PRELUDE TO A SHOW: SAMMY KERSHAW PERFORMING AT THE PALACE THEATER APRIL 7, 2022

Lisa Herrick – Staff  Writer

April 5th, 2022

CNF reached out to Sammy Kershaw for an interview before his performance at the Palace Theater here in Crossville, Tn scheduled for April 7th, 2022 at 7.00 p.m. which is in just two days and we are excited.

Sammy Called CNF at 10:30 on March 31st. He introduced himself and indicated that he preferred to be called Sam and I told him Sam it is. He only had a short amount of time as it was a very busy day for him so I began immediately by congratulating him on the newest addition to his already large family of six children,  Natelia Mae Kershaw, “Tilley Mae” born on September 11, 2019. He told me that many people confuse her first name with the name Natalie but that is wrong. It is Natelia (pronounced Na tel ia accent on the second syllable)  and in fact Natelia is a family name originating from his grandmother and he says he has never heard the name used otherwise.  He further told CNF that when he looked into the meaning of the name he discovered that it means “Gift from God”.  Her middle name, Mae, is the name of  “Tilley’s” other Grandmother, Mendy’s mother. I asked if “Tilley” has that canaille [KAH NAHY] that he talks of as having himself early on (SEE AND HEAR SAM DEFINE CANAILLE AND SING CADILLAC STYLE IN 1992) and he said yes definitely. Canaille is a Cajun French Louisiana word meaning mischievous youth.   I then verified the names of his other five children which are Brandon, Sammie (daughter), Erin, Emily, and Ryan who is the son of his ex-wife Kim and he said Ryan has always been “his boy” and loves him like his own.  I made a comment to the effect of blood is not always what makes a family and he said  “absolutely”.

I then switched the subject to the late eighties and early nineties where he was on the road and just not happy at the time and it was hard staying afloat and sending money home and he missed his family. He took a Wal Mart management position and became remodeling supervisor of various stores. It was a smooth transition as he did a lot of traveling and staying in hotels like when he was touring, but now could have more control of his family life as well as his own and get his head around what he wanted to do next. I asked him how he was able to go from the one lifestyle to the other so easily and it just so happens he, like his daddy and grandfather, is a carpenter by trade. He also was used to the road and the job required traveling so it was a great fit.

The report At this point we began to discuss his upcoming  autobiography. There is so far no mention of a permanent name or release date for the autobiography other than tentatively 2023. He said there are a lot of people involved and it takes patience because everyone is on a different time schedule but the most important being God’s and it would be done on his timeline ultimately and that God has a plan for everything.

People do get impatient in all areas of life and we miss out when we do that. There are many parties involved in writing an autobiography and I am convinced after talking to the man himself it will be worth the wait.  He explained that covid had a major impact as well, as it has for us all.

Sam ran out of time at this point and I thanked him for his time and told him I was looking forward to his performance on April 7th. It was an absolute pleasure speaking with the man who has had a huge impact on me musically and is one of the reasons I started listening to country music. Here is a link to his biography from the authentic Sammy Kershaw site given to us by his management. (READ BIO HERE)

Some other fun and exciting things Sam is also currently working on are three albums slated for release in 2022 and 2023,  A Blues album, a Biggest Hits from Muscle Shoals album and a Country Album and he is
 currently on tour throughout North America performing full band shows and also the incredibly popular Roots n Boots Electric Throwdown Tour, featuring Aaron Tippin and Collin Raye. Sam’s more recent album, titled Swamp Poppin’, features several, great Swamp Pop Music legends, like Warren Storm, Eddy Raven, Willie “Tee” Trahan, G.G. Shinn and others. Sam is a Multi, Platinum-Selling Artist with three platinum and six gold albums that have scanned in excess of 5 million records and more than 90 million combined songs scanned and he is Grammy nominated for his contributions to the Hank Williams story on audiobook, Spoken Word.  He has earned many other noteworthy credits, including playing a supporting role in the independent film feature, Suicide Notes. Sam’s song, “Louisiana Hot Sauce”, was featured in the HBO’s hit series, ‘True Blood’.  Also, Sammy’s Cajun Spice and Cajun Sauce is very popular among fans and lovers of Cajun cuisine!

Here are just some of the other incredible musical journeys we have been privy to thanks to Sam:

.       Previous single, “EVANGELINE”, released July, 2020, is currently charted on the Music Row Chart.

·         “My Friend Fred” – January 24th, 2020 release date charted Top 40 Billboard Indicator & 25 Music Row. Music video #1 Five weeks straight on Taste of Country and CMT’s Top Trending Videos.

·         More than 25 Billboard & R&R Top 40 singles – 11 top 10 singles, including #1 hits with “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful” and “Love Of My Life”.

Thank you Sam for speaking with Crossville News First in Crossville, Tn and we look forward to seeing you April 7th, 2022 at the Palace Theater!