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Andy Kim, who charted several hits from 1968 to 1971, had not had a top 100 single since September 1971, and had been without a record label since early 1973. Nevertheless, he said in a 1974 interview, "I never mentally admitted defeat in spite of three years off the charts." He formed his own label, Ice Records, and personally financed the recording session that produced "Rock Me Gently". He could afford to record only two sides, and deciding the second side was good enough to be an A-side, he put an instrumental of "Rock Me Gently" on its B-side. The single impressed Capitol Records executives, who signed Kim to a deal. "Rock Me Gently" debuted on the Hot 100 on June 22, 1974, and took 14 weeks to reach No. 1 on September 28. It also rose to No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 10 in Ireland, and remains his only charting song in either the UK or Ireland. Even the instrumental B-side received substantial airplay on R&B stations. It would be Kim's last top 10 hit in either country.
Androwis Youakim OC (born 5 December 1946), better known as Andy Kim, is a Canadian pop rock singer and songwriter. He grew up in Montreal, Quebec. He is known for hits that he released in the late 1960s and 1970s: the international hit "Baby, I Love You" in 1969, and "Rock Me Gently", which topped the U.S. singles chart in 1974. He co-wrote "Sugar, Sugar" in 1968 and sang on the recording as part of the Archies; it was #1 for four weeks in the USA and was "Record of the Year" for 1969. "Baby, I Love You", which got to #9 in the US and #1 in Canada; it was so popular in Canada, it earned him a Gold Leaf (Juno) Award in 1970 as the country's Best Male Vocalist. In 2009, Kim was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. On 23 July 2018, Canada's Walk of Fame included Andy Kim on its list of 2018 inductees. He became part of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2019. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2023.