Artist:Andy KimSong:Rock Me Gently
Album:Baby, I Love You: Greatest Hits
Rock Me Gently was the only number one hit for Canadian singer songwriter Andy Kim in in 1974. It came at a time when he had a few hits but seemed to be fading. He has also had a lot of success as a songwriter. He was born Andrew Joachim Dec. 5, 1952 in Montreal. Some sources indicate that he may have been born in 1946. His Lebanese immigrant father owned a grocery store. He moved to New York at age 16 to make it in the music business. His big break came when legendary songwriter Jeff Barry signed Joachim to his Steed label. He changed his name to Andy Kim and How'd We Ever Get This Way was a top 20 hit in 1968. Meanwhile, Barry was working on producing music for The Archies, a studio group based on comic book characters. Andy Kim co-wrote The Archies biggest hit Sugar, Sugar and sang on some of the recordings though Ron Dante was the main lead singer. Kim got his first top ten hit in 1969 when his cover of the Ronettes classic Baby, I Love You reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. But then Kim's career stalled and by 1973, he was without a record label. He started his own label Ice Records and financed the recording of Rock Me Gently. He could only afford to release a single. But Capitol Records liked it and signed Kim and Rock Me Gently topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. That was Kim's final chart hit and he disappeared soon after. You can get all his hits on this EMI Europe budget comp. Kim resurfaced in 1980 as Baron Longfellow and had moderate success in Canada. He retired in 1991. In 1995, Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies convinced Kim to return and and Robertson produced an EP for Kim in 2004. Andy Kim still tours mostly in Canada and released the CD Happen Again last year. Here's Andy Kim performing Rock Me Gently on Top Of The Pops 1974.
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