Daniel Boone-"Beautiful Sunday"

my commercial 45 issued as mercury 73281 states the run time on the label as 3:00 but actually runs 2:57.....this is in conflict with jim's findings......my 45 run-out groove has etched in it "2-48774-1-1"....maybe there are 2 pressings?

FYI.
"Beautiful Sunday" by DANIEL BOONE is the biggest hit in full English lyric tunes in a Japan regular hit chart. This tune was used in a TV program in 1976, and kept No.1 consecutive 15 weeks. Nothing will be able to break the record in the future.

--abagon

Yah Shure wrote: abagon, I distinctly remember checking Billboard's Hits Of The World chart every week at the time, marveling over the fact that not only was the Daniel Boone record staying atop the chart week after week, but that there were several other cover versions listed among the top hits in Japan as well. Do you have any idea what exactly it was about that particular song that so truly captivated the Japanese audience?

I was at 8 years old in 1976. Now I don't distinctly remember at that time. However, I was singing along the Japanese version by Seiji Tanaka when I was a kid. Most Japanese can't hear and understand English words. But this tune especially has easy-to-understand lyric, and has natural melody. Everybody likes Sundays! Also, I checked hit songs in 1976 on a Japanese chart. This year was an off year except a mega hit song (Oyoge Taiyaki-kun : 10weeks No.1 and 1976 year-end chart No.1, Daniel's "Beautiful Sunday : 1976 year-end chat No.2). If a TV program was broadcasting on every weekday mornings didn't use this tune, it wasn't definitely famous for the Japanese audience.
FYI. There are 11 No.1 songs in Japan chart with English language by Original artists (Japan chart = Oricon since 1968).

1968-04-01 1 week "Massachusetts" by "BEE GEES"
1968-09-09 2 weeks "Sound Of Silence" by SIMON & GARFUNKEL
1969-01-27 1 week "Those Were The Days" by MARY HOPKIN
1970-10-19 1 week "Lovers Of The World" by JERRY WALLACE (This song was used as a commercial film)
1971-01-11 2 weeks "As The Years Go By" by MASHMAKHAN
1972-04-10 1 week "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" by NEW SEEKERS
1976-03-22 15 weeks "Beautiful Sunday" by DANIEL BOONE
1980-11-17 2 weeks "I'm In The Mood For Dancing" by NOLANS (U.K. group)
1983-09-05 2 weeks "Flashdance... What A Feeling" by IRENE CARA
1995-12-04 5 weeks "To Love you More" by CELINE DION feat. KRYZLER & KOMPANY
1997-10-06 2 weeks   "Candle In The Wind 1997" by ELTON JOHN

--abagon

Thank you for compiling and sharing this fascinating information, Abagon. I had never realized that the number of English-lyric songs that have reached #1 on Japan's national music chart were so few and far between!

While doing some music research tonight, I happened to notice that The Script's "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" reached #4 in Japan as recently as 2008, according to Wikipedia's website. I was a bit surprised to discover this considering that this underrated song only made it to #86 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. (Here, it was the follow-up single to the band's Top 20 hit "Breakeven".)