Season 4 Episode 5 -
The Kim Sisters:
The First K-pop Girl Group?
The Kim Sisters, the first Asian group to perform on the Ed Sullivan show, also among one of the show’s most popular performances. The first godmothers of K-pop girl groups, the Kim Sisters were one of the most popular Vegas acts of the 60s.
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The original girl group singer herself, 이난영, performing her most famous song Tears of Mokpo (눈물의 목포)
이난영 was one of the members of the very first Korean girl group, 저고리 시스터즈
(not 저고기 시스터즈 like Becky accidentally says on the podcast…)
이난영 is in the center in the photo below.
Their father 김해송 was a famous composer who adroitly combined Western and Eastern musical styles to develop a unique sound. Here’s an example of his tongue-in-cheek writing for the song
전화일기 (which apparently was banned due to its riotous influence)
Known also as the “Genius of Jazz”, 김해송 created his own orchestra to perform for American troops, catering to the Western musical styles of the time. This is a personal favorite of mine.
이난영, her visa reportedly supported by Ed Sullivan himself, joins The Kim Sisters on stage,
a year before she passed from illness.
#7 on the singles Billboard charts in 1962, “Charlie Brown”
The Kim Sisters performing “All Shook Up”
To get an idea of how many instruments they could play….
The Kim Brothers, the Kim Sister’s
brotherly counterpart,
were also talented performers but never achieved the same level of success.
Listen to the full podcast episode now that you’ve got a good idea of their performing!
You can read more about The Kim Sisters on the official webpage TheKimSisters.com