Yoo Jae Ha

South Korean pop singer-songwriter Yoo Jae-ha was born on June 6, 1962, in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. He attended Hanyang University, where he studied music composition. His music career began in earnest when he started playing the keyboard for Cho Yong-pil's band, The Great Birth, in 1984. In 1986, he composed the song "Hidden Road" for Kim Hyun-sik's third album. The pinnacle of Yoo Jae-ha's career came in 1987 with the release of his first and only album Because I Love You. The album was hugely successful, peaking at number 37 on the South Korean charts and selling over 2 million copies. Its importance was further acknowledged when it was remastered and re-released on vinyl in 2014. Tragically, just months after the album's release, Yoo Jae-ha died in a car accident on November 1, 1987, at the young age of 25. Despite his brief career, his impact on South Korean music was immense. In his honor, his family established the Yoo Jae-ha Scholarship Foundation and the Yoo Jae-ha Music Contest in 1989, which has recognized artists like You Hee-yeol, Kim Yeon-woo, and Bang Si-hyuk. Mnet ranked him number 1 on their Legend 100 list in 2013, recognizing him as the most influential musician in South Korean history since the 1960s. In 2018, a panel of music critics and industry experts named Because I Love You the best pop album in South Korean history

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