Andy Kim - Life and Career

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, or 5 December 1952 as cited by the Allmusic and Billboard Books. Various published interviews with Kim from the mid-1970s support the 1946 dating, 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. "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, 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.

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, and rose to #2 on the UK Singles Chart. "Rock Me Gently" sold three million copies globally, earning Kim his second gold disc.

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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

In 2009, 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. 'Happen Again' was released in the United States on 5 April 2011.

His seventh 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.