyaki", 由美國的唱片公司 Capital Records 印製, 面世後登上1963年六月份 "Billboard Hot 100 Chart" 一百張最受歡迎專輯榜達十七星期, 最高排名是第十四位。Side One 第六首的英文歌曲 "Good Timing" 是翻唱 R&B 歌手 Jimmy Jones 的歌曲。
Side One
1. Ue o muite arukō (Sukiyaki)
2. Tsun Tsun Bushi (The Tsun Tsun Song)
3. Hitoribocchi No Futari (The Lonesome Two)
4. Kyu-chan Ondo (The Kyu-Chan Folk March Song)
5. Mo Hitori No Boku (It's Just Not the Real Me)
6. Good Timing
Side Two
1. Boku No Hoshi (My Star)
2. Kiminanka Kiminanka (I Couldn't Care for You, Not You, Not You!)
3. Kyu-chan No Zuntatatta (The Zuntatatta Song)
4. Hige No Uta (My First Whisker)
5. Goodbye, Joe (Der schwarze Joe aus Idaho)
6. Anoko No Namaewa Nantenkana (I Wonder What Her Name Is)
1971年, 坂本九與演員柏木由紀子結婚, 育有兩名女兒。1985年八月十二日, 坂本 九由美國前往 Osaka 大阪, 原選當日出發的 "全日空" 39號班機, 因客滿而改乘 "日航"123號班機, 卻不幸遇上空難身亡, 年僅四十四歲。在飛機墜毀前的一刻, 他速寫下給妻子的訣別書, 後來才被發現收藏在他的口袋中, 而遺體上亦找到他佩戴一颗 "笠間稻荷神社" 信眾的鏈墜飾物; 為圓其信仰之願, 他被安葬在"笠間稻荷神社"。這次墜機意外導致五百二十人遇難, 亦是世界上最慘重的 "747SR" 航機空難。
"Suteki Na Timing (Good Timin')" - 坂本 九 Kyu Sakamoto 的原唱版本, 在音樂平台並沒有記錄可查閱, 翻唱版本衹有同年錄製, 由 Jimmy Jones 演繹的錄音。
Good Timin' - Jimmy Jones
Oh, you need timin'
A tick, a tick, a tick, good timin'
A tock, a tock, a tock, a tock
A timin' is the thing
It's true, good timin' brought me to you
If little, little David hadn't grabbed that stone
Alyin' there on the ground
Big Goliath might've stomped on him
Instead of the other way 'round
But he had timin'
A tick, a tick, a tick, good timin'
A tock, a tock, a tock, a tock
A timin' is the thing
It's true, good timin' brought me to you
Who in the world would've ever known
What Columbus could do
If Queen Isabella hadn't hocked her jewels
In fourteen ninety two
But she had timin'
A tick, a tick, a tick, good timin'
A tock, a tock, a tock, a tock
A timin' is the thing
It's true, good timin' brought me to you
What would've happened if you and I
Hadn't just happened to meet
We might've spent the rest of our lives
Walkin' down Misery Street
But we had timin'
A tick, a tick, a tick, good timin'
A tock, a tock, a tock, a tock
A timin' is the thing
It's true, good timin' brought me to you
Yeah, we had timin'
Whoa, whoa, whoa, good timin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, timin' is the thing
It's true, good timin' brought me to you
Yeah, we had timin'
Whoa, whoa, whoa, good timin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, timin' is the thing
It's true, good timin' brought me to you