As a member of
the Folk Crusaders, Katō launched his recording career in the mid-1960s. "Kaettekita Yopparai (I Only Live Twice)", their psychedelic debut song composed by Katō and released in 1967, sold more than 1.3 million copies in Japan, and became one of the best-selling singles of the early Japanese popular music industry. The group also starred in director
Nagisa Oshima's 1968 film
Kaette kita yopparai (alternately known as
Sinner in Paradise or
Three Resurrected Drunkards). After the breakup of Folk Crusaders in 1970, Katō gained success for his production works for other musicians, including
Shigeru Izumiya,
Mariya Takeuchi, and
Takuro Yoshida. In particular,
Sadistic Mika Band, the acclaimed project he started with his first wife Mika Fukui, received international success. Their 1974 album entitled
Kurofune (The Black Ship) is regarded as one of the most significant Japanese rock albums of the mid-1970s. The group was disbanded and reassembled again several times, with new vocalists such as
Yumi Matsutoya, Karen Kirishima, and
Kaela Kimura. As a composer, Katō wrote the theme song "
Ai Oboete Imasu ka" for the anime film
Macross: Do You Remember Love?, which was released during the summer of 1984 in Japan. He later formed a songwriting team with his second wife, the late Kazumi Yasui. Most of the songs they wrote were recorded and produced by
Kenji Sawada. In 1990, Katō teamed up with graphic artists,
Haruhiko Shono and
Kuniyoshi Kaneko, to provide the music for the award-winning Japanese computer game,
Alice. In March 2008, Katō formed the rock band Vitamin-Q with
Masami Tsuchiya,
Gota Yashiki, Rei Ohara and
Anza. ==Death==