Doug Kershaw
, born January 24, 1936, is an American fiddle player from Louisiana known as "The Ragin' Cajun."1
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DOUG KERSHAW TICKETS
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Biography
Born Douglas James Kershaw in Tiel Ridge,
Cameron Parish, Louisiana, in an area known as
Cajun country, he traces his ancestry to
Acadians who were part of the
Great Expulsion by the
British authorities from their homeland in eastern
Canada in 1755. He grew up surrounded by
Cajun fiddle and
accordion music, and as a 19-year-old, in 1955, he performed with his brother Rusty Kershaw on the
Louisiana Hayride
radio broadcast. The two were so popular that they were invited to perform at the Wheeling Jamboree in
Wheeling, West Virginia and in 1957 appeared at the
Grand Ole Opry in
Nashville, Tennessee.
After fulfilling his military obligation, Doug Kershaw returned to the music business scoring with an autobiographical song he wrote called "Louisiana Man". The song not only sold millions of copies but over the years has become the symbol of Cajun music. In June 1969, Kershaw made his first network television appearance on the debut of the
Johnny Cash Show
. He capped the year with a much-publicized, week-long engagement at the
New York City's
Fillmore East as opening act for
Eric Clapton's
Derek and the Dominos. While it seemed to many rock and pop fans that Kershaw had appeared out of nowhere, he had already sold more than 18 million copies of the records he had made in the early '60s with his brother, Rusty. "Louisiana Man" had been a Top 10 country hit in 1961 and its follow-up, "Diggy Diggy Lo", had done almost as well. His dynamic performance in front of a national audience led to
Warner Bros. Records signing him to a long-term contract. In November of that year, "Louisiana Man" was broadcast back to earth by the crew of the
Apollo 12 moon mission. Beyond the southern venues, Kershaw's popularity soon extended to mainstream urban America as he played for packed audiences at major concert halls.
Singing in both French and English, Kershaw's stage performance is marked by his abundant energy. Simultaneously playing fiddle, singing, and dancing, it is not unusual for him to wear out several bows, sometimes during just one song. With more than 25 albums to his credit and a five-decade-long career, Doug Kershaw has a loyal following and continues to tour worldwide.
The son of an alligator hunter, Kershaw was the seventh child born to a family that eventually included five boys and four girls. Raised in a home where Cajun French was spoken, he didn't learn English until the age of eight. By that time, he had mastered the fiddle, which he played from the age of five, and was on his way to teaching himself to play an amazing 28 instruments. His first gig was at a local bar, the Bucket of Blood, where he was accompanied by his mother on guitar. After teaching his brother, Rusty (born Russell; February 2, 1938), to play guitar, he formed a band, the Continental Playboys, with Rusty and older brother, Peewee, in 1948.
Doug got started fiddling on the family's
houseboat in Louisiana when he was very young. While his brothers and dad were out fishing and his mom was doing house work, he would get his dad's fiddle off the shelf and play it. One day he dropped the instrument. When his dad saw it was cracked, he took Doug into the other room and said "if you can play this then I won't have to whip you." So Doug played two songs he knew and then one that he made up on the spot. He refers to it as his first experience with improvisation.
He became interested in Cajun music specifically during the parties his parents would hold on the houseboat, when he would stay up and watch the band play and wish that he could play the way they did.
Although the brothers initially sang in
French, J.D. Miller, owner of the Feature record label, persuaded them to incorporate songs in
English into their repertoire. With the departure of Peewee from the group, in the early '50s, Doug and Rusty continued to perform as a duo. The brothers quickly built a solid reputation for their high-energy performances of Cajun two-steps and country ballads. In 1955, they recorded their first single, "So Lovely, Baby." Released on the Hickory label, the tune became a Top 5 country hit in August 1955. Shortly afterward, they were invited to become cast members of the
Louisiana Hayride
, a popular radio show broadcast from
Shreveport, Louisiana. In 1957, they recorded a Top 40 country hit, "
Love Me to Pieces". They became members of the
Grand Ole Opry the following year.
Despite the demands of his music career, Doug enrolled in
McNeese State University, in
Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he earned an
undergraduate degree in
Mathematics. At the peak of their early career, in 1958, Doug and Rusty decided to simultaneously enlist in the
United States Army. They devoted their attention to the military until their discharge three years later.
Picking up where they left off, in February 1961, the two brothers recorded "Louisiana Man", a song Doug had written while in the Army. The song was eventually
covered by more than 800 artists. By the time their debut album,
Rusty and Doug
, was released in July 1964, however, the Kershaw brothers had elected to go their separate ways. It took another three years before Kershaw signed a songwriters' contract with BMI, in 1967.
Despite the success of his solo career, Kershaw was plagued by
depression and
sorrow. His father had committed
suicide when he was only seven. Until 1984, Kershaw battled
drug and
alcohol abuse, and he became known for erratic behavior.
Marrying his wife, Pam, at the
Houston Astrodome on June 21, 1975, Kershaw began raising his own family that included five sons - Douglas, Victor, Zachary, Tyler, and Elijah - and two grandsons. His son, Tyler, plays drums in his band. Although he continued to perform and record, his albums of the 1970s failed to duplicate the commercial successes of "Louisiana Man" and "Diggy Diggy Lo" .
In 1981, Kershaw rebounded with his biggest selling hit, "Hello Woman", which reached the country music Top 40. In 1988, he recorded a duet, "Cajun Baby", with
Hank Williams, Jr., that became a Top 50 country hit. Kershaw released a French-language album,
Two Step Fever
, in 1999. Michael Doucet of Beausoleil is featured on the duet "Fievre De Deux Etapes".
Hot Diggity Doug
was released in mid-2000 and
Still Cajun After All These Years
followed in early 2001.
Doug formerly owned and operated The Bayou House, a restaurant in Lucerne, Colorado, but parted ways with his partners in 2007 due to his displeasure with management and ambiance.
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Note
#
Ragin' Cajuns
is the trademarked nickname of the athletic teams of the
University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Partial discography singles
- Cajun Joe
- Cajun Boogie Queen
- Colinda
- Dixie Creole
- Diggy Diggy Lo
- Fiddlin' Man
- Jambalaya on the Bayou
- Jole Blon
- Louisiana Man
- My Toot Toot
- On the Bayou
- Papa Died Old
- Rita Put Your Black Shoes On
References
- http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20080528/BUSINESS/642059053