Kim Hyun Sik was a South Korean singer and one of the most notable musicians of the 1980s. He attended Myongji High School but dropped out because music was always his main interest. He later passed the high school certification test but never attended college.
He began working on his first album, "Spring Summer Fall Winter", in 1976 with Lee Jang Hee but by 1978 it had to be cancelled when Lee moved to the United States and Kim was arrested for marijuana use. He finally released the album in 1980 but it was not successful and he spent a long time as an unknown artist.
In 1984 he opened a pizza restaurant with his family but quickly went out of business and he released his second album "I Loved You" which was a success and launched his career and helped him become the lead singer of 3 underground bands.
In 1986, he formed the band Bom Yeoreum Gaeul Kyeoul (literally means Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter) or SSaW and it became a huge hit in South Korea thanks to his emotional and husky voice. The band went through several member changes and had several music differences and Kim’s family moved to Canada while his wife separated from him so he fell into drugs and heavy alcohol consumption which badly damaged his health.
He died on November 1, 1990 from cirrhosis of the liver. Despite being ill, he continued to tour the country until weeks before passing. He released five albums and a sixth was released months after his death while he also posthumously won the Disc Daesang Award at the 1991 Golden Disc Awards.
(Source: Wikipedia)
