Sammy Kershaw

All quotes by Sammy Kershaw

(Sammy talks about his new single “Me And Maxine”.)

(SK)-think it’ll be a good summertime record. As a boy from Louisiana who has been in Nashville for about seven years, there’s a songwriter (the individual who wrote the song)hadn’t got a major cut yet. This is his first one and hopefully this will do well for him. Hopefully we’ve got something going there and this can happen again.

(Sammy comments on if he minds being identified recently as a ballad singer due to his recent success at country radio with ballads.)

(SK)-I don’t think, this late in my career it really matters. Now from the beginning of my career, I might have been a little worried about it, but now I’m not because I have a career established. So if we have it one way with the ballads and we continue to have success, then I won’t mind it at all. I wouldn’t mind singing ballads the rest of my life that’s what the people want to here. Having all sorts of hits helped my live shows, to where I can entertain the audience a little better. With several up-tempo songs in your play list you can entertain the audience better. With ballads, there’s not as much entertaining going on as far as getting with the audience. It’s more of a singing tool. You’re not interacting (live on-stage) with the audience all that much. You’re singing to them on ballads. On this new album, I’ve got more love ballads then anything and you know, I didn’t mind that man. Because I’ve been waiting to do that kind of stuff for a long time. So, it didn’t bother me top get that kind of material and to put so many ballads on this new album. This is a ballad heavy album, but like I said, I don’t mind. It’s so far ahead in my career, that every once in a while, throwing out a ballad heavy album is going to hurt me. Especially if it’s something that people want to hear. The songwriters feel that I did such a good job with “Love Of My Life”, that now they’re pitching me the ballads, where as before that song, I just didn’t get the ballads all that often. I always wanted some songs like what they(the songwriters in Nashville) were sending to John Michael(Montogomery). So once I had some success with “Love Of My life”, then the songwriters started sending me their ballads. So on this new album, I’ve got a bunch of them(ballads) this time. I really don’t think people take you seriously unless you’ve recorded some ballads and you’re successful with them. It all goes back to traditional country music. People love to hear those tear-jerkin’ ballads. Only there’s as not as many tear-jerkin’ ballads anymore, but it leans to the love ballads side. But it still goes back to the fact that it’s a ballad.

(Sammy talks about his opinions on continued success in the country music business with so many newcomers on the scene.)

(SK)-Well, you go back to Conway Twitty and George Jones and they had long, productive careers. But, today that’s not the case, because there was so few artist back then that, with their hits, those guys were able to build careers. That’s what I’ve been wanting to do. That is build a career. I’m not necessarily wanting a number one record every time out, that don’t bother me anymore. It really never did. As long as I can get in the top Ten and be really consistent, then I’m building a career. Where, years down the road, I can work for as long as I want to. I want a career that is built on a solid foundation. It all goes back to building a career, you can’t build a career overnight and I don’t think you can tear it down overnight. Unless you go and do something stupid, which I don’t plan on doing. I do use my head a little. So I should be able to play music as long as I want.

(Sammy talks about his 24/7 work ethic.)

(SK)-hey look man, I’ve worked all my life and I’m not going to stop. When things are finished, no matter what the project is, whether it’s music or anything else, I want to be able to step back and look at what I’ve done and be proud of it. The main thing is that I want it to be there for a long, long time.

(Sammy talks about his work ethic and his most recent project the Sammy Kershaw Foundation Of Acadiana, based in a 100 year old building Sammy is currently remodeling in his home town of Kaplan,LA. Sammy and others are rebuilding ball parks and playgrounds around the Kaplan area.)

(SK)-Hey look man, I’ve worked all my life and I’m not going to stop working. No matter if it’s music or anything else, I want to be able to step back and look back at it and be proud of what’s been done for a for a long, long time. So it’s turning into a big thing there. It helps a lot of kids and plus the economy in my home town is not the greatest in the world, but with this project we put both together and it helps not only the kids it helps the entire community. If we try, who knows what we can do together? Who knows man, we just might have another Branson there. When I’m not working on my business as a recording artist and a performer, I’m on the telephone with them (The folks in Kaplan who are also working on the project which Sammy supervises.) three and four times a day, I just called down there in Kaplan today, they’re putting the central air conditioner in today and I’ve talked to the air conditioner company three times since 8:00 a.m.. I’ve got to be involved in every part of Sam’s life, if you know what I mean? After all, it’s Sam’s life. And at the end, I don’t want to take a step back and look back at what I’ve accomplished only to find myself saying, ‘Hey, if I’d got just a little bit more involved with this or with that, than maybe it would have turned out a little bit better.’ I want to be able to step out front and be proud of everything that I’ve done. No matter if it’s recording songs in the studio, or building barns and working on a farm, or even digging a drainage ditch! I want to be proud of what I’ve done no matter what it’s about. I want it to be around for a long time too. That’s why I want to do things right.