The Kim Sisters

Early lives

Sue () and Aija () were born in Seoul. They were the daughters of Kim Hae-song, a popular conductor, and Lee Nan-young, one of Korea's most famous singers before the Korean War, best known for her song, "Tears of Mokpo." The elder Kim died in 1950 during the Korean War.

Mia () was Sue and Aija's biological cousin whose father was Lee Bong-ryong, a musician and Lee Nan-young's elder brother; she was later adopted by Lee Nan-young.

Career

Beginnings

The Kim Sisters were formed in 1953. Following her husband's execution by North Korean forces during the Korean War, Lee Nan-young had her adopted niece Mia and her biological daughters Sue and Aija form a singing group to support the family. Lee bought American records on the black market so that the girls could learn songs like Hoagy Carmichael's "Ole Buttermilk Sky," which they performed in bars and nightclubs for American soldiers stationed in South Korea during the Korean War.

The Kim Sisters were popular among the American troops, who spread the word about the group to American entertainment producer Tom Ball, drafting a letter with 30 GI signatures. He flew to South Korea in 1958 to hear the group perform, and The Kim Sisters signed a contract with Ball soon after. However, it took them nearly a year to acquire visas to go to the United States.

Fame in the United States

In 1959, The Kim Sisters arrived in Las Vegas to perform in Ball's "China Doll Revue" at the Thunderbird Hotel. After they fulfilled their contract at the Thunderbird, The Kim Sisters began performing at the Stardust Hotel. It was during this time that they were first invited to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, the GI's original goal. It was also at this first performance they met Louis Armstrong. They ultimately performed on the show an additional 21 times. They made a guest appearance on the Dean Jones Ensign O'Toole sitcom, "Operation Benefit" October 14, 1962. The Kim Sisters frequently performed wearing Korean hanbok and singing popular American songs.

In 1962, they covered The Coasters song "Charlie Brown". The group retired in 1975 after more than 20 years of performing.

Aija died of lung cancer in 1987. Mia lives in Hungary with her husband, musician Tommy Vig, and also has produced records with him.

On March 27, 2014, Sue Kim became the first Korean American to be inducted into the Nevada Entertainer/Artist Hall of Fame.

Discography

Studio albums

U.S. singles

References

References

1. Song, Cheol-min. (2016). "K-pop Beyond Asia". [[Korean Culture and Information Service]].
2. Teszar, David. (September 21, 2011). "From Seoul to Las Vegas: story of the Kim Sisters". [[The Korea Times]].
3. (2016). "Forgotten Femmes, Forgotten War: The Kim Sisters' Disappearance from American Screen and Scene". Occasional Paper Series (Las Vegas: Center for Gaming Research).
4. Yim, Seung-hee. (January 31, 2017). "The Kim Sisters, pioneering K-pop stars, recall their journey : New documentary "Try to Remember" tells the story of the trio who dominated Vegas Strip".
5. (25 January 2017). "Kim Sisters' Min-ja talks about 'Try to Remember'".
6. Hong, Euny. (2014). "The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture". Simon and Schuster.
7. Their First Album (1959) - MLP 8022 Monument
8. (2016). "The Routledge Handbook of Asian American Studies". Routledge.
9. (1974-11-19). "'라스베이거스 주름잡는 金(김)시스터즈 내년5월 歸國(귀국)'". Naver News Library.
10. (10 May 1975). "'★TBC「김시스터즈귀국쇼」16개각종 악기도다뤄'". Naver News Library.
11. Przybys, John. (March 26, 2014). "UNLV Entertainer/Artist Hall of Fame honors five who made local stages shine". [[Las Vegas Review-Journal]].
12. "The Kim Sisters".
13. "The Kim Sisters Discography – USA".
14. (August 29, 2018). "Hands off the K-pop".