This is a Korean name; the family name is Cho.

Cho Yong Pil (조용필, 趙容弼)
Also known as	Gawang(Singing King)
Born	March 21, 1950 (1950-03-21) (age 59), Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Genres	K-Rock, K-Pop, Trot
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Singer
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	1969—present
Labels	Jigu Record, Pil Record
Associated acts	Atkins, Five Fingers, Kim trio, 25si, Geurimjadeul, Widaehan tansaeng

Korean name
Hangul	조용필
Hanja	趙容弼
Revised Romanization	Jo Yong-pil
McCune–Reischauer	Cho Yongp'il

Cho Yong-pil (hangul: 조용필; hanja: 趙容弼; also written Jo Yong-pil) is a South Korean pop singer born in 1950. He is considered to be an influential figure in Korean pop music.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early years: 1950–1968 1.2 Atkins and Five Fingers Period: 1969–1971 1.3 Kim Trio: 1971 1.4 Commercial Success: 1980-1992 1.5 Commercial Decline and Concerts: 1992-Present 2 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early years: 1950–1968

Cho Yong-pil was born in Hwaseong, South Korea. When he was seven, he happened to listen to Ray Charles playing the harmonica, and this influenced young Cho to play music.

[edit] Atkins and Five Fingers Period: 1969–1971

He formed a band called Atkins (Aeteukinjeu 애트킨즈), a country & western group, and played in the U.S. Army. After, he founded Five Fingers (Hwaibeu Pinggeoseu 화이브 핑거스), which played music by black artists.

[edit] Kim Trio: 1971

In 1971, he joined the band, Kim trio (Kim Teurio 김트리오), which motivated him to perform rock music.

[edit] Commercial Success: 1980-1992

His debut single, "Dorawayo Busanhange" 돌아와요 부산항에 (Come Back to Busan Port), brought him to national attention when it was released in 1975, and later became a hit in Japan. His first album, Chang bakkui yeoja 창 밖의 여자 (The Woman outside the Window), was released in 1980 and has been followed by many others.

[edit] Commercial Decline and Concerts: 1992-Present

His commercial success is declining after the appearance of renowned group, Seo Taiji and Boys and many other young musicians. His studio albums released after 1992 were not quite successful. Noticing this, he announced that he is going to quit appearing on television, concluding that he will hardly make any hits. Subsequently, he focused more on concerts. In 1993, his Busan concert attracted an audience of 1 million, a record for South Korea. In 2005, Cho performed a concert in Pyongyang, North Korea, an extremely rare event for a South Korean singer. He performs over thirty concerts per year.

[edit] External links

• Official website (Korean)
• Cho Yong-pil: Timeless Superstar and King of Singers at KBS

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