Sammy Kershaw's Birthday

The Music of Sammy Kershaw

Sammy Kershaw was born Samuel Paul Kershaw on February 24, 1958 in Kaplan, Louisiana. He is a well-known American Country and Western music singer and a songwriter to date. His music made a great impact on country music lovers all around the United States.

The Man:

Sammy Kershaw is a cousin of the well-known Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw. His music has tinges of Cajun music in it, too. His father died when he was 11 years old and he worked various jobs during the day and played in roadhouses at night to aid his family. Being extremely talented with the electric guitar his grandfather gave him, he used to open shows for country music stars like Ray Price, Merle Haggard and George Jones at a very young age. He worked for a local bandleader named J.B. Perry when he was 12 as both musician and roadie touring the Southern Honky Tonk circuit.

Sammy Kershaw had a tough time growing up. Forced to become a provider before he was up to it, he was easily swept into the shady world of drugs and alcohol. He later married in the year 1980 and moved to Oklahoma with his wife where he worked a day job then perfoming local bands in the night. His marriage took a hard turn two years later, which propelled him to move back to Louisiana. He remarried 3 years later and joined a band called Blackwater. Meanwhile, his married life was again falling into shambles. Wanting to save his marriage, he quit his music and the honky tonk life and decided to take a full time day job in Wal-Mart as a store remodeling supervisor.

The Legend:

His love for music and his plans for pursuing his dream did not totally fade. His fellow songwriter and friend Barry Jackson persuaded him to submit a demo tape to Mercury Records. Sammy Kershaw finally achieved the goal he had been long following. He landed his first record deal with Mercury Records in 1990.

His debut album was released the following year, entitled Don’t Go near the Water. This album contains his first hit single called Cadillac Style which ranked top 3 on the country charts the next year. His song entitled Anywhere but Here helped his album to go platinum in the year 1993. He released his second album called Haunted Heart in the same year. This second album was regarded as his best one yet by Kershaw's fans. He released various other hit albums like Feelin’ Good Train in 1994 and Christmas Time’s a-Comin’ later the same year. He also released the album Politics, Religion and Her in the year 1996 and Labor of Love in the year 1997.

Sammy Kershaw is recently under Audium, a Koch Secondary company and a recognized home for country stars of the 1980’s and 1990’s decade. His latest album I Want My Money Back was released in 2003.