'Blues Vocal' Originator Park Kwang-su Passes Away

Became Famous for Singing 'Areumdawoon Gangsan' with a Deep and Mature Vocal Style

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Singer Park Kwang-soo, who was the lead vocalist of Shin Joong-hyun's band 'The Men' in the 1970s, has passed away. According to the music industry on the 9th, he died the day before at the age of 82. He was the original 'blues vocal.' Born in 1940 in Pohang, Gyeongbuk, he began his musical activities in the school band during his student days. In 1962, he entered the Department of Public Administration at Kookmin University but dropped out to briefly pursue acting. He took the stage as a singer in the mid-1960s after passing the US 8th Army performance audition. He gained fame with his soulful singing style of R&B rhythm, which was unfamiliar in Korea at the time, and was active as a vocalist for the group Young Sound in 1968 and a member of the Kim Sang-hee Special Show in 1971. He also formed the group Young Ace with Choi Yi-chul, Park Byung-moo, and Kim Jae-gun.

In 1972, he joined the group 'The Men,' formed by Shin Joong-hyun, as the lead vocalist. He became famous for singing 'Areumdaun Gangsan' (Beautiful Rivers and Mountains) with a deep and dignified vocal style. The song, sung by Lee Sun-hee in 1988, is still loved by many today. Although he was the original vocalist, there are not many albums or records bearing his name. His albums such as 'Mareun Ip / Bitsok-ui Yeoin' (Dry Leaf / Woman in the Rain) were banned from broadcasting or recalled in full due to accusations that his singing style was Japanese-influenced. However, he continued singing on live stages and released what was effectively his first solo album, 'Park Kwang-soo 2007 Areumdaun Naldeul' (Beautiful Days), at the age of sixty-seven in 2007.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.