Andy Kim is excited about his first concert at Casino Rama.
"They've had some of the biggest stars from all over the world perform there. And for me to get this opportunity it's going to be cool."
The Montreal boy who left home at 16 to chase his musical dream in New York City brings a lifetime of hits to his shows.
Over his epic career, Kim has sold over 30 million records.
His favourite song to perform live is a 'sentimental favourite' from 1969.
How'd We Ever Get This Way was his first top 20 hit which sold 800,000 copies but it's just one song on his long hit parade.
"That's the one that gave me an opportunity to actually escape a life that maybe was planned by parents and relatives and gave me the vehicle to really start to be free. There's Sugar Sugar. There's Be My Baby. Baby I Love You. Shoot em Up Baby. There's all the 'babies' and then there's Rock Me Gently."
(If you know his music the songs are probably already stuck in a loop in your head.)
Kim's other top 20 hits in the late '60s include Baby I Love You which hit the top 5 and earned him his first gold record selling more than 1.5 million copies.
He co-wrote Sugar, Sugar for fictional pop group The Archies and it became one of the most famous pop songs of all time.
It was No. 1 for four weeks and became Billboard's Record of the Year and the biggest-selling record of the year.
Kim will bring his entire roster to Casino Rama.
"Those who know me will expect to hear every song I've ever written and brought to life, including the songs I wrote for the Archies. And those who don't know me and just happen to be accidentally walking in, I'm hoping they'll hear songs that they will have remembered from a time and place where it was more innocent."
Explaining his craft is a struggle but Kim credits Paul McCartney with a quote that articulates the process.
"He said 'I don't know. It's magic,'" explains Kim. "That one moment saved me from trying to explain something that I can't explain. You feel something and then you start creating something."
He still tours because it's what he truly enjoys.
"I have no known skills other than what I do," he jokes. "I enjoy meeting people. I enjoy sharing songs with people and I enjoy meeting them after the show."
Kim says he loves being around people, hearing their ideas about life, stories about love and is always fascinated by relationships, 'whether they work or they don't.'
His philosophy is to be happy during life's highs and lows.
"I've always believed that when you're born you're given a certain amount of heartbeats. You don't know how many you've been given so you may as well be doing the things you love to do with the people that you love to be with," he said.
"And the moments you're around trouble and problems - which we all do - if you recognize the fact you won't get those heartbeats back, you'll make those moments quicker."
There was a time when he says his 'shelf life' was up, possibly referring to when no one wanted to produce a new song he had written called Rock Me Gently.
The determined KIm made the record himself and Rock Me Gently went straight to #1 on the Billboard charts and it remained on the charts for a staggering 4 months.
This second #1 Billboard song added to Kim's international success, hitting #2 on the charts in the U.K.
Suddenly, again, he was a star. He met Elvis. He hung out with Phil Spector. John Lennon handed him his gold record.
"I'm one of those individuals who feels very blessed and lucky to have followed the dream and had the courage to leave Montreal and go to New York and believe in something that was my wildest dream. And then live that wild dream."
His home is in Los Angeles but he goes back and forth to Canada.
"I love the country of my birth and am partial to the city of my birth. I've always been a Montreal boy representing Canada where ever I went," he said.
"I think I'm still the kid that I once was on the inside and so I just hope they all have a good evening with me and share their stories with me as well."
Andy Kim is playing Casino Rama on April 8.
