Song Sun-gi, former chairman of the Korea Music Performers' Association [Korea Music Performers' Association]
Song Sun-gi, former chairman of the Korea Music Performers' Association [Korea Music Performers' Association]

Song Sun-gi, a trumpeter with the group sound band Trippers and former chairman of the Korea Music Performers' Association — who also served as chairman of the Korea Copyright Association — has died. He was 79.

According to the Korea Music Performers' Association, Song was born in Seoul in 1947 and began his musical career playing trumpet in the Marine Corps band. He rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s as the trumpeter of the eight-piece group sound band Trippers.

Trippers, led by vocalist Kim Hun, carved out a presence on the club circuit in the 1970s with a brass rock sound built around trumpets and saxophones. Song joined the band — then known as Kim Hun and the Wanderers — in 1975 and performed on recordings including "Nareul Dugo Arirang" and "Moraetap" through the early 1980s. The opening trumpet melody of the band's signature song "Jeong Jugo Naega Une" was his.

Song later performed with the MBC TV Orchestra and served as general affairs director of the Seoul Studio Recording Orchestra. He formed his own Song Sun-gi Orchestra, which provided backing for prominent singers including Nam Jin, Song Dae-gwan, Ju Hyun-mi, Jo Hang-jo and Kim Yong-im, with ensembles ranging from 12 to 20 musicians depending on the scale of the performance. He also contributed to the music for the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

A cause Song devoted himself to for many years was securing the rights of performing musicians. He became chairman of the Korea Recording Musicians Association in 2005 and in 2008 became the first working musician to be elected chairman of the Korea Music Performers' Association.

At the time, album credits routinely listed singers and songwriters but omitted the names of the actual session musicians. Because the performers could not be identified, compensation owed to them accumulated as undistributed funds with no one to claim it. An official at the association said Song, after taking office, began systematically contacting lyricists and composers one by one to identify the actual performers and return the undistributed royalties to them. "He played a major role in practically restoring the rights of music performers," the official said.

Song also worked to expand neighboring rights — the protections held by performers and recording artists — and to reform the royalty compensation system. He served as chairman of the Korea Copyright Association and received the Jade Crown Order of Cultural Merit in 2009 in recognition of his contributions.

The Korea Music Performers' Association said Song "devoted himself for many years to improving the rights and interests of music performers and advancing the domestic copyright industry," adding that it mourns his passing and will remember his legacy.

The funeral is being held at Room 1 of the Eunpyeong St. Mary's Funeral Home at the Catholic University of Korea. The procession departs Monday at 9 a.m., with interment at Seoul National Cemetery following a stop at the Seoul Metropolitan Crematorium. He is survived by his wife Kim Jeong-hui; daughters Song So-young and Song Ju-young; son Song Hyeong-seon; sons-in-law Choi Eun-hyeok and Kim Hyeon-cheol; and daughter-in-law Hong Ye-na.


shee@heraldcorp.com