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| Cho Yong-pil |
Singer-songwriter Cho Yong-pil, arguably Korea's most influential pop musician of the 20th century, has re-released 14 of his old albums through Universal Music, the company said Tuesday.
The 63-year-old earlier this year released "Hello,'' his first new work in more than a decade and the 19th album of his career, in an attempt to reach a new generation of music listeners.
Among the works reissued by Universal Music are Choi's ninth to 16th albums, his 19th album, his "Best Hits'' album, and the live album he released on the 40th anniversary of his debut.
"Cho had switched labels to release Hello through Universal Music. In this business, it's customary for an artist to decide to release his or her older records with a new label,'' an official from Universal Music said.
"We had tried to release Cho's old albums with Hello in April. However, it took more time than anticipated to raise the old recordings to an adequate quality.''
Beginning his career in 1968 as a guitarist in rock band Atkins, Cho performed in several bands including Five Fingers and the Kim Trio before going solo.
His breakthrough came in 1975 when "Come Back to Busan Port'' became a nationwide hit and one of the country's most beloved pop songs. He followed this with "The Woman Outside the Window,'' which was included in his first studio album released in 1979 and considered by many critics as the best song of his career.
Cho's other hits include "The Leopard of Kilimanjaro," "Short Hair" and "Let's Go on a Trip.'' He has sold over 10 million copies of his albums in Korea and also has a large following in Japan.
Cho has so far sold more than 22,000 copies of Hello, which is an impressive number in the era of Internet downloads. He will hold a concert at the Sucheon Palma Stadium in South Jeolla Province, Saturday, which will kick off a nationwide tour.
