# Taeko Onuki

Taeko Ōnuki (大貫 妙子, Ōnuki Taeko, born November 28, 1953) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician who achieved success and popularity during the 1970s and 80s in the city pop music scene.

## Early life and career

Taeko Onuki was born in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, in 1953. Her father was Kenichiro Onuki, a member of the Japanese Special Attack Units during the Second World War.
In 1973, she formed Sugar Babe with Tatsuro Yamashita and Kunio Muramatsu. Because the dominant music style at the time was hard rock, audiences did not respond too warmly, and the group disbanded three years later. In 1976, Onuki began her solo career by releasing the album Grey Skies, which carried the same sound as Sugar Babe. Her second landmark album, Sunshower was released the following year in 1977 and had a much different style, mixing pop music and jazz. In 1978 she released her third album, Mignonne, in which she worked with producer Eji Ogura, but the sales-focused process was difficult for her and the album didn't sell as expected. She took a two year break from music afterwards. Beginning from 1980, she released her “Europe” trilogy of albums: Romantique, Aventure and Cliché, taking on a more electronic sound.

## Later career

In 1998, she won the 21st Japan Academy Award for Best Music Award in the movie "Tokyo biyori".
From October 5, 2005, she served as Wednesday navigator (DJ) of the program " NIGHT STORIES " " THE UNIVERSE " of FM radio station J-WAVE in Tokyo.
On November 2, 2006, the soundtrack for the Game Boy Advance game Mother 3 was released, featuring the song "We miss you ~ The theme of love ~", which Onuki sang. She also sang the theme song for Animal Crossing: The Movie based on Nintendo's Animal Crossing video game series.
In 2009, Onuki covered Eiichi Ohtaki's song "Kimi wa Tennen Shoku" for the album A Long Vacation.
In 2020, the movie Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop was released, for which Onuki sang the insert song "YAMAZAKURA".
On March 11, 2022, Onuki participated in the Shuichi "Ponta" Murakami tribute concert "One Last Live", performing "Tokai" and "Mon doux Soleil".

## Discography
### Albums

Studio Albums :
| Title | Year | Label |
| SONGS (with SUGAR BABE) | 1975 | NIAGARA |
| Grey Skies (グレイ-スカイス) | 1976 | PANAM/Crown |
| SUNSHOWER (サンシャワー) | 1977 | PANAM/Crown |
| Mignonne (ミニヨン) | 1978 | RCA/RVC |
| Romantique (ロマンテイク) | 1980 | RCA/RVC |
| Aventure (アファチュ-ル) | 1981 | RCA/RVC |
| Cliche (クリシェ) | 1982 | RCA/RVC |
| Signifie(シニフェ) | 1983 | Dear Heart/RVC |
| Cahier(カイエ) | 1984 | Dear Heart/RVC |
| Copine(こピン) | 1985 | Dear Heart/MIDI |
| Comin' Soon (カミング・ス-ン) | 1986 | Dear Heart/MIDI |
| A Slice of Life (スライス・オブ・ライフ) | 1987 | Dear Heart/MIDI |
| Purissima (プリッシマ) | 1988 | Dear Heart/MIDI |
| NEW MOON | 1990 | Dear Heart/MIDI |
| DRAWING | 1992 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| Shooting Star in the Blue Sky | 1993 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| Tchou！(チャオ！） | 1995 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| Lucy (ル -シ-) | 1997 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| Attraction (アトラクシオン) | 1999 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| Ensemble (アンサンブル) | 2000 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| Note (ノ-ト) | 2002 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| One Fine Day (ワン・ファイン・デイ) | 2005 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| UTAU (ウタウ) (with Ryuichi Sakamoto) | 2010 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| Tint (テイント) (with Ryota Komatsu) | 2015 | Universal Music Japan |
Self-Cover Albums :
| Title | Year | Label |
| Pure Acoustic (ピュア・アコースティック) | 1996 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| Boucles d'Oreilles (ブックル・ドレイユ) | 2007 | SMDR GT Music |
Live Albums :
| Title | Year | Label |
| LIVE '93 Shooting Star in the Blue Sky | 1996 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| TAEKO ONUKI meets AKIRA SENJU 〜Symphonic Concert 2016 | 2016 | Pony Canyon |
| Pure Acoustic 2018 | 2018 | Columbia |
Soundtracks :
| Title | Year | Label |
| Africa Dobutsu Puzzle | 1987 | Dear Heart/RVC |
| Tokyo Biyori | 1997 | Eastworld/Toshiba EMI |
| Tokyo Oasis | 2011 | VAP |