The Kim Sisters were a

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n-born American female singing group who made their career in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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 Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

''. The group consisted of Sue, Aija and Mia.

Early lives

Sue and Aija's parents were Kim Hae-song, a popular conductor, and Lee Nan-young, one of Korea's most famous singers before the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, 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 North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

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 Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

'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

visas Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

to go to the United States.

Fame in the United States

In 1959, The Kim Sisters arrived in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

to perform in Ball's "China Doll Revue" at the

Thunderbird Hotel The El Rancho Hotel and Casino (formerly known as the Thunderbird and Silver Bird) was a hotel and casino that operated on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It originally opened on September 2, 1948, as the Navajo-themed Thunderbird. At ...

. 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 hi ...

. It was during this time that they were first invited to perform on ''

''. They ultimately performed on the show an additional 21 times. They made a guest appearance on the Dean Jones ''

Ensign O'Toole ''Ensign O'Toole'' is an American situation comedy that stars Dean Jones in the title role as an officer aboard the United States Navy destroyer USS ''Appleby'' in the early 1960s. It aired from 1962 to 1963. Synopsis Ensign O'Toole is a junio ...

'' sitcom, "Operation Benefit" October 14, 1962. The Kim Sisters frequently performed wearing Korean

hanbok The (; term used in South Korea), also called () n North Korea and China, is an umbrella term which is used to refer to traditional ethnic Korean clothes, including the traditional clothing of the (Korean Chinese), an officially recognized ...

and singing popular American songs. In 1962, their cover of

The Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producin ...

song "

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip '' Peanuts'', syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great American a ...

" reached #7 on the Billboard singles chart, 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

Tommy Vig Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

, 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