Hitomi Tohyama
Hitomi Tohyama, also known as Hitomi "Penny" Tohyama, is a Japanese singer from Okinawa city. Raised in California, where she attended Oakland High School, she released several albums and singers with Nippon Columbia in the 1980s. Her music regained popularity as part of the 21st-century city pop wave.
Early life and education
Hitomi Tohyama, a native of Koza, Okinawa, was born on 28 December 1957, daughter of a United States Armed Forces officer of Chinese, Filipino, and Spanish descent. Originally raised in Okinawa when it was still part of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands, she and her parents moved to California while she was in junior high school, and she enrolled at Oakland High School; her song "SFO-Oakland" was inspired by her experiences from that time.During her youth, Tohyama was interested in Motown music and Philadelphia soul. Tohyama's older sister Myrah Kay, also a musician, inspired her to take up a career in singing after she performed the song "Sunny" at her sister's club. She obtained the nickname Penny from her "petite frame".
Music career
Tohyama's music career began after she became a choral singer for Rie Ida's band Auction, later joining the chorus trio Joy. Prior to her solo debut, her first record release was with 's disco project Ecstacy E.Z., performing alongside Auction member Yoshihiro Yonekura who would later be one of her songwriters.Raised primarily in an English-speaking environment, Tohyama did not learn Japanese until she began performing professionally in Japan, where her producer asked her to do so. Despite her initial frustration with being required to sing in Japanese, she later learned the language, and by 1988, she sung in Japanese "more than half the time".
In 1981, Tohyama made her debut with Nippon Columbia, releasing her album Just Call Me Penny and her single "So Many Times " that year. She later released several more original albums: Next Door, Sexy Robot, and Watch Out. She also worked with Mike Baird, Eric Gale, Randy Jackson, and Richard Tee for a 1988 overseas recording session in Los Angeles, where she recorded her album Imagination that year. Her 1986 song "Ikisaki wa Oshienai" was the theme song for the TV Asahi variety show. She also performed the ending song for the 1987 animated film Wicked City, "7 Course no Prologue", as well as an insert song.
Ed Cunningham of Tokyo Weekender says that synth-funk was "a relatively common feature" of Tohyama's music. Bryan Harrell of Asahigraph said that Tohyama's singing has a "nostalgic 1970s soul feel" and "captivates and draws listeners into a world of love." Yu Onoda of Mikiki by Tower Records called her "a veteran of the disco scene". Theron Martin of Anime News Network described her Wicked City songs as an "unremakable adult contemporary style typical of late '80s/early '90s anime OVAs and movies". Tohyama herself cited Motown as an inspiration for her music.
Tohyama was also a radio personality, appearing in ABC Radio's Midnight Best Sound and FM Yokohama's Marine Fantasia.
Later life
Tohyama's music regained popularity with the 21st century resurgence of city pop. Her song "Tuxedo Connection" appeared on WYMS' Sound Travels show on city pop in February 2019. Her song "Exotic Yokogao" appeared in the 2019 compilation album Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop, AOR and Boogie 1976–1986. Onoda said that "pursu a singing style that combined melody and groove rather than relying on vocal ability" may have contributed to her rise in the city pop wave.In January 2024, Night Tempo released remixes of her songs "Cathy" and "Exotic Profile" as part of his Showa Groove series. On 6 March 2024, Nippon Columbia released Tohyama's greatest hits album "Pretty Penny Hitomi Tohyama: The Best and Rare", featuring remixes from Dimitri from Paris and Muro in addition to previous existing hits.