Through out the 50s and 60s, there were numerous Rock and Roll bands, vocal groups
and solo artists. Many went on to have successful music careers, but unfortunately for
others, lasting popularity did not always materialize. Some groups managed to achieve
brief recognition, sometimes with just one hit, only to vanish from the music scene. A
few managed to achieve some success, but only regionally, never quite gaining
significant national attention. Those artists have come to be known as One Hit Wonders. During the 1950s and 1960s several artists attained that label.
In this episode of One Hit Wonders, I will feature solo artists Bob Lind and Kyu
Sakamoto.
Robert Neale Lind was born on November 25th, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland. When
Robert was five years old, his parents divorced. His mother then married his stepfather
who was in the US Air Force. The family eventually settled in Denver, Colorado after
years of traveling. Later, Bob developed an interest in folk music while attending
Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado, however he soon left the college to pursue a career as a musician.
In 1965 Bob obtained a recording contract with Liberty Records, which was a subsidiary of World Pacific Records. Later that year he recorded the song “ Elusive Butterfly”. In the US the single reached number five. However in the UK, it did not initially enjoy the same success due to a cover version that was released at the same time by Val Doonican, an Irish recording artist. Eventually, Bob’s version did reach the number five position in the UK Singles Chart in 1966.
After the release of “ Elusive Butterfly”, Bob did not have other hit, concentrating instead on song writing. He wrote, “Cheryl’s Goin’ Home”, which was covered by several artists that included Adam Faith, The Blues Project, Sonny and Cher, and The Cascades. Bob’s compositions have been covered by numerous artists numbering over 200, which include Aretha Franklin, Cher, Glen Campbell, Nancy Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Dolly Parton, The Four Tops, Rtitchie Havens, The Turtles, Johnny Mathis, The Kingston Trio and Petula Clark.
Unfortunately due to issues with alcohol and drugs, Bob got a reputation for not being the best individual to work with. By 1969 he left World Pacific Records and three years later Capitol Records issued an album titled “Since There Were Circles, which was not
commercially successful. As result, Bob left the music business for several years. In the
ensuing years he was able to address his alcohol and drug problem, and remained sober
and drug free.
In 1988 he relocated to Florida, wrote five novels, a screenplay titled “Refuge”, which
won the Florida Screenwriters’ Competition in 1991 and also an award wining play. In
October 2019, Bob’s short play “A Good Night” was included in the Delray Beach
Playwright’s Festival. In 2004, Bob decided to return to music. His friend Arlo Guthrie
encouraged him to perform at the Guthrie Center in Becket, Massachusetts. As a result of that performance, he has continued to tour. In 2009, filmmaker Paul Surratt completed a concert documentary DVD titled “Bob Lind Perspective”. In November 2013, Lind was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. Then in November 17th, 2019 he was inducted into the Maryland Entertainment Hall of Fame. On February 3rd, 2024, Lind was the headline performer at the South Florida Folk and Acoustic Festival.
Kyu Sakamoto was born in Kawasaki, Japan on December 10th, 1941. In 1956 his parents divorced and his mother was given custody over three of the nine
children, which included Kyu. In high school he began playing guitar and soon began
singing. In May 1958 Kyu joined the Japanese pop band called “The Drifters”. However
he was not happy as being the second vocalist in the group. This Frequently lead to
disagreements and fights with the other band members. After a performance in August, a fight broke out with two other group members, this resulted in Kyu eventually leaving the band in November 1958.
Kyu then focused on his studies and enrolled in a university. In December 1958, he
joined a classmate’s band called Danny Lida and Paradise King, and became the band’s
vocalist. As the new singer, his popularity increased, causing him to terminate his studies and leave the university. By June 1959, the band was able to get a record deal with the JVC record label. In August 1960, Kyu and the band now called Paradise King, released a single titled “ Kanashiki Rokujissai”, which became a big hit locally. This led to Kyu getting a record contract with Toshiba Records and quitting The Paradise King band in order to pursue a solo career.
His decision to go solo soon paid off, when he recorded the love song titled “ Ue o Muite
Aruko” which translated to English reads “I Look Up When I Walk”. It was first
performed on a NHK entertainment program on August 1961. When it was relesed as a
single in October it was an instant hit, remaining the highest selling record until January
1962. In 1963 British record executive for Pye Records, Louise Benjamin was in Japan
and happened to hear the song a few times. As a result he decided to bring it to the UK.
Because it was felt that the title would be too difficult to pronounce, it was renamed
“Sukiyaki”, after the Japanese beef dish. The intent of the new title was to sound catchy
and Japanese, but in reality the title did not reflect that it was actually a love song.
Interestingly, Pye Records initially released an instrumental version, which was recorded by Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen, who had a hit in 1962 with “Midnight in Moscow”.
After Kenny Ball’s instrumental became a hit in the UK, Kyu’s version was released by
HMV, which sold well, attaining 6th place on HMV’s most sold records. Then in 1963,
Capitol Records released the single in the US, using “Sukiyaki” as the record’s title. The
single eventually sold over one million copies and remained at the number one position
on the Billboard Hot 100 for three straight weeks in June of 1963.
With the success of “Sukiyaki” becoming an international hit, Kyu began a world tour in
the summer of 1963 and ended in early 1964. Some of the countries where he performed included the US, Germany, and Sweden. While in Los Angeles, California he appeared on The Steve Allen television show. He was also scheduled to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, however due to scheduling issues, that appearance was cancelled.
A follow up release titled “China Nights” only managed to peak at number 58.
The US album, “Sukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits”, released by Capitol Records peaked
at number 14 and remained on the Billboard Pop Albums chart for 17 weeks.
On My 15th, 1964, Kyu received a gold record from the Recording Industry Association
of America. “Sukiyaki” was also the first Japanese song to enter the Australian charts,
reaching the number 2 position. On March 16th, 1999 Japan Post issued a stamp
commemorating Kyu Sakamoto and the song “Sukiyaki”.
On August 12th, 1985, Kyu boarded Japan Air Lines Flight 123 in Tokyo, en route to an
event on Osaka. The flight never reached its destination as a result of the plane crashing
into a mountain. Kyu Sakamoto and 519 passengers were killed.
This has been a look back at two of Rock and Roll’s One Hit Wonders from the 1960's,
Bob Lind and Kyu Sakamoto. Kyu is also mentioned in the Rock and Roll Flashback
Podcast episode “1963 - The End of a Rock and Roll Era”.