Hal Michael Ketchum
(born April 9, 1953) is an American country music artist. Signed to various divisions of Curb Records since the 1991 release of his gold-certified Past the Point of Rescue
, he has released nine studio albums and two compilations. Ketchum has also charted six top ten hits on the Hot Country Songs charts, with his highest-peaking singles, "Small Town Saturday Night", "Past the Point of Rescue" and "Hearts Are Gonna Roll", all reaching #2.
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HAL KETCHUM TICKETS
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Career
Ketchum was born in
Greenwich, New York.
[1] At the age of 15, he began performing in clubs as a drummer with a rhythm and blues trio. In 1981, Ketchum moved to
Austin, Texas where he began to visit
Gruene Hall, a small dance hall near his home. This influenced him to try his hand at singing and songwriting, and by 1985 he was playing at small Texas clubs. In 1986, Ketchum recorded 11 of his self-penned songs under his full name Hal Michael Ketchum. This album,
Threadbare Alibis
, was released in 1988 under the small Texas label Watermelon Records.
Ketchum then moved to
Nashville, Tennessee and signed a record deal with
Curb Records. In 1991, Ketchum released his Curb debut album
Past the Point of Rescue
, with both his debut single "Small Town Saturday Night" and the title track "Past the Point of Rescue" reaching #2 on the
Billboard
Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now
Hot Country Songs) charts, launching him to stardom. This album was later certified Gold by the
RIAA.
He released the album
Sure Love
the following year, with the title track reaching #3 on the country charts, scoring another #2 with "Hearts Are Gonna Roll", and "Mama Knows the Highway" charting at #8.
In 1994, Ketchum released the album
Every Little Word
, generating several more hits, including the
Benmont Tench-penned "Stay Forever" which reached #8. Hal was also inducted as the 71st Member of the
Grand Ole Opry in 1994, after his first three Curb records sold over one million copies collectively.
Two years later came a greatest-hits package entitled
The Hits
. This album included the non-charting single "Hang In There Superman." Ketchum did not appear on the charts again until 1998, when he reached #36 with a cover of
Todd Rundgren's "
I Saw the Light", from his next album, also entitled
I Saw the Light
.
In 2001, Ketchum released
Lucky Man
. This album included only one single in the #40 "She Is".
Awaiting Redemption
followed in 2002 without a charting single, and
King of Love
in 2004 with only the #60 "My Love Will Not Change" to its credit.
One More Midnight
, released only in the
United Kingdom, produced a #47 country hit in the United States with "Just This Side of Heaven (Hal-Lelujah)", although the album itself never was released in the U.S. His most recent US release is
Father Time
in 2008.
Acting career
Ketchum appeared in the 1988 film
Heartbreak Hotel. Ketchum also made a cameo appearance as a bank robber in the 1994 film
Maverick.
Personal life
In 1998, a neurological disorder called
Acute Transverse Myelitis left Ketchum without the use of the left side of his body. He had to relearn basic tasks, including how to walk and play the guitar. He has since been diagnosed with
Multiple Sclerosis, the same disease that claimed his mother’s life.
Ketchum is also a painter and his work has been shown in Santa Fe, New Mexico’s esteemed Pena Gallery, where he had a successful art-show opening in 2002. He also is a master carpenter and enjoys making toys.
Ketchum lives in Nashville with his wife, Gina, and their three children Rosie, Ruby Joy, and Sophia Grace.
Discography
Studio albums
Year
| Album details
| Peak chart positions
| Certifications (sales thresholds)
|
US Country
| US
| US Heat
| CAN Country
|
1988
| Threadbare Alibis
- Released: 1988
- Label: Watermelon
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|
1991
| Past the Point of Rescue
- Released: May 7, 1991
- Label: Curb
| 6
| 45
| 2
| —
|
|
1992
| Sure Love
- Released: September 22, 1992
- Label: Curb
| 36
| 151
| —
| 21
|
|
1994
| Every Little Word
- Released: May 31, 1994
- Label: MCG/Curb
| 31
| 146
| —
| —
|
|
1998
| I Saw the Light
- Released: May 19, 1998
- Label: MCG/Curb
| 37
| —
| —
| —
|
|
1999
| Awaiting Redemption
- Released: May 18, 1999
- Label: Curb
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|
2001
| Lucky Man
- Released: September 4, 2001
- Label: Curb
| 72
| —
| —
| —
|
|
2003
| King of Love
- Released: January 20, 2003
- Label: Curb
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|
2007
| One More Midnight
[A
- Released: February 12, 2007
- Label: Asylum-Curb
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|
2008
| Father Time
- Released: September 9, 2008
- Label: Asylum-Curb
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or not released
|
;Notes:
- A ^
"One More Midnight" is only available in the United Kingdom.
Compilation albums
Year
| Album details
| US Country
|
1996
| The Hits
- Released: May 7, 1996
- Label: MCG/Curb
| 43
|
2008
| Greatest Hits
- Released: May 6, 2008
- Label: Asylum-Curb
| —
|
"—" denotes the album failed to chart
|
Singles
Year
| Single
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
US Country
| US
| CAN Country
|
1991
| "Small Town Saturday Night"
| 2
| —
| —
| Past the Point of Rescue
|
1992
| "I Know Where Love Lives"
| 13
| —
| 15
|
"Past the Point of Rescue"
| 2
| —
| 1
|
"Five O'Clock World"
| 16
| —
| 21
|
"Sure Love"
| 3
| —
| 6
| Sure Love
|
1993
| "Hearts Are Gonna Roll"
| 2
| —
| 6
|
"Mama Knows the Highway"
| 8
| —
| 14
|
1994
| "Someplace Far Away (Careful What You're Dreaming)"
| 24
| —
| 6
|
"(Tonight We Just Might) Fall in Love Again"
| 20
| —
| 17
| Every Little Word
|
"That's What I Get for Losin' You"
| 22
| —
| 23
|
1995
| "Stay Forever"
| 8
| 124
| 10
|
"Every Little Word"
| 49
| —
| 55
|
"Veil of Tears"
| 56
| —
| —
|
1996
| "Hang In There Superman"
| —
| —
| —
| The Hits
|
1998
| "I Saw the Light"
| 36
| 121
| 50
| I Saw the Light
|
2001
| "Keep Mom and Dad in Love" (with Lisa Brokop)[A
| —
| —
| —
| Lucky Man
|
"She Is"
| 40
| —
| —
|
"Don't Let Go"
| —
| —
| —
|
"Two of the Lucky Ones" (with Dolly Parton)
| —
| —
| —
|
2002
| "Every Time I Look in Your Eyes"
| —
| —
| —
| Awaiting Redemption
|
2004
| "My Love Will Not Change"
| 60
| —
| —
| King of Love
|
2006
| "Just This Side of Heaven (Hal-lelujah)"
| 47
| —
| —
| One More Midnight
|
2007
| "In Front of the Alamo" (with LeAnn Rimes)
| —
| —
| —
|
"One More Midnight"
| —
| —
| —
|
"—" denotes the single failed to chart or wasn't released
|
;Notes:
- A ^
"Keep Mom and Dad in Love" is also available on Brokop's Undeniable
.
Music videos
Year
| Video
| Director
|
1991
| "Small Town Saturday Night"
|
|
1992
| "I Know Where Love Lives"
| Richard Kooris
|
"Past the Point of Rescue"
|
|
"Sure Love"
|
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1993
| "Mama Knows the Highway"
| D. B. McDowell
|
1994
| "(Tonight We Might Just) Fall in Love Again"
|
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1995
| "Stay Forever"
| Jim Shea
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1996
| "Hang in There Superman"
| Jim McGuire
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1998
| "I Saw the Light"
| Jim Shea
|
2001
| "Keep Mom and Dad in Love" (with Lisa Brokop)
|
|
"She Is"
|
|
2007
| "In Front of the Alamo"
| Glenn Sweitzer
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References
- Hal Ketchum Biography