Shin Jung-hyeon
Encyclopedia
Shin Jung-hyeon is a South Korea
n rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. Known as Korea's "Godfather of Rock", he led Korean psychedelic pop/rock culture during 1960s and 1970s. His sons Shin Dae-cheol and Shin Yun-cheol are also respected guitarists in K-rock scene. He became the first Asian musician and the sixth in the world to be the recipient of the Fender
Custom Shop Tribute Series guitar joining five of other such rock ledends as Eric Clapton
, Jeff Beck
, Eddie Van Halen
, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Such was his influence and versatility that he has been described as "South Korea's answer to Brian Wilson
, Jimi Hendrix
and Simon Cowell
".
Province, Korea when Shin's father died in 1952 and his stepmother the next year. Shin moved to Seoul on his own, working in a pharmacy and going to night school. He taught himself to play the guitar, and began giving lessons at a music institute in Jongno
. In 1957 he began playing for the U.S. army in Korea, using the stage name "Jackie Shin". He continued performing for the U.S. troops for the next decade. Shin claims that the U.S. Army bases are where Korean rock was born. "At that time, Korean clubs only played 'trot,' tango, music like that," he remembers.
His psychedelic style of music fascinated the U.S. soldiers, and some record companies asked him to make LPs. His cover of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly
is a legend today. His first recording in 1959 was covers of traditional Korean music. He managed his own band, Add 4, in 1961. Add 4 was the first rock band in Korea, and their music style was similar to the Ventures.
Shin did not gain mainstream success in Korea until 1968. In 1968 he produced the hit album Nima for the high school group The Pearl Sisters. For the next seven years he wrote many songs and produced several more hit records for singing groups. Many of these recordings featured Shin's "fuzzy" guitar and psychedelic musical style. His melodies were simple and fascinating, like "KeoPi HanJan" (커피 한잔) or "GeoJitMalIYa" (거짓말이야).
In 1972 South Korean president Park Chung Hee asked Shin to write a song in praise of the president. Shin refused and instead wrote a song about the beauty of Korea, called "AhReumDaUn GangSan" (아름다운강산). After this his music career began to suffer from police harassment and governmental interference. Some of his songs were banned as "vulgar" or "noisy", and in August 1975, he was arrested for "involvement" with marijuana.
After his release, he was banned from public performance for years. With the death of Park Chung Hee, he was free to perform, but public tastes in music had changed by then. "It was all, 'Let's work hard,' and 'Let's be happy' kind of stuff. It was completely physical, with no spirit, no mentality, no humanity. That trend has carried over all the way to today..." according to Shin.
During the 1980s, Shin ran a music club in Itaewon
, a Seoul neighborhood popular with foreign visitors and U.S. Army personnel. He opened "Woodstock", another music club, in southeast Seoul in 1986, and ran it for the next two decades. Among Shin's 1990–2000 works, MuWiJaYeon (無爲自然, 1994) is his finest album. His electric guitar sanjo
proved he still does musical experiments. His legendary albums were reissued as LP miniature CDs in 2002–03.
In 2004, Shin provided the musical score for director Im Kwon-taek
's film Low Life
. After announcing his retirement in 2006, Shin returned on May 17, 2008 for a public performance with three of his sons at the sixth annual Korean Music Festival held at the Hollywood Bowl
.
His first US press record "Beautiful Rivers And Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound Of South Korea's Shin Joong Hyun 1958-74" released in 2011, from 'light in the attic' records.
The Add 4 Era
The Superstar Era : producer, singer-songwriter and guitarist
Shin Jung-hyeon Bands Era
Solo
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. Known as Korea's "Godfather of Rock", he led Korean psychedelic pop/rock culture during 1960s and 1970s. His sons Shin Dae-cheol and Shin Yun-cheol are also respected guitarists in K-rock scene. He became the first Asian musician and the sixth in the world to be the recipient of the Fender
Fender
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, commonly referred to as simply Fender, of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster...
Custom Shop Tribute Series guitar joining five of other such rock ledends as Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Such was his influence and versatility that he has been described as "South Korea's answer to Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
".
Biography
Shin Jung-hyeon was born in 1938, and his mother died when he was still a child. His father remarried to a Japanese woman, and Shin spent his youth with them in Manchuria and Japan. They were living in ChungcheongChungcheong
Chungcheong was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Chungcheong was located in the southwest of Korea...
Province, Korea when Shin's father died in 1952 and his stepmother the next year. Shin moved to Seoul on his own, working in a pharmacy and going to night school. He taught himself to play the guitar, and began giving lessons at a music institute in Jongno
Jongno
Jongno is one of the oldest major east-west thoroughfares in central Seoul, South Korea, connecting Sejongno to Dongdaemun. It remains one of Seoul's most important financial and cultural areas to this day...
. In 1957 he began playing for the U.S. army in Korea, using the stage name "Jackie Shin". He continued performing for the U.S. troops for the next decade. Shin claims that the U.S. Army bases are where Korean rock was born. "At that time, Korean clubs only played 'trot,' tango, music like that," he remembers.
His psychedelic style of music fascinated the U.S. soldiers, and some record companies asked him to make LPs. His cover of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
is a legend today. His first recording in 1959 was covers of traditional Korean music. He managed his own band, Add 4, in 1961. Add 4 was the first rock band in Korea, and their music style was similar to the Ventures.
Shin did not gain mainstream success in Korea until 1968. In 1968 he produced the hit album Nima for the high school group The Pearl Sisters. For the next seven years he wrote many songs and produced several more hit records for singing groups. Many of these recordings featured Shin's "fuzzy" guitar and psychedelic musical style. His melodies were simple and fascinating, like "KeoPi HanJan" (커피 한잔) or "GeoJitMalIYa" (거짓말이야).
In 1972 South Korean president Park Chung Hee asked Shin to write a song in praise of the president. Shin refused and instead wrote a song about the beauty of Korea, called "AhReumDaUn GangSan" (아름다운강산). After this his music career began to suffer from police harassment and governmental interference. Some of his songs were banned as "vulgar" or "noisy", and in August 1975, he was arrested for "involvement" with marijuana.
After his release, he was banned from public performance for years. With the death of Park Chung Hee, he was free to perform, but public tastes in music had changed by then. "It was all, 'Let's work hard,' and 'Let's be happy' kind of stuff. It was completely physical, with no spirit, no mentality, no humanity. That trend has carried over all the way to today..." according to Shin.
During the 1980s, Shin ran a music club in Itaewon
Itaewon
Itaewon is a city district, in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is served by Seoul Subway Line 6 via Itaewon, Noksapyeong and Hanganjin stations. About 22,000 people reside in the district and it is a popular area for residents of Seoul, tourists, and U.S...
, a Seoul neighborhood popular with foreign visitors and U.S. Army personnel. He opened "Woodstock", another music club, in southeast Seoul in 1986, and ran it for the next two decades. Among Shin's 1990–2000 works, MuWiJaYeon (無爲自然, 1994) is his finest album. His electric guitar sanjo
Sanjo (music)
Sanjo, literally meaning 'scattered melodies' and is a style of traditional Korean music, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the janggu, an hourglass-shaped drum...
proved he still does musical experiments. His legendary albums were reissued as LP miniature CDs in 2002–03.
In 2004, Shin provided the musical score for director Im Kwon-taek
Im Kwon-taek
Im Kwon-taek is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards as well as considerable box-office success, and helped bring international attention to the Korean film industry.- Early life...
's film Low Life
Low Life (film)
Low Life aka Raging Years is an internationally presented and award-nominated South Korean film directed by Im Kwon-taek.-Synopsis:...
. After announcing his retirement in 2006, Shin returned on May 17, 2008 for a public performance with three of his sons at the sixth annual Korean Music Festival held at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
.
His first US press record "Beautiful Rivers And Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound Of South Korea's Shin Joong Hyun 1958-74" released in 2011, from 'light in the attic' records.
Discography
- # is recently reissued
The Add 4 Era
- (1959) Guitar Meolody Compilation [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (1964) The Woman in Rain-The Add 4 First Album [Add 4]
- (1966) The Ventures of Korea, Add 4 : Shin Jung-hyeon Insturumental Arrange Compilation Vol.1 [Add 4]
- (1967) The Woman in Rain [Blooz Tet]
- (1968) Enjoy the Guitar Intrrumental Twist [Add 4]
The Superstar Era : producer, singer-songwriter and guitarist
- (1969) Green Apple [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (1969) No/Spring Rain [Lee Jeong-hwa / Donkeys] #
- (1969) Before too late / Sgt.Kim from Vietnam [Kim Chu-ja] #
- (1969) Bell-bottom Trousers/Dear [Pearl Sisters] #
- (1970) Hello/You're a Fool [Questions]
- (1970) Hit Instrumental Compilation vol.1 [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (1970) In-A-Kadda-Da-Vida [Shin Jung-hyeon / Questions] #
- (1971) Sound [Shin Jung-hyeon and his combo band]
- (1972) Setting Sun/Woman in the Mist/Beautiful Korea [Jang Hyeon / Shin Jung-hyeon and The Men] #
- Partly reissued as CD 'GeoJitMalIYa', three 20 mins psyche jam pieces
- (1972) No/Don't Say to Go [Kim Jeong-mi] #
- (1972) Angel/I ... You [Seo Yu-seok] #
- (1972) Your Dream/Little Ship [Yang Hee-eun] #
- Shin Jung-hyeon's compositions of Seo Yu-seok and Yang Hee-eun albums reissued as 1CD
- (1973) Wind [Kim Jeong-mi] #
- (1973) Now [Kim Jeong-mi] #
Shin Jung-hyeon Bands Era
- (1974) The Beauty/Think of You [Shin Junh-hyeon and YeopJeons] #
- (1975) Beautiful Korea/Mountain and River [Shin Jung-hyeon and YeopJeons] #
- (1975) Instrumental Best [Shin Jung-hyeon and YeopJeons] #
- (1980) Nobody Here But/Whenever See You [Shin Jung-hyeon and Music Power] #
- (1980) Please Wait/Even Your Leaving [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (1982) The Satellite I Shot/As Waiting Somebody [Shin Jung-hyeon and Music Power] #
- (1983) Let's Go/Happy [Shin Jung-hyeon and SeNaGeuNe]
Solo
- (1988) During the Days/Winter Park [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (1994/2CD) Do Nothing, Let it be [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (1997/2CD) A Tribute to Shin Jung-hyeon [Various Artists]
- (1998/2CD) Kim SatGat [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (2002/5CD Box) Not for Rock [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (2002/2CD Box) Body and Feel [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (2006) The Crane of a City [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (2006) Comfortably Safe [Shin Jung-hyeon]
- (2007) Anthology [Shin Jung-hyeon]
See also
- Contemporary culture of South KoreaContemporary culture of South KoreaThe contemporary culture of South Korea developed from the traditional culture of Korea, and on its own path away from North Korean culture since the division of Korea in 1948. The industrialization and urbanization of South Korea, especially Seoul, have brought many changes to the way Korean...
- Korean rockKorean rock-Korean Rock Music:Korean rock is rock music originated from South Korea. The genre is also called or written as "K-Rock".-History:Korean rock, also known as K-Rock started from Eighth United States Army Station...
- List of Korean musicians
External links
- Shin Jung-hyeon - official site and biography, in Korean
- SJH MVD - his own label, in Korean
- weiv http://www.izm.co.kr/music/artist_content_disco_view.asp?key=kartinfo&a_idx=184&a_name=신중현&r_idx=199&page=31&disco_articlenum=6&index=&letter= - reviews in Korean
- koreanrock.com Shin Yung-Hyun Korean psych/pop pages - reviews in English
- Korean Psych pages : Shin Jung-Hyun - biography, reviews in English and radio show playlist with comments
- Shin Jung-hyeon All Music