Hitomi Tohyama

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, 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. She later released several more original albums: 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." ==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[ing] 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. 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. == Discography ==

Albums {{Discography simple|autoitalicize=Just Call Me Penny Singles ==Notes==