1978 Mariya Takeuchi – Beginning

Mariya Takeuchi (born March 20, 1955) is a Japanese singer and songwriter. She is from Taisha, Shimane, now the city of Izumo.

In 1978, while studying at Keio University, Takeuchi started her career with a single “Modotte-Oide, Watashi no Jikan”. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, she recorded five albums and several singles, including the top-ten hit “Fushigi na Peach Pie”. Those recordings featured dozens of prominent Japanese and North American songwriters, instrumentalists and producers, including David Foster, Jim Keltner, Jay Graydon, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, David Hungate, Kazuhiko Kato, Kunihiko Kase, Shigeru Suzuki, Takashi Matsumoto and her future partner and husband, Tatsuro Yamashita. “Heart to Heart”, one of her songs (co-written by Roger Nichols, released in 1980) was recorded by The Carpenters two years later, and was the last recording for the late Karen Carpenter.