Cho Yong-pil (; born March 21, 1950) is a South Korean singer who is considered one of the most influential figures in Korean popular music. He debuted as a member of the rock band Atkins in 1968 and made his solo debut with the hit single "Come Back to Busan Port" in 1976. Cho has released 19 solo albums and has remained consistently popular during his 50-year career. Nicknamed the "King of Pop" in his native country,
his songs have ranked number one on South Korean music charts in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2010s.
He was recognized with the
Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit for his enormous impact on the Korean pop music scene.
He was selected as
Singer of the Year and his song "Bounce" was selected as
Song of the Year in the surveys conducted by
Gallup Korea
Gallup Korea () or Gallup Korea Research Institute () is a South Korean research company. Founded by Park Moo-ik in 1974, the company became a member of Gallup International Association in 1997. It is best known for conducting public surveys on ...
in 2013.
Biography
1950–1967: Early years
Cho Yong-pil was born in
Hwaseong, South Korea, and spent part of his childhood in Seoul. He and actor
Ahn Sung-ki
Ahn Sung-ki (born January 1, 1952) is a South Korean actor. One of the country's most respected actors, he has appeared in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years.
Career
A native of Seoul, Ahn was the son of a veteran filmmaker ...
were schoolmates at the now-defunct Kyungdong Middle School in Seoul and remained friends even though they attended different high schools. When Cho was seven, he happened to listen to
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
playing the harmonica, and this inspired the young Cho to become a musician.
1968–1975: Atkins, Five Fingers and Kim Trio period
Cho began his music career as a guitarist in various bands. In 1968, he formed a rock band called Atkins and played for the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
.
Later, he founded Five Fingers, which played music by black artists. In 1971, Cho joined the band Kim Trio,
which motivated him to perform rock music. Members of Kim Trio included Pa Kim (guitar), Dan Kim (drum) and Sun Kim (keyboard).
1976–1992: Solo debut and commercial success
Cho's debut single as a soloist, "", brought him national attention when it was released in 1976, later becoming a hit in Japan.
Cho then made a Japanese-language version of the song, and sang live in Japan. He was accused of smoking marijuana the following year and was banned from performing until 1979.
His first album, ''Woman Outside the Window'' (), was released in 1980 and has been followed by many others. In 1980, he held a concert at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
in New York, the first Korean singer to perform there.
In 1988, he became the first South Korean singer to perform in China, before the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
1992–2012: Commercial decline and concerts
His commercial success declined after the rise of the group
Seo Taiji and Boys
() was a South Korean music group active from 1992 to 1996. The three members of the boy band, Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno, experimented with many different genres of popular Western music. Seo Taiji and Boys was highly successful ...
and many other young musicians. His studio albums released after 1992 were not so successful. Noticing this, he announced that he would stop appearing on television, concluding that he would hardly make any hits. Subsequently, he focused more on concerts and music performance. In 1993, his
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
concert attracted an audience of 1 million, a record for South Korea. The following year, he became the first South Korean singer to surpass 10 million record sales. In 2005, Cho performed a concert in
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...
, North Korea, a rare occurrence for a South Korean singer.
2013–2021: ''Hello'' and 50th anniversary
In April 2013, Cho released his 19th album titled ''
Hello
''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses
''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the ''Norwich C ...
'', which debuted at number one on the South Korean charts, eclipsing
Psy
Park Jae-sang (, ; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY) (; ; ), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage per ...
's "
Gentleman
A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...
".
On April 25, 2013, he returned to television with the showcase "Hello". This show was also broadcast live on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
The album ranked number one on the
Gaon Album Chart
The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their Record sales, pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, pr ...
for the week of April 28 – May 4, 2013. Two songs from the album won first place on
South Korean music shows: "Hello" and "Bounce". Following the success of ''Hello'', Cho reissued 14 of his old albums. He later released a Japanese version of the album.
In 2018, Cho held a series of concerts to mark his 50th anniversary as a singer.
2022: ''Road to 20-Prelude 1''
Cho released the single album ''Road to 20-Prelude 1'' on November 18, 2022. To promote the album, he released a 30-second teaser video on his official YouTube channel on November 15. The video contains the titles of the new songs "Moment" and "Like Serengeti". He will hold a solo concert, 2022 Cho Yong-pil and the Great Birth, at the
Olympic Gymnastics Arena
The Olympic Gymnastics Arena (), also known as the KSPO Dome since 2018, is an indoor arena located within the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea. It has a capacity of 15,000 and can be extended upto 20,000.
It was constructed between 31 Aug ...
in Seoul on November 26–27 and December 3–4.
Discography
Korean studio albums
Japanese studio albums
Book
* Speech which wind conveys (1985)
Awards and nominations
State and cultural honors
External links
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Yong-pil
Grand Prize Golden Disc Award recipients
Trot singers
K-pop singers
South Korean pop rock singers
South Korean male singers
South Korean singer-songwriters
South Korean rock guitarists
South Korean record producers
People from Gyeonggi Province
People from Hwaseong, Gyeonggi
1950 births
Living people
MAMA Award winners
Korean Music Award winners
Melon Music Award winners
Imcheon Jo clan
South Korean male singer-songwriters