Patti Kim (singer)


Kim Hye-ja, better known by her stage name Patti Kim, is a South Korean pop singer. She debuted in 1959 and "ruled the country's entertainment scene" in 1960s and 1970s. She was the first South Korean singer to perform in Japan, in Las Vegas, and on The Johnny Carson Show. Kim retired in 2013.

Career

In 1959, one year after Kim graduated from Seoul Jungang Girls' High School, she debuted as a singer at a stage of the Eighth United States Army. In 1963, as a recommendation by composer, Park Chun-seok, Kim sang Pledge of Love, an adapted song of Till and gained a popularity. In the same year, she got a chance to sing at a stage in Las Vegas, United States. With the collaboration with Gil Ok-yun, a renowned composer and her first husband, Kim announced a lot of hit songs, and albums including "Sawori gamyeon", "Sarangui changa", "Saranghaneun Maria", "Motiteo" which are still favored by mid aged fans. During the marriage until 1972, they produced about 70 albums, and 500 to 600 songs.
In 1978 Patti Kim became the first Korean pop singer who showed her singing performance at the stage of Sejong Center, which only allowed for classical musicians at that time. In 1989, she had a performance in Carnegie Hall, New York City. In 1996, she was honored the prestigious Hwagwan Cultural Merit by the South Korean government as the third singer after Kim Jeong-gu, and Lee Mi-ja.