Submitted by Don Graham
Andy Kim is about to take his rightful place in the hallowed hall, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame that is. We caught up with Andy to talk about his reaction about his induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
“When I got the news, I was humbled and honoured to be included with this year’s group of amazing songwriters. All I ever wanted to do was write songs and I have been blessed to be given the opportunity to fulfill that vision.”
The Montreal native and composer of such classics as Baby I Love You, Baby How’d We Ever Get This Way, Rock Me Gently and Sugar Sugar, left school at 16, headed by bus to New York City and the iconic Brill Building at 49th and Broadway, the home of America’s top songwriters. “I’d heard about Tin Pan Alley where all the great songs that I heard on the radio were being written and I tried to picture what it would look like. And there I was, in the building where Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Paul Anka, Leiber and Stoller and so many others wrote their hits. It was magical.”
At the Brill Building Andy dropped in on producer and songwriter Jeff Barry, who took a chance on the eager kid, signing him to his Steed label. There Andy recorded his first singles: I Loved You Once; and I Hear You Say I Love You. Developing his songwriting chops with Barry led to a brisk chain of non-stop hits from 1968 to the mid-1970s: Baby How’d We Ever Get This Way, Shoot ’Em Up Baby, which went to #3 on Canada’s CHUM chart ; So Good Together, and Rainbow Ride. Kim’s cover of The Ronettes’ Baby I Love You earned him his first gold record and the prestigious inaugural 1970 Juno Award as top male vocalist.
This string of hits proved a warm-up act for the 1969 massive world-wide hit Sugar, Sugar, written by Kim and Barry for The Archies popular animated TV show. At first, though, there was disappointment: Disc jockeys scoffed at the jaunty, catchy Sugar, Sugar, labelling it “bubblegum music.” Stations wouldn’t play it. Kim told NPR News: “People put the song down as if it was just fluff.”
But, with promotion, Sugar, Sugar spread like wildfire and by year’s end was Billboard’s No. 1 song of the year. At home in Canada, it was CHUM’s No. 1 song for four weeks, and in the U.K. it reached # 1 on the charts. “I was really, really blown away by the fact that it became the industry’s Record of the Year.”
Sugar, Sugar turned out to be much more than a kids’ song for a cartoon; it brought people distraction from the unsettling events happening around them. When the TV news brought riots, anti-Vietnam war protests and civil rights issues into their living rooms, the innocence of Sugar, Sugar provided a welcome musical escape. It simply made people happy. Artists rushed to cover Sugar, Sugar in a range of styles; the list includes Wilson Pickett, Bob Marley, Tina Turner, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Chet Baker, Mickey Dolenz, Olivia Newton-John, David Hasselhoff, and The Ventures.
Fifty years later, Andy joined forces with Toronto’s popular Choir! Choir! Choir! to record a video for the song’s 50th anniversary. The BMI award-winning Sugar, Sugar was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. Andy was awarded the SOCAN Cultural Impact Award in 2017.
As the Sugar, Sugar high wore off, Kim adopted a rock-ballad sound with 1974’s solo effort Rock Me Gently, which he composed after spending a magical night walking on Malibu beach. When the song was turned down by every record label, he formed his ICE label and self-produced the recording. Again, his positive attitude yielded undreamt-of success: Rock Me Gently sold three million copies and reached No. 1 on Billboard and RPM and No. 2 in the U.K. and on CHUM. It was nominated for 1975’s Junos for best-selling single, composer and producer of the year. Andy, “I don’t hear the word ‘no’ as anything other than an opportunity for me to inspire my future and my destiny.”
A few years later and another change of direction, Andy’s manager Gordon Mills , famous for changing the names of his artists Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck & Gilbert O’Sullivan, suggested Andy change his name to Baron Longfellow, releasing the “Baron Longfellow” album and the tender love song Amour (Tu es ma papillon). The song returned Andy to his Montreal roots with its inclusion of French lyrics, and earned Juno nominations for composer and single of the year. Even after worldwide success and several decades in the business, Andy did not rest on his laurels. He released his “Prisoner By Design” album in 1984, and in 1985 sang on the Northern Lights #1 single Tears Are Not Enough. As Longfellow, he released the 1991 single PowerDrive. Andy resumed his stellar career with 2004’s I Forgot to Mention, written with Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson, leading to Andy being named Canada’s best solo indie artist. He released albums in 2010 and 2015, and established the annual Andy Kim Christmas Show in Toronto. The Andy Kim Christmas is in its 21st year raising over $2,250,000 for multiple Charities.
In 2015 Andy recorded ‘It’s Decided’ by Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene. David Letterman was so interested in the album that he invited Andy to appear on his show a few weeks before retiring.
As Andy says, “It’s up to anyone who really believes in a dream to fight for it.” His lengthy and successful career is proof that this philosophy has worked for him even beyond his dreams.
From humble beginnings in an immigrant family, Andy has achieved the pinnacle of music-biz success. He is now an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canada’sWalk of Fame & awarded The Key to the City in Toronto.
And now Andy Kim takes his rightful place of honour in The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame’s 2025 Legends Induction Series will take place on October 17 at Toronto’s Meridian Arts Centre. Tickets for the Toronto event are available via Ticketmaster HERE