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Wednesday, May 18, 2022

The Kim Sisters Singing "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Decades before most Americans heard the word "K-Pop," The Kim Sisters were a Korean vocal group that saw a good deal of success in the United States in the late Fifties into the Sixties. They mostly preformed American songs, both traditional and more contemporary pop. If you want to read more on the Kim Sisters, you can do so here.

The Kim Sisters appeared on many of the American variety and talk shows of the era, including The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Dean Martin Show, The Joey Bishop Show, Della, The Barbara McNair Show, and The Merv Griffin Show. They made by far their most appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, on which they appeared nineteen times from 1958 to 1967.

This is one of their appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Online sources claim it is from August 22 1965, but I have my doubts as the last new episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show usually aired in June and new episodes wouldn't air until September. Regardless, the Kim Sisters are performing the African American spiritual "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho." Its origin is somewhat obscure. There are claims that it originated among slaves in the early 19th Century. Other sources claim a copyright by Jay Roberts in 1865. The song first appeared in print in 1882 in A Collection of Revival Hymns and Plantation Melodies. The song has been recorded by artists from Paul Robeson to Bing Crosby to Elvis Presley.

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