The Kim Sisters were a Korean-born American female singing group who made their career in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. They are known for being the first South Korean music group to achieve success in the U.S. market, and for performing more than 20 times on '' The Ed Sullivan Show''. The group consisted of Sue, Aija and Mia.

Early lives

Sue and Aija's parents were Kim Hae-song, a popular

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, and

Lee Nan-young Lee Nan-young (; June 6, 1916 – April 11, 1965) was a Korean singer and actress most famous for the 1935 hit trot song "", which sold 50,000 copies. Biography Lee was born in Japanese Korea, in the port city of Mokpo, South Jeolla Province. ...

, one of Korea's most famous singers before the Korean War, best known for her song, "Tears of Mokpo." Mia's father was Lee Bong-ryong, a musician and Lee Nan-young's elder brother. In 1950, North Korea captured and later executed Kim Hae-song, the father of Sue and Aija.

Career

Beginnings

Following her husband's kidnapping, Lee Nan-young adopted Mia and had her daughters form a singing group in order 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. KIM_SISTERS_Harbor_Lights_1959_U

The Kim Sisters were popular among the American troops, who spread the word about the group to American entertainment producer Tom Ball. 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

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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

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. After they fulfilled their contract at the Thunderbird, The Kim Sisters began performing at the

Stardust Hotel The Stardust Resort and Casino was a casino resort located on along the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. The Stardust was conceived by Tony Cornero, and construction began in 1954. Cornero died in 1955, and the project was taken over by his ...

. It was during this time that they were first invited to perform on '' The Ed Sullivan Show''. 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, their cover of The Coasters song " Charlie Brown" reached #7 on the

Billboard singles chart The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming i ...

, making The Kim Sisters the first commercially successful Korean artists in the United States. Aija died of lung cancer in 1987. Mia lives in Hungary with her husband, famous musician

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, and still performs in America, Europe and Korea.Upcoming Performances
at Mia's web site 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

External links

* Kim Sister
live performance (1957)

The Story of Mia Kim and the Kim Sisters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim Sisters Musical groups established in 1953 Sibling musical trios South Korean girl groups American girl groups Monument Records artists American people of Korean descent American singers of Asian descent