안정애 / An Jung-Ae

Tracks can be found here:

유성기로 듣던 가요사 두번째 (1945~1960)

The second generation singers from Meteor group

CD10 17 대전(大田) 블루스 / Daejeon Blues -train-

* CD10 18 순정(純情)의 블루스 / Pure blues (1961)

This track starts with an intro of a sound recording of a starting steam train, immediately bring the track to a very bluesy and soulful song which easily creates its moody effect. Unfortunately the recording is not perfectly preserved, it still is worth checking. It is a good song rooted in both blues as trot as having a ballroom-like effect. "Pure Blues" is another winner of a track for its very effective arrangements. Also this is a bluesy song, in a Korean way of the blues.

Tracks with * I consider essential listens, also very suitable for western radioshow airplay. Only underlined tracks without the * can be considered interesting tracks as well.

* CD12 3 애증산맥(愛憎山脈) / Aesan Mountain Range

CD12 15 오늘도 너를 찾아 / I look for you today (1959)

The first track here is a slowly waltzing, orchestrated song with emotionally strong singing that has a rather wide range of voice, - almost expressed like a personal operatic statement. "I look for you today" is orchestrated as well but with some accordion to be noticed too. It immediately colors a very filmic or rather again somewhat operatic musical-like atmosphere, a bit surreal as it is. I have the impression the recording speed is slightly damaged here, which is a shame. The track surely deserves proper restoration.

가요(歌謠) 박물관 / Music Museum 220 Best [Disc 1]

* CD1 5 밤비의 부르스 / Bambi (?) Blues (1958)

CD1 10 대전 부르스 / Daejeon Blues (1959)

Also this slow waltzing blues song is original and effective. It is almost entirely accordeon and electric picking guitar-based, except a few soulful sax-solos and small accents. The previously listed "Daejeon Blues" track luckily is remastered on this album.

CD2 11 순정의 부르스 / Pure Blues (1961)

CD9 12 길은 멀어도 / A Long Way / When the road is far (1960)

"A Long Way" is another great original with several vocal overdubs with an echoing effect. It is the only effect of its kind I hear on all these Korean recordings. It is a ballroom-like bluesy and emotional track with a calm small orchestra in the background, led by accordeon, smooth bass rhythm and background chamber string orchestra.

---------------------------------------------

CONCLUSION:

What becomes clear in listening to a lot of tracks from her (I heard some 15 more tracks) is that suddenly she seem to have embraced the idea of American Blues, but then based it still upon Korean Trot music, from which she started, a turn and modernization which was something new and which was a great idea to proceed with.

In a way, An Jeong Ae's approach not just embraces something of blues but performs it at certain times in a rather operatic filmic way which creates a special kind of unique atmosphere that is nowhere else to be found. The blues approach still is unique to her as well and makes her music collectable.

비정 부르스 / Heartless Blues

선창에 남은 연가 / Sonata in the dock

순정 엘레지 / Pure Elegance -blues influence-

여인 부르스 / Lady Blues (3절) (1960)

영원한 사랑 / Eternal Love -blues influence-

영자의 고향 / Home of the spirit -blues influence-

일선의 우리애인 / Our lover

잊어야지 / I should forget

Afterwards I have heard some extra 10 or so more recordings. Luckily we still hear the same sort of similarities, like on "Heartless Blues". However it is far less dominant on the more trot-related "Sonata in the dock". "Pure Elegance" is much more dominating with blues chords than any other blues related track of hers. Of course "Lady Blues" is presenting a blues effect as well (next to the times related but now more hidden trot core). Also "Eternal Love" has almost gospel-like (jazz-)blues references while basically having other association in it as well. "Our love" has some (lost) Hawaiian guitar part besides the already known elements. "I should forget" is trot music, with somewhat vibrating voice, however not being too much out of place amongst the other tracks.

-------------------------------

BIOGRAPHIES:

"블루스의 여왕"이라 불리는 안정애는 1955년 5월 가수로 입문하여 6월 신세계 전속가수가 되고 7월 신곡을 내는

그야 말로 전광석화와 같은 행보로 가요계에 급등장한 가수이다. 데뷔 초기부터 "순정 부르스, 비정 부르스,

자매의 부르스, 여인 부르스, 밤비의 부르스, 대전 부르스"로 이어지는 곡이 히트하면서 부르스의 여왕에 등극한다.

대전역 앞의 노래비에는 가수 이름이 없다. 노래비 제작 당시 당시 큰 히트를 하여 대전블루스를 널리 알린

조용필도 같이 넣을 것을 안정애씨가 강력하게 주장하여 가수를 적지 못하였다니 아이러니이기도 하다.

-------------------------------

Ahn Jung-ae, who is called the "Queen of Blues," began her career as a singer in May 1955 and became a singer in Shinsegae in June. Indeed, he is a singer who has risen to the music industry in the same way as Jeon Kwang Seok-hwa. From the beginning of her debut blues songs were added the whole time like "Pure, Blues,"Sister's Blues, Lady's Blues, Bambi's Blues, and Daejeon Blues, which are also the hits which made her become the Queen of Blues.

Songbi in front of Daejeon Station does not have a singer's name. At the time of songbi production, she made a big hit and made Daejeon Blues widely known.

It is ironic that Ahn Jung-ae strongly insisted that Cho Yong-pil should also be included.

-------------------------------

Translated from http://blog.daum.net/s4707/4538

Today, this singer from the 50's and 60's is still known as the Queen of Blues. Ahn Jung-ae is a singer who sang lot of songs, especially blues, with a husky and attractive tone. (A genre different from the rhythm & blues we know now). In addition, she sang a lot of movie theme songs. Among the songs she released, the song "Blues" was directly titled, starting with her debut song "Bambi's Blues." There are over twenty songs including Daejeon Blues and Pure Blues. Ahn Jung-ae was born in a wealthy family because her father had served as a delegate in Hadong, Gyeongnam, in 1936. Because his brother had 12 children, his mother had also as many children, he had received a commendation from Hadong army at that time. Ahn Jung-ae's real name is Soon-ae. Also because of her name meaning she dreamed of going to Seoul and becoming a singer. Her 12 brothers also sang well. Ahn Jung-ae, who later became a big singer, was told that she wasn't the best singer in the house. Their large house was located in front of Hadong Intercity Bus Terminal. When celebrities came to local performances, they often lived in their house. That's why she naturally dreamed of becoming a celebrity as well. Especially, when becoming befriended with Park Jae-ran, at that time a newcomer. The two resembled their appearances and voices they were mistaken for twins from their surroundings. After completing elementary, middle and high school in Hadong, Ahn Jung was 20 years old. Finally she ran away secretly dreaming of a gorgeous singer. Literally, she wore a Pichikudu on a Birodo-machi ... (Pichikdu-ran Shoe is so called at that time.) She went to Seoul blindly in that fashion. She could not find her way to become a singer immediately. She spent two months at her sister's house. Eventually she returned to her hometown in vain. But after a few months, she again sneaked out of the house once more. Escaping back to Seoul she went to a record company's dealership to find a way to debut. That was not an easy go. Then, by chance, she found a signboard of the fairy tale art school founded and operated by singer Go Bok-soo. She did not hesitate to enroll into a singer course. But Ahn Jung-ae didn't have a car to travel, so she walked from Cheongpa-dong to Myeong-dong every day to school, and begins to learn songs. Within a week of enrolling in the school, she am lucky enough to be on the stage of the new face contest, the stage of her dreams. The rookie contest was to sing three songs, one song for the blues genre, one of trot, and one ballad. Here she was chosen as a new singer by singing hit songs such as "The Song of Katyusha", "Go Spring Day", and "Don't Ask the Past". The song was picked up by composer Kim Bo-hae (currently the head of the New Century Literature) and finally released her first song. This debut song is her representative song 'Bambi's Blues'. It is said that the song was recorded in one go. It was a big hit and literally emerged like Cinderella did in the fairy tale. I enjoy listening to this song now, especially from the very recording tape that I just finished playing in one go. This song is from Kim Bang-a and Kim Bo-hae. Her debut song, taken in 1958, is also the first song of the Blues style, leading to her title of the Queen of Blues. Banbi'sBlues (Gimbuhae lyrics & composition) When she sang this song, she was named Ae Jung Ae instead of An Soon Ae. When this song became a big hit, the name naturally became fixed. New Century Records Inc., the name of the New Shin Records Inc., has emerged as a mascot and has a lot of love. This was followed by Daejeon Bblues, Genuine Blues, and Gimpo Airfield of Parting. The songs that were released and hit within a year or two after their debut. In particular, she cooperated well with composer Kim Bo-hae and released some good songs with him. The record company also felt that the money came in. The famous singer became the mascot of the New Century, and at the same time, the New Century Records has also established Jangchung Studio, a recording studio. In addition to Ahn Jung-ae's popularity, record companies were also at their peak. Especially because of her outstanding beauty and husky charming voice, she was scouted by the Eighth Army show group and offered to be on stage. At the time, President Kang Yun-soo of the New Century was afraid that her voice would become restless and her life as a singer would be shortened. Although she did not come on stage at the Eighth Army, she was also offered a film appearance. Likewise, the boss of hers did not allow this either. In the end, managing and caring for the singer's voice by preventing him from doing anything other than singer activity, that is, making the record, when I think about it now, I am thankful that the representatives of major companies have managed the singers well. On the other hand, male singer Yun Il-ro, who has been a partner of the representative men and women's popular singer of Shin Shin Records who always decorated the front and back of SP record, in addition to hits such as 'Port Night' and 'Young Bridge of Memories', in particular, anecdotes that have been dropped off due to frequent Busan performances were also famous. Another blues song that was written in 1961 by Lee Jae-hyun, composer and composer is Pure Blues. (Lee Jae-hyun: lyrics and composition) Looking at all the titles of the songs that she released with the word blues, In addition to his representative song 'Daejeon Blues', her debut song we also have 'Bomb's Bruce', 'Pure's Bruce'. As many as 20 songs, include this, like 'Women's Blues', 'Davanblues', 'Dorajiblues', 'Contact Sunblues', and 'Blues of Sighs'. Her six-year-old younger sister An Sook-ja also became a singer and sang together a single song as a duet. The song is called Sister's Blues. She was married at the relatively late age of thirty years old. She was asked to give up osinging because her bridegroom was called to the U.S. for he was a US PX officer. She insisted on remaining a singer and didn't follow him to America and eventually broke up with him and dedicated herself to singer activities in Korea. Even though Ahn Jung-ae refused to appear in the film, she gave up her career as an actor. "Daejeon Blues" was a hit in 1959. In 1963, four years later, it was used for a film by director Lee Jong-gi under the title 'Fifty Minutes of the Great War.' At the time, she was loved by film subjects such as 'The Road Is A Long', 'You Speak', 'Alice in Love', and 'Song of Venice'. In 79, Cho Yong-pil revived and re-recorded the song, and it became a big hit once more. "Daejeon Burus'' also has received a pretty good response in Japan, asking her for for Japanese performances about 10 times. It is also a song that has been a catalyst. However, it is very unfortunate that the singer's name is not written in the song history. The song was written by Choi Chi-soo and Kim Bo-hae. In the late 50s, steam train pulled the train. The song was released in 59. Also this song was recorded directly to the recorded master tape. She once went through a very difficult life after ending her singer career. In 1978, when she was sixty years old, she started a vegetable store with a 10,000-degree deposit and a monthly rent of 3,000 won. She went to the vegetable garden every morning and start picking cabbages and cucumbers. She also had charcoal bags and sold it all day, and because of this heavy work she started to suffer from low back disease. From 79 onwards, she continued to work hard enough to set up a coffee shop and a chicken center and worked alone without employees. However, as she made her living, she hid the fact that he was a popular singer of the past. It didn't last long, and eventually, an article about the life of Ahn Jung-ae was published in the mother's magazine. After being introduced on TV, the fans who finally came back can no longer purify their business. After her hardship, her only daughter grew up wonderfully after leaving Sookmyung Women's University. She's currently married and volunteering as a junior or young student. Ahn Jung-ae is actively supporting her daughter's activities to send all the futons at home to her. As an old singer, she thinks there are too many lonely old people in the country as she always feels their wished. She shares some time with them, clap with them and shed tears together until she can sing in front of them. In fact, she joined with Kim Young-soo, Director of the One Heart Volunteer Corps. She has been performing for 18 years. For this fact, she has won the Minister of Culture and Tourism award last year. The joyful way to live is to always live with them as a palace and a feast. Singer Ahn Jung-ae still looks good with long dresses, jeans and boots.

-------------------------------

From wikipedia :

"Daejeon Blues" is a Korean blues song released by Ahn Jung-ae in 1956. Other singers sang it as well. The composer is Kim Bo-hae, and the composer is Choi Chi-soo. The lyrics, which begin with "Goodbye, I am coming," portray the pain of farewell in the background of Daejeon, and portray the bitter feelings of those who are separated by sticky blues rhythms and heartbroken rhythms. At midnight, the local train from Daejeon to Mokpo emerges, and the lyrics of the "Dawning train leaving Daejeon in 50-minutes (0:50)" being part of the lyrics made it famous. When the film was made in 1963 with the lyrics of the song, it was also titled "50 Minutes of Great Evolution". Ahn Jung-ae sang the original song, but we must also include the name of Cho Yong-pil. Ahn Jung-ae's version was a big hit at the time, but Cho Yong-pil gave it a second life in the 1980s and with him it gained new popularity. Since then, several singers, including Jang Sa Ik, have sung it again. ....

-------------------------------

https://m.post.naver.com/... (with rough translations)

대전역에 내리면 가장 먼저 접하는 게 있다. 대전의 상징물처럼 다가오는 대전블루스 노래비다. 우리에게 있어 불후의 명곡이라 불리기도 하는 대전부르스는 1959년 당시 무명의 신인 가수였던 안정애가 발표한 곡이다. 스팀 기관차가 열차를 끌던 시절이었다. 1959년 2월 제33열차로 탄생한 기차로 밤 8시 45분쯤 서울에서 출발하는 호남선 완행열차는 느린 점에서나 초만원점인 점에서 당시 이름 높은 기차였다. 밤 12시쯤 되어 대전에 도착한다. 이때쯤이면 기진맥진한 승객들이 대부분 졸거나 술타령이다.

-------------------------------

...

When you get off at Daejeon station, you have a first encounter. It is a song of Daejeon Blues song coming up as a symbol of Daejeon.

Daejeon Burus, its eternal masterpiece for us, was released by Ahn Jung-ae, an unknown singer at the time in 1959.

It was a time when a steam locomotive pulled the train. The Honam Line slow train, leaves from Seoul at around 8:45 pm, was called that way because it was either slow or overcrowded. It arrives in Daejeon at about 12 o'clock at night. By this time, most exhausted passengers are dozing or drinking.

...

-------------------------------

당시 실지로 있었던 얘기다. 과거 아세아 레코드사의 최치수 사장은 그 무렵 신세기 레코드사에서 영업을 보고 있었다. 그는 지방출장이 잦아 이 호남선 완행열차로 대전을 지나기가 일쑤였다.

바로 이 시간에 부산행 완행열차도 들어온다. 차창 밖에서 멀어지는 광경을 보면서 그는 무엇인가 번쩍 스치는 예감에 무릎을 쳤다. 이제까지 부산행, 목포행 열차가 모두 한 노선을 타고 오다가 대전에서부터 갈라진다는 사실이 새삼스럽게 마음에 짚였던 것이다. 마치 자정에 벌어지는 이별극인 것 같았다.

-------------------------------

...

At the time, Chi-su, president of Asia Records, was operating at New Century Records. He frequented went to local businesses, and noticed it was often difficult to pass Daejeon because of this slow train. Such slow train to Busan comes in. Watching it as he moved away from the window, it felt like a flashing spectacle of theatre. Until now, trains to Busan and Mokpo all came along one line and diverged from Daejeon. It was like a parting play at midnight.

...

-------------------------------

그는 즉시 노트와 만년필을 꺼내어 작사하기 시작했다. 물론 이 초고는 작사자인 동시에 작곡자인 김부해에 의해 개작되었지만, 그의 아이디어는 적중했다.

'잘있거라 나는 간다 이별의 말도 없이 떠나가는 새벽열차 대전발 영시 오십분 세상은 잠이들어 고요한 이 밤 나만이 소리치며 올줄이야 아- 붙잡아도 뿌리치는 목포행 완행열차'

곡은 출반되자 무난히 히트를 기록, 이것을 계기로 안정애는 최고 인기가수로 올라서게 되었다.

-------------------------------

...

When he saw these images he immediately took out notes and began to write. The draft was, of course, adapted by Kim Bo-hae, a composer and writer, melting his ideas with it.

"Good night, I'm going without say goodbye. We're 50 minutes from Daejeon.

The world falls asleep this quiet night. I'll only come out shouting. Ah- it's the Mokpo-bound slow train that catches up. "

When the song came out, it was a smash hit, and Ahn Jung Ae became the most popular singer because of it.

...

-------------------------------

가요계에서 정거장과 항구처럼 자주 등장하는 곳도 없다. 둘다 이별과 재회의 로맨스가 쏟아지는 장소인 탓이다.

당시 대전은 관광지도 아닌 신흥 상업도시였다. 아무런 로맨틱한 분위기도 풍기지 않는 곳이었지만, 밤 12시의 완행열차가 정거하는 그 고요한 분위기를 기막히게 포착함으로써 이 곡은 성공을 본 것이라 하겠다

-------------------------------

...

There are no other places like the stations and ports in the music industry. Both are places of romance farewells.

Daejeon was not a tourist destination but an emerging commercial city. It was a place with no romantic atmosphere, but still this song was a success by capturing the tranquil atmosphere of the 12-mile train that stopped by.

...

-------------------------------

이것은 결국 장소의 문제가 아니라 작사 작곡자의 역량의 문제라는 얘기도 된다. 작곡가 김부해와 당시 무명의 신인 가수였던 안정애는 그러한 점에서 높이 평가 할 만한 것이었다.

-------------------------------

...

It means the association is not a matter of the association with the place but of composer's ability to provoke its idea. Composer Kim Bo-hae and Ahn Jung-ae, an unknown newcomer at the time, were highly regarded for that.

...

------------------------

LYRICS:

-roughly translated

with help of Google Translate-

청춘 부르스 / 안정애 반야월 작사 / 박시춘 작곡

1.아 ~ 님이시여 아 ~ 님이시여

어데로 가셨나요 어데로 가셨나요

라일락 꽃잎이 창 밖에 날려도

행여나 님이신가 카네이션 꺾어들고

나가보건만 오늘도 밤하늘에

오늘도 밤하늘에 별빛만 우네