| Name |
Sammy Kershaw |
| Height |
|
| Naionality |
American |
| Date of Birth |
24-February-1958 |
| Place of Birth |
Kaplan, Louisiana, United States |
| Famous for |
Singing |
Samuel Paul "Sammy" Kershaw is an American country music artist. He has released ten studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than twenty-five singles have entered Top 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the number one hit "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" and ten more Top Ten hits: "Cadillac Style", "Anywhere but Here", "Haunted Heart", "Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer", "I Can't Reach Her Anymore", "National Working Woman's Holiday", "Third Rate Romance", "Meant to Be", "Vidalia", and "Love of My Life".He began performing in Acadiana with Louisiana legend J.B. Pere. Subsequently, he opened shows for Ray Price, Merle Haggard and George Jones while barely into his teens. When the pressures of growing up fast took their toll in the form of a serious drug and alcohol problem, he quit his bad habits in 1988 and took a break from music to work as a remodeling supervisor at Wal-Mart.
One of Kershaw's demonstration tapes made its way to Mercury Records, which released his debut album Don't Go Near the Water in 1991. This album was certified platinum by the RIAA, and it produced four hit singles. The lead-off, "Cadillac Style", went to No. 3 in late 1991-early 1992, followed by the No. 12 title track, "Yard Sale" at No. 17, and finally "Anywhere but Here" at No. 10. Kershaw was initially reluctant to release "Cadillac Style" because he felt that it was not suitable for his style; however, his co-producer, Buddy Cannon, convinced him to give the song a chance. Kershaw's often honky-tonk material and singing voice led to critical comparisons to George Jones, and one of Jones's early singles, "What Am I Worth", was covered on his debut as well.
Kershaw's second album, Haunted Heart, followed in 1993. Its lead-off single, "She Don't Know She's Beautiful", became his only Number One hit in April of that year. Following it were the title track, the Dennis Linde-penned "Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer", and "I Can't Reach Her Anymore", all of which hit the Top Ten as well. Although Kershaw had been told by others that radio audiences might not identify with the subject matter on "Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer", Kershaw had wanted to release the song because he had an experience similar to its story line. Like his debut, Haunted Heart was also a platinum album. In mid-1994, Kershaw also covered the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "I Know a Little" on the tribute album Skynyrd Frynds, which included country music covers of Lynyrd Skynyrd songs. Also in 1994, Kershaw contributed the song "Fire and Rain" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization.
