Coordinates	28°36′50″N77°12′32″N
name	Andy Kim
background	solo_singer
birth name	Andrew Youakim
born	5 December 1946 or 1952Montreal, Quebec, Canada
genre	Pop-rock
occupation	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 U.S. 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.

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-70s 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 U.S. 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 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. 'Happen Again' is set for release in the United States on April 5, 2011.

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" (U.S. #36, West Germany #37)

1969: "Baby, I Love You" (U.S. #9)

1970: "Be My Baby" (US #17, West Germany #24, Australia #36)

1971: "I Wish I Were" Steed 731

1971: "I Been Moved" Steed 734

1972: "Oh What A Day" Uni 55356

1974: "Rock Me Gently" 1974 (U.S. #1, UK #2, West Germany #33)

1974: "Fire, Baby I'm on Fire" Capitol 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

Canadian rock

Music of Canada

References

External links

Official website

Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian songwriters Category:Dot Records artists Category:English-language singers Category:Juno Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Montreal Category:Quebec songwriters Category:Canadian people of Lebanese descent

de:Andy Kim tr:Andy Kim

Kim may refer to:

Names

Kim (given name)

Kim (surname)

Kim (Korean name)

Kim, Vietnamese form of Jin (surname)

Places

KIM, IATA code for Kimberley Airport in South Africa

Kim, Colorado, United States

Kim, a town near Surat, Gujarat, India

Camp Kim, Seoul, South Korea, a US military facility

Media

''Kim'' (novel), by Rudyard Kipling

''Kim'' (film), a 1950 American adventure film

''Kim'' (TV film), a 1984 British film

"Kim" (song), by Eminem

Other uses

Kim people of Chad

* Kim language

Gim (food), also spelled kim, Korean for edible seaweed

Tropical Storm Kim, eight tropical Pacific Ocean cyclones

KIM-1, a microcomputer

Kingdom Identity Ministries, a Christian organization

See also

Khim

KIMM

da:Kim de:Kim es:Kim eo:Kim fr:Kim ko:킴 it:KIM hu:Kim (egyértelműsítő lap) nl:Kim ja:キム no:Kim pl:Kim pt:Kim ru:Ким fi:Kim (täsmennyssivu) sv:KIM (olika betydelser) tr:Kim

Coordinates	28°36′50″N77°12′32″N
name	Ron Sexsmith
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Ronald Eldon Sexsmith
born	January 08, 1964St. Catharines, OntarioCanada
instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano
genre	Pop, folk
occupation	Musician, Songwriter
years active	1978–present
label	Warner Bros.
associated acts	The UncoolThe Kelele Brothers
website	www.ronsexsmith.com
notable instruments	}}

Ronald Eldon “Ron” Sexsmith (born 8 January 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985. Some of the same artists who inspired Sexsmith—Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Ray Davies and John Hiatt—are now people whose praise he has won.

Sexsmith is the subject of a 2010 documentary, ''Love Shines''.

Biography

Early career

Sexsmith was seventeen when he started playing at a bar, the Lion's Tavern, in his hometown. He would gain a reputation as "The One-Man Jukebox" for his aptitude for playing requests. However, four to five years of this led him to play original songs and more obscure music his audience did not favour.

He decided to start writing songs after the birth of his first child, Christopher, in 1985. He moved to Toronto, formed a band called The Uncool, and released a cassette, ''Out of the Duff''. A year later, he released ''There’s a Way''. Next came the birth of his second child, Evelyne, in 1989.

Meanwhile, he worked as a courier, and released ''Grand Opera Lane'' in 1991. On the strength of this album, and the attention garnered by the song "Speaking with the Angels", Sexsmith earned a contract which led to his self-titled album in 1995. The album received wider attention when it was praised by Elvis Costello, for whom Sexsmith later opened.

Increased success and recognition

Between 1997 and 2001, Sexsmith released three more albums before the acclaimed ''Cobblestone Runway'' in 2002. ''Retriever'', his next album, is a more pop-oriented album and is dedicated to Elliott Smith and Johnny Cash. In 2004, he performed at the RuhrTriennale in the concert series Century of Song hosted by Grammy Award-winner Bill Frisell.

On 1 May 2001, Sexsmith performed "Just My Heart Talkin'" on the BBC's ''Later with Jools Holland'' musical showcase, alongside R.E.M., Orbital, India.Arie, and Clearlake. Holland backed him on piano. It was his second appearance on the show. He continued to grow in popularity, and began to have some radio success, particularly on Canadian adult oriented radio.

In 2002, Sexsmith recorded a cover version of "This is Where I Belong", it being the title track for a tribute album of the same name , subtitled 'The songs of Ray Davies and the Kinks', and including contributions from Damon Albarn, Bebel Gilberto and Queens of the Stone Age, among others. About this recording, Ray Davies later wrote, "he has a great voice". On 16 June 2011 Ron and his band performed the song Misfits with Ray Davies at the Meltdown Festival in London, England.

The same year, he won a songwriter of the year Juno Award for "Whatever it Takes".

Sexsmith's most recent album is ''Long Player Late Bloomer'', released 1 March 2011.

Collaborations and covers

Sexsmith has collaborated with many artists. In 2006 he performed a duet of "So Long Marianne" with Leonard Cohen in Yorkville, Toronto. Sexmith sang in "An Elephant Insect" appearing on the 2003 Shonen Knife album Heavy Songs. In 2005, he released a collection of songs recorded with drummer Don Kerr during the production of ''Retriever'', called ''Destination Unknown''.The song "Gold in Them Hills" written by Sexsmith features vocals from Coldplay's Chris Martin. In addition to Martin, Sexsmith has a number of famous admirers, including Elvis Costello, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Steve Earle, and Sheryl Crow, many of whom have covered Sexsmith's songs. His song "Secret Heart" has been covered by Rod Stewart, Feist, and Nick Lowe. Sexsmith co-wrote "Brandy Alexander" with Feist. Versions appear on Sexsmith's Exit Strategy of the Soul, and on Feist's international hit album The Reminder. More recently, a version of Sexsmith's "Whatever It Takes" appeared on Michael Bublé's album ''Crazy Love''

In 2004, fellow Canadian singer song writer k.d. lang covered Ron's song "Fallen" on her album Hymns of The 49th Parallel. He also wrote the title song of Emmylou Harris' new album, 'Hard Bargain.'

On film

Ron Sexsmith is the subject of the film ''Love Shines'', directed by Douglas Arrowsmith and produced by Paperny Films. ''Love Shines'' premiered at the 2010 Vancouver International Film Festival on Friday, 8 October 2010.

Personal life

Sexsmith has two children with his ex-wife Jocelyne: a son, Christopher (born in 1985); and a daughter, Evelyne (born in 1989). Their fifteen-year marriage ended in 2001.

His partner, Colleen Hixenbaugh, is also a musician. She is a member of By Divine Right, half of the duo Jack and Ginger, and the duo Colleen and Paul with Paul Linklater.

Style

His first five albums are generally melancholic pop folk with elegant melodies, accentuated use of guitars and economic application of other instruments. On his sixth album, ''Cobblestone Runway'', producer Martin Terefe supplemented this style with, among other things, synthesizers, back-up singers, gospel choirs, and string sections. ''Retriever'' is considered his most pop-influenced album.

He has said, "...my main objective is to try and stay out of the way of the song. I want to write songs that are good whether I'm singing them or not."

Success

In a July 1999 interview, a ''Triste Magazine'' contributor said the following: "Every record seems to get great reviews, but then your sales don't ever really match." Sexsmith responded, Sexsmith has since had quite a bit of success on Canadian adult oriented radio.

Discography

Albums

1991: ''Grand Opera Lane'' (independent, produced by Bob Wiseman, with The Uncool)

1995: ''Ron Sexsmith'' (Interscope/Warner, produced by Mitchell Froom, ("there's a rhythm" produced by Daniel Lanois)

1997: ''Other Songs'' (Interscope/Warner)

1999: ''Whereabouts'' (Interscope/Warner)

2001: ''Blue Boy'' (produced by Steve Earle and Ray Kennedy)

2002: ''Cobblestone Runway'' (produced by Martin Terefe)

2003: ''Rarities''

2004: ''Retriever'' (Warner)

2005: ''Destination Unknown'' (V2, with Don Kerr, released as Sexsmith & Kerr)

2006: ''Time Being'' (Warner, also released in 2007 by Coppertree Records UK on 180g vinyl)

2008: ''Exit Strategy of the Soul'' (Yep Roc)

2011: ''Long Player Late Bloomer''

Other contributions

1999: ''Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village In The 60's'' - "Reason To Believe"

2002: ''This Is Where I Belong - The Songs of Ray Davies & The Kinks'' - "This Is Where I Belong"

2002: ''WYEP Live and Direct: Volume 4 - On Air Performances'' - "Just My Heart Talking"

2002: ''Maybe This Christmas'' - "Maybe This Christmas"

2003: ''Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot'' - "Drifters"

2004: ''Beautiful Dreamer - The Songs of Stephen Foster - "Comrades Fill No Glass For Me"

2008: ''Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest'' - "All in Good Time"

2008: ''Redeye 2008 Holiday Sampler'' - "Something To Hold On To (At Christmas)"

The Kelele Brothers

''Escape from Bover County'' (Gas Station Recordings)

''Has-Beens & Wives'' (Gas Station Recordings)

References

External links

Ron Sexsmith interview on CBC's ''The Hour''

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian singer-songwriters Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent Category:Genie Award winners for Best Achievement in Music - Original Song Category:Juno Award winners Category:Musicians from the Niagara Region Category:Writers from Ontario Category:People from St. Catharines Category:Musicians from Toronto

de:Ron Sexsmith es:Ron Sexsmith fr:Ron Sexsmith nl:Ron Sexsmith sv:Ron Sexsmith