BIO:
“The longer you listen, the more you become enticed.” Bob Lefsetz
“For my whole life, I thought ‘Sugar, Sugar’ came with the Book of Life. Meeting Andy Kim was a highlight of my life. Andy is an unbelievable talent that is still writing some of the greatest songs by anyone - anywhere.” James Black, Finger Eleven
“Andy Kim is an inspiration, a real artist and someone I've been able to look up to." Nathan Ferraro, The Midway State
“Andy Kim is ‘The Single Merchant.’” Kim Clarke-Champniss, Executive Producer, E! Entertainment Television
For a guy who “never has a plan,” Andy Kim’s career has worked out quite nicely. The man behind such massive pop hits as “Sugar Sugar,” “Rock Me Gently” and “Baby, I Love You,” now has a new full-length album, Happen Again, which, remarkably, he made without a plan.
“I’ve been like that since I was a kid,” says the affable singer-songwriter, who lives in Toronto and Los Angeles. “If you get to know me, I have no plan. I never have a plan. I just wake up and say, ‘Okay, I wonder what magic is going to happen in my life today?’”
That’s how the songs on Happen Again were recorded, including the title track; the gorgeous opener, “Three Days In Heaven;” poppy pep talk “Judy Garland;” self-pronouncement “This Is Me;” and fun Cupid-crushing kiss-off “Love Has Never Been My Friend.”
Utilizing crack musicians from the Los Angeles area — including bassist Hal Cragin (Iggy Pop) and guitarist Gannin Arnold (Taylor Hawkins, Chris Chaney), Bob Medici (Loud Reed), and producers Jim Goodwin and Chris Fuhrman — they cut the basic tracks and most of the vocals in 5 days, working 10 to 14 hours a day. “I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t say what I wanted,” says Andy of when he first met the players. “I didn’t want to get in my own way. I wanted to walk in and play songs on keyboard or guitar and then have their feelings and thoughts, then once they voted they did that song.
“I wanted to be the 16-year-old kid again in the Brill Building working with Jeff Barry and having the song be the thing and having people interpret what they think you’d like to hear,” Andy explains, referring to the famous NYC environment until the early 70s, where songwriters from Carole King, Burt Bacharach, Lieber & Stoller, and the teenage Andy Kim from Montreal, would team up. With Barry, he wrote “Sugar Sugar,” which became a No. 1 hit for The Archies and was later covered by some major artists like Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett and Bob Marley.
“3 Days In Heaven,” with the lyric “I got lost in the sweet compassion of a long-lost friend” was the first song recorded for the album. ““For however long it lasts, it’s a magical time that erases the battle that you once had,” says Andy of the lyric.
“Someday” was written 34 years ago, when his father was in the hospital. “It’s hard sometimes when you’re feeling something that visceral to go out and say, ‘Ta-da!’” says Andy. “My father was much older when I was born and died when he was 94. I was 24. My two older brothers were like my custodians. I played the song for my three brothers and we all had tears in our eyes.”
There are some classic lines in some of these songs as well. In “This Is Me,” he writes: “I’m not trying to win moment with you/ I’m trying to win a lifetime” and on the quirkier “Love Has Never Been My Friend,” he implores, playfully, “Cupid if you hear me / Don't come near me with that bow.”
“I’m fascinated by relationships as you can surmise by what I write,” Andy says. “I used to write songs as a way of getting the girl. Then, you get older and someone else gets the girl. Now it’s about meeting people and having the opportunity to share.”
“I Forgot To Mention,” was produced and co-written with Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson. "It was such a pleasure to write and produce a song with Andy. He believes in the power of music, he loves songs, and he is SO rock and Roll. Beyond the massive hits, and the multi-decade career, there is a wonderful man who I'm proud to call my friend.”
Of course, with so many hits under his belt, and songs that continue to get covered decade after decade (most recently, the massively-viral 2007 Jeep commercial and Dreamworks animation Bee Movie), Andy Kim certainly doesn’t need to keep making music. So why does he?
“I think songwriters don’t have a choice,” he says. “Gotta do it. Nobody retires from songwriting. They can retire from live performance, but not from songwriting. What thrills me is I love people and I’m curious about people and I’m always wondering why they do what they do, so it’s a way of me finding out, then releasing that discovery.”
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