Sandii

Early days

Sandii (サンディー) - (born 鈴木 あや, Suzuki Aya, renamed in the U.S. as Sandra O'Neale, born December 27, 1952) - was born in Japan to an American father of Irish and Spanish ancestry and a Japanese mother. Her father was in the U.S. Navy, and she spent her early life in Japan, but moved to Hawaii in her early teens and began to study hula and Pacific dance. After becoming accomplished as a singer and dancer, Sandii released her first record "Perusha Neko" under the name Sandi Ai. Returning to Japan in 1975 she was befriended by Kyu Sakamoto, who helped her to get a job as a DJ on NHK TV in Japan. Sandii performed during the interval of the "World Popular Song Festival" in late 1975, and secured a record deal with Toho. Sandii's debut album, Sandi Ai, is a mix of Japanese originals and covers of well-known songs by John Lennon and Olivia Newton-John. The album was not a great success, and Sandii left Toho for Discomate Records.