`TASTE OF HONEY' SINGER SAMURAI'D BY `SUKIYAKI'

`TASTE OF HONEY' SINGER SAMURAI'D BY `SUKIYAKI'

LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) -- The former lead singer of the disco band, A Taste Of Honey, is getting a bum note from the Japanese publishers of the band's 1980 hit, "Sukiyaki." In 1980, Janice-Marie Johnson wrote English lyrics of Kyu Sakamoto's 1963 hit which inspired versions by Snoop Doggy Dogg, Will Smith and Selena. Although Johnson's version has sold millions of copies, the Japanese publishers of "Sukiyaki" recently refused to let her record a new version for her upcoming CD, "Hiatus Of The Heart." Johnson says was shocked by the rejection, considering her lyrics kept the song alive long after America had forgotten Sakamoto. However, she got the last laugh by writing a song similar to "Sukiyaki" titled "Sayonara," which she says "is what everyone thought the song was called anyway."