Sammy Kershaw
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| Sammy Kershaw | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Samuel Paul Kershaw |
| Born | February 24, 1958 |
| Origin | Kaplan, Louisiana, USA |
| Genre(s) | Country |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals rhythm guitar |
| Years active | 1991-present |
| Label(s) | Mercury Audium Category 5 |
| Associated acts | Doug Kershaw Lorrie Morgan |
| Website | http://www.sammykershaw.com/ |
Sammy Kershaw (born Samuel Paul Kershaw, February 24, 1958, in Kaplan, Louisiana) is an American Country music singer and songwriter. A relative of Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw, Sammy Kershaw has been active in country music since the release of his debut album Don't Go Near the Water in 1991. To date, he has released ten studio albums, all on major labels, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. He has also charted more than twenty-five singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One hit "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" and ten additional Top Ten hits.
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[edit] Early life and career
At the age of eleven, Sammy got his first guitar, a gift from his grandfather. However, his father died that same year. Thereafter young Kershaw worked a variety of jobs by day while playing roadhouses at night to support his family.
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 cold turkey 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 in 1991. Among his early hits were "Cadillac Style", "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" and a remake of the Amazing Rhythm Aces' "Third Rate Romance".
[edit] Personal life
Sammy married country singer Lorrie Morgan on September 29, 2001. On October 23, 2007, Morgan filed for divorce from Kershaw citing irreconcilable differences.
[edit] Ongoing career
He has released some fourteen albums in his career including I Want My Money Back on Audium Records in 2003.
For a time in the mid-2000s, Kershaw and Morgan owned and operated a chicken restaurant in Nashville and a corresponding website. Both businesses were titled "HotChickens.com".
Kershaw has residences in Nashville, Tennessee, and Abbeville. He established the Sammy Kershaw Foundation in his hometown of Kaplan, donating millions of dollars for the betterment of poverty-stricken children.
[edit] Political aspirations
On June 13, 2007, Kershaw announced that he intended to be a candidate for lieutenant governor of Louisiana in the October 20, 2007, jungle primary. The position was held by the incumbent Democrat, Mitch Landrieu. Kershaw also faced a second Republican candidate, State Representative Gary Beard of Baton Rouge, an engineer first elected to the state House in a 2001 special election.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Title | Label | US Country | US 200 | RIAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Don't Go Near the Water | Mercury | 17 | 95 | Platinum |
| 1992 | Business Is PleasureA | MasterTrak | |||
| 1993 | Haunted Heart | Mercury | 11 | 57 | Platinum |
| 1994 | Feelin' Good Train | 9 | 73 | Gold | |
| Christmas Time's a-Comin | 52 | ||||
| 1996 | Politics, Religion and Her | 17 | 115 | Gold | |
| 1997 | Labor of Love | 5 | 73 | Platinum | |
| 1999 | Maybe Not Tonight | 7 | 99 | ||
| 2001 | I Finally Found Someone (w/ Lorrie Morgan) | RCA | 13 | 114 | |
| 2003 | I Want My Money Back | Audium/Koch | 39 | ||
| 2006 | Honky Tonk Boots | Category 5 | 56 |
AOut of print.
[edit] Compilation albums
| Year | Title | Label | US Country | US 200 | RIAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Hits: Chapter 1 | Mercury | 19 | 131 | Gold |
| 1997 | Covers the Hits | ||||
| 2001 | The Hits: Chapter 2 | ||||
| 2003 | 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Sammy Kershaw |
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| 2004 | The Definitive Collection |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | US Country | US Hot 100 | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Cadillac Style" | 3 | Don't Go Near the Water | |
| 1992 | "Don't Go Near the Water" | 12 | ||
| "Yard Sale" | 17 | |||
| 1993 | "Anywhere but Here" | 10 | ||
| "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" | 1 | 119 | Haunted Heart | |
| "Haunted Heart" | 9 | |||
| "Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer" | 7 | |||
| 1994 | "I Can't Reach Her Anymore" | 3 | ||
| "Never Bit a Bullet Like This" (w/ George Jones)A | 56 | Feelin' Good Train | ||
| "National Working Woman's Holiday" | 2 | |||
| "Third Rate Romance" | 2 | 105 | ||
| 1995 | "Southbound" | 27 | ||
| "If You're Gonna Walk, I'm Gonna Crawl" | 18 | |||
| "Your Tattoo" | 47 | The Hits, Chapter One | ||
| 1996 | "Meant to Be" | 5 | Politics, Religion, and Her | |
| "Vidalia" | 10 | |||
| 1997 | "Politics, Religion, and Her" | 28 | ||
| "Fit to Be Tied Down" | 29 | |||
| 1998 | "Love of My Life" | 2 | 85 | Labor of Love |
| "Matches" | 22 | |||
| "Honky Tonk America" | 31 | |||
| 1999 | "One Day Left to Live" | 35 | ||
| "Maybe Not Tonight" (w/ Lorrie Morgan) | 17 | 86 | Maybe Not Tonight | |
| "When You Love Someone" | 37 | |||
| 2000 | "Me and Maxine" | 35 | ||
| 2001 | "He Drinks Tequila" (w/ Lorrie Morgan) | 39 | I Finally Found Someone | |
| 2003 | "I Want My Money Back" | 33 | I Want My Money Back | |
| "I've Never Been Anywhere" | 58 | |||
| 2006 | "Tennessee Girl" | 43 | Honky Tonk Boots | |
| "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On"B |
- A"Never Bit a Bullet Like This" is also on George Jones's 1994 album High-Tech Redneck.
- BFailed to chart.
