‘The Kim Sisters’ are a Korean-born female singing group who had success in America during the 1950s and 1960s. They performed on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ more than 20 times. This 1964 performance features their cover of the classic Coasters’ hit, ‘Charlie Brown.’
They are credited with being the first successful South Korean music group in America. The group is made up of sisters Sue, Aija, and Mia. Their mother bought them American records to learn all the songs.
‘The Kim Sisters’ were popular with American soldiers stationed overseas. American entertainment producer Tom Ball flew to South Korea to sign the girls to a contract in 1958.
The girls appear on stage in stylistic matching dresses, and their hair is all the same style. The Kim Sisters sing the entire song with a smile on their face, unless they are making a fun facial expression.
They sing in tight harmonies while one sister plays the guitar too. The comedic bass part ‘Why’s everybody always picking on me?’ is done in multiple ways, including a cartoon voice and even in a foreign language.
The Coaster’s hit record ‘Charlie Brown’ charted in the top ten in 1959. Contrary to popular belief, the song is not a reference to the ‘Peanuts’ character of the same name.
The girls’ cover of ‘Charlie Brown’ made it all the way to number 7 on the Billboard singles chart in 1962, which was a first for Korean artists. The whole performance is a great mix of wonderful vocal harmonies and staged comedic bits from their ‘bass’ singer.
