Andy Kim
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
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Andy Kim
- Genres: Rock
Biography
Andy Kim enjoyed major success on the pop charts as a singer, songwriter, and producer in the 1960s and ‘70s before experiencing a career resurgence in the new millennium. Born Andrew Youakim, he was the son of Lebanese expatriates who had settled in Montreal, Canada and run a grocery store. As a youngster, Youakim developed a passion for music, and when he turned 16, he left home with just $40 to his name, heading to New York City with a dream of breaking into the music business. He cut a few singles for several labels with no particular success before he met the noted songwriter and producer Jeff Barry who, with Ellie Greenwich, had penned several major hits for Phil Spector. Barry was impressed enough with a song the young man had written, "How'd We Ever Get This Way," to sign him to Steed Records, a label run by Barry. Youakim streamlined his name to Andy Kim and "How'd We Ever Get This Way" became a Top 20 hit in the United States and Canada in 1968. That same year, Barry was one of the writers and producers brought in to make music for the Archies, a fictive rock group appearing in an animated television series based on the popular comic book series. With Barry, Kim co-wrote two of the Archies' biggest hits, "Sugar Sugar" and "Jingle Jangle," and he also sang on some of the Archies' sessions, though Ron Dante was the primary lead vocalist for the "group." In 1969, Kim scored another solo hit, "So Good Together," and the following year, he hit the Top Ten with a cover of "Baby I Love You," which Barry had co-written for the Ronettes. In 1974,, Kim rose to the top of the Billboard charts with the single "Rock Me Gently," but despite this success, his brand of simple, well-scrubbed pop, influenced both by bubblegum and the Brill Building songwriters, was falling out of favor; this would prove to be his last major hit in the United States. Believing his image and reputation were holding him back, Kim released an album in 1980 under the name Baron Longfellow; it was a modest success, and a second Longfellow album, Prisoner by Design, followed in 1984. However, it was in 1995, when Kim appeared at the Kumbaya Festival in Toronto (an annual fundraising event for AIDS charities) that he met Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies and discovered a member of Canada's biggest group was a longtime Andy Kim fan. It was through Robertson that Kim learned he was held in high esteem by many noted Canadian musicians, and Kim found himself writing songs with Robertson and Ron Sexsmith, as well as appearing on-stage with Canadian indie rockers Broken Social Scene. In 2005, Kim, who has long been involved in charity work, launched the Andy Kim Christmas Show, an annual fundraising concert held at Toronto's Mod Club, in which Kim is joined on-stage by a number of Canadian pop stars ranging from Luke Doucet to Alex Lifeson of Rush, to perform seasonable material. In 2010, Andy Kim returned to the recording studio and released a comeback album, Happen Again, which included some of the songs he'd written with Robertson and Sexsmith. ~ Mark Deming, RoviWikipedia on Answers.com:
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Andy Kim
| Andy Kim | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Andrew Youakim |
| Born | 5 December 1946 (most probably) or 1952 Montreal, Quebec, Canada[1] |
| Genres | Pop-rock |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Website | www.andykimmusic.com |
Andrew Youakim, performing as Andy Kim, is a Lebanese Canadian pop rock singer and songwriter. He grew up in Montreal, Quebec in Canada. Kim is known for a number of hit singles that he released in the late 1960s and early 1970s such as "Rock Me Gently", which topped the US singles charts. In 1968, he co-wrote "Sugar, Sugar" for The Archies. The song was No. 1 for four weeks and in 1969 was certified "Record of the Year" by the RIAA.
Kim has also recorded under the stage name Baron Longfellow since the mid 1980s[1][2] or just as Longfellow in the early 1990s.
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Life and career
Andy Kim was born in Montreal, Quebec. The date of his birth has been reported variably as either 5 December 1946 as cited by VH1, United Press International, and Rolling Stone,[3][4][5] or 5 December 1952 as cited by the Allmusic and Billboard Books.[1][2] Various published interviews with Kim from the mid-1970s support the 1946 dating,[6][7] while Kim's current biography on his official website offers no specific year of birth.
He is the third of four sons of Lebanese immigrants. He moved to New York at age 16 to pursue a career in music.
In 1968 under the new stage name Andy Kim, he released the single "How'd We Ever Get This Way?" on the Steed label. He used the different last name as a way to obscure his Lebanese ethnic ancestry.[8] "How'd We Ever Get This Way?" just missed the U.S. Top 20.
Still in 1968, with Jeff Barry, Kim co-wrote "Sugar, Sugar" which was a hit single for The Archies,[9] reaching No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and ultimately becoming the RIAA Record of the Year. Kim/Barry wrote more songs for the Archies, and also for Changes, by The Monkees in 1970, which Barry produced.
In 1969, Kim had two hit singles, "Rainbow Ride," which made the US Top 50, and "Baby, I Love You," which got to #9 and was popular enough in Canada to earn him a Gold Leaf (Juno) Award in 1970 as his country's Best Male Vocalist. "Baby, I Love You" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in October 1969.[10]
Over the next few years, Kim recorded a few minor hits (such as "Be My Baby" in late 1970) and toured North America extensively. In the spring of 1974, he released the self-penned "Rock Me Gently", which went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[2] and rose to #2 on the UK Singles Chart.[11] "Rock Me Gently" sold three million copies globally, earning Kim his second gold disc.[10]
Kim had shied away from touring for years before then, when he was working with the Steed label. He has said that he had created a persona in his music in the vein of a white blond surfer and that fans were shocked to see his dark skin color and appearance. As well, he had altered his voice on his earlier records to sound younger.[2]
By the end of 1976, Kim stopped recording and disappeared from public life. He returned under the stage name 'Baron Longfellow' with a self-titled album Baron Longfellow in 1980 and, also under the same pseudonym, in 1984 released Prisoner by Design. Both of these albums met with moderate success. In 1991, Kim again went by the name 'Longfellow' and recorded the single "Powerdrive", which received radio airplay on several radio stations across Canada.
In 1995, Kim played at the Kumbaya Festival at which the Barenaked Ladies were also performing. Nearly a decade later, the band's Ed Robertson convinced Kim to come out of retirement.[12][13] Robertson co-wrote the song "I Forgot to Mention" with him and offered to produce the track. The single was released on a 5-track EP in 2004 which included a re-recording of "Powerdrive".
In March 2005, Kim received the annual "Indie Award" for Favorite Solo Artist during Canadian Music Week.[12] The music video for "Love Is...", released in the summer of 2005, reached #1 at Bravo.ca. In 2005, he co-wrote "What Ever Happened to Christmas" with Ron Sexsmith.[12] The same year, he established the Andy Kim Christmas Show – a live concert at the Mod Club in Toronto in which a variety of artists were invited to perform mostly Christmas music. Kim's band acted as house band for the artists, who donated their time for the show. Proceeds were donated to the CHUM/CITY Christmas Wish. The show repeated in 2006, with a similar lineup. Proceeds from the show went to support the Children's Aid Foundation, and the edited show was aired on Mix 99.9 on Christmas Eve and Day.
More recently, Kim's music has again come into the public eye, as "Rock Me Gently" was sped up slightly and used by Jeep for their Jeep Liberty commercial ("Pouring In"). His name can be seen on the radio display near the beginning of the commercial.[14][15]
In 2009 Andy Kim was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
In March 2010, E1 Music Canada released Happen Again, Kim's first album in over 20 years.[16] 'Happen Again' is set for release in the United States on 5 April 2011.
His 7th Annual Andy Kim Christmas Show at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre benefitting Jullette's Place featured Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning from Broken Social Scene, Sam Roberts, Arkells, Lights, Dru, Sean Cullen, Ron Sexsmith, Honeymoon Suite, Sarah Harmer and Emma-Lee.
Singles
- 1963: "I Loved You Once" United Artists 59
- 1964: "Give Me Your Love" TCF Hall 5
- 1965: "I Here You Say (I Love You Baby)-Red Bird 10-040
- 1968: "Shoot 'Em Up Baby"
- 1968: "That Girl" 20th Century Fox 6709
- 1968: "How'd We Ever Get This Way?"
- 1969: "I Hear You Say" (I Love You Baby) Cottique 174
- 1969: "So Good Together" (US #36, West Germany #37)
- 1969: "Baby, I Love You" (US #9)
- 1970: "Be My Baby" (US #17, West Germany #24, Australia #36)
- 1971: "I Wish I Were" Steed 731
- 1971: "I've Been Moved" (US #97)
- 1972: "Oh What A Day" Uni 55356
- 1974: "Rock Me Gently" 1974 (US #1, UK #2, West Germany #33)
- 1974: "Fire, Baby I'm on Fire" Capitol [17] 3962
- 1975: "The Essence of Joan" Capitol 4032
- 1975: *Mary Ann" Capitol 4086
- 1976: "Oh, Pretty Woman" Capitol 4234
- 2004: "I Forgot To Mention" (Canada #10)
- 2010: "Happen Again" (Single released to radio 2 February 2010 in Canada)
See also
References
- ^ a b c Bush, John. "Andy Kim". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p25256. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
- ^ a b c d Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits. Billboard Books. p. 377. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=PgGqNrqfrsoC&pg=PT386&dq=%22andy+kim%22#v=onepage&q=&f=false.
- ^ "Today in Music: a look back at pop music". United Press International. http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2002/12/05/Today-in-Music-a-look-back-at-pop-music/UPI-53001039073400/. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ^ "Today in Music: December 5". VH1. http://www.vh1.com/news/rock_clock/12_5/index.jhtml. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ^ Holly George-Warren; Patricia Romanowski; Jon Pareles. The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7432-0120-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=9lYYAAAAIAAJ&q=%22andy+kim%22&dq=%22andy+kim%22&lr=.
- ^ "Andy Kim returns with smash hit". The Bulletin. 21 September 1974. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZaUSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VPcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2254,4808860&dq=andy-kim. Retrieved 16 October 2011.|
- ^ "Scene Action". Evening Independent. 21 September 1974. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HeMLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JlgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5253,1907995&dq=andy-kim. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ Kim Cooper; David Smay (2001). Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-922915-69-9.
- ^ Darryl Sterdan, Qmi Agency (9 April 2010). "Andy Kim back with new album | Music | Entertainment". Edmonton Sun. http://www.edmontonsun.com/entertainment/music/2010/04/09/13528361.html. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ a b Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 262 & 346. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 301. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b c Mary Dickie (29 November 2005). "Andy Kim gets into the holiday spirit". Jam.canoe.ca. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/K/Kim_Andy/2005/11/29/pf-1328766.html. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ 2006 Andy Kim Christmas Show, as aired on Mix 99.9
- ^ Grant, Lee (5 November 2007). "Lee Grant's Outtakes". The San Diego Union-Tribune. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20071105-9999-lz1c5grant.html. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ^ "Jeep Liberty – Pouring In". Cutwater (advertising agency). http://www.cutwatersf.com/. Retrieved 31 October 2009. From menu, select Work --> Jeep to TV ad.
- ^ Sterdan, Darryl (11 April 2010). "Andy Kim making it happen". The Recorder and Times (Brockville). http://www.recorder.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2528403&auth=DARRYL%20STERDAN,%20QMI%20AGENCY. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
- ^ "Problem Encountered". Musicstack.com. http://www.musicstack.com/item/23447293. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
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Mentioned in
Various Artists Greatest Hits of the 70's, Vol. 5
(1999 Album by Various Artists)
This Is 1974
(2008 Album by Various Artists)
Great Records of the Decade: 70's Hits Pop, Vol. 2
(1990 Album by Various Artists)
AM Gold: Pop Classics
(1998 Album by Various Artists)
Entertainment Weekly: The Greatest Hits 1974
(2000 Album by Various Artists)
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