Popular Songs with Non-English Lyrics in the 1960s: Volare,The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Pata Pata, and Sukiyaki

(Sister Gabrielle was credited as Soeur Sourire, which means "Sister Smile".) In the U.S., she was billed as "The Singing Nun", but the single took off first here, then both the album and single took off in late 1963. "Dominique" is a eulogy about the founder of the Dominican Order, St. Dominic. The 1966 movie "The Singing Nun" was made about Sister Gabrielle's life starring Debbie Reynolds.

Miriam Makeba

South African native (Zensi) Miriam Makeba was already world-renowned for her singing and for espousing her country's freedom from apartheid when "Pata Pata" became an American hit in 1967. Makeba had first recorded this in 1956 in South Africa.

She spent a total of 30 years in exile from her homeland and because of her campaign against apartheid, her records were banned in South Africa. Her second marriage, to Black Panther activist Stokeley Carmichael in 1968, severely damaged her U.S. career. As a result, the duo (who divorced in 1978) moved to Guinea in West Africa, and Makeba was able to continue working outside the U.S. When apartheid ended in South Africa, she was welcomed back.

Japanese Hit "Sukiyaki"

"Sukiyaki"by Kyu Sakamoto went to no. 1 in 1963. So far, this is the only song by a Japanese singer to hit no. 1 in the U.S. The Japanese title is "Ue O Muite Aruko", which means "I look up when I walk." An English record company executive heard the song while in Japan.

He renamed it "Sukiyaki", after a Japanese food he liked, and had an artist on his label record it. It became a hit when an American DJ heard the British version and started playing Sakamoto's original. The title remained "Sukiyaki" even though it has nothing to do with the song. A Taste Of Honey took the English version to no. 3 in 1981.

Other International Hits:

• "Guantanamera" started out as a poem by Cuban writer Jose Marti. In the early 1960s, Pete Seeger combined Marti's original Spanish with spoken English and it became a song for the peace movment.
  
• Rene and Rene took "Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero (The More I Love You)" to no. 14 in 1968. This was sung in half-Spanish, half-English.
  
• "Perfidia" debuted in a B-movie western called "Stardust On The Sage," sung by Gene Autry. Desi Arnaz
  The copyright of the article Popular Songs with Non-English Lyrics in the 1960s: Volare,The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Pata Pata, and Sukiyaki in 60s Music is owned by Patricia Jacobs. Permission to republish Popular Songs with Non-English Lyrics in the 1960s: Volare,The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Pata Pata, and Sukiyaki in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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