Born Andrew Joachim in Montreal, Canada in December 1946, Andy Kim was a child singer and performer whose interests soon turned to songwriting and running away from home. On one of his many trips to New York City, Andy met writer and producer Jeff Barry and, in 1968, signed to Barry's Steed label. With hits not forthcoming, Kim signed with MCA in 1972. Lacking success in America, Kim and his brother Joe decided to start their own label, Ice. His debut release was to have been his own production of Rock Me Gently but a tape of the song was heard by the suits at Capitol who offered him a contract and rushed the record into release. It reached #1 in the charts in 1974 and he hasn't duplicated that success and Puff Daddy has yet to appropriate the song.

With Jeff Barry, Andy Kim wrote for the Archies and, although Rock Me Gently, is certainly not bubblegum, How'd We Ever Get This Way and Rainbow Ride and two shining examples of bubblegum. With Barry, Kim also wrote for the Monkees and their songs Oh My My, I Love You Better and Do You Feel It Too? appeared on their Changes album. Kim stopped recording in 1976 but returned under the name Baron Longfellow with two albums: a self-titled LP in 1980 and Prisoner By Design in 1984. He also sang background vocals in the 1990 soundtrack to Edward Scissorhands. Kim is another in a long list of over-looked bubblegum greats and, like so many others, the more you hear the more you like.

ALBUMS:

RAINBOW RIDE 1969

BABY, I LOVE YOU 1969

ROCK ME GENTLY 1974

ANDY KIM's GREATEST HITS (ABC Records DSDP-50193) 1974