Rusty Kershaw born 2 February 1938, was an American singer, fiddler and guitarist better known as half of the country music duo Rusty & Doug, whose music blended elements of Cajun, country and rock n roll. The brothers made their best recordings for the Hickory label in Nashville between 1955 and 1961, interrupted by a two-year stint in the US Army.
Douglas James Kershaw (born 24 January 1936) and Russell Lee Kershaw (born 2 February 1938) were from Tiel Ridge, Louisianna and both had a difficult childhood.Their father, an alligator hunter, committed suicide in 1943, soon after which the family moved to Crowley, Louisiana. Their older brother Nelson ‘Pee Wee’ Kershaw formed a band called the Continental Playboys, which the younger boys would later join. Rusty played rhythm guitar, while Doug began to excel at fiddle (he eventually claimed to have mastered 29 instruments). The band became popular and was appearing on KLPC-TV in 1953, as well as KSIG radio.
Following the departure of Peewee in 1953, Rusty and Doug continued to play together as a duo. Soon they teamed up with singer- pianist Wiley Barkdull, whose deep bass voice would be featured prominently on most of the duo’s recordings of the 1954-58 period. Early in 1954 the three men started recording for J.D. Miller’s Feature label in Crowley. Though at least 25 tracks were recorded for Feature, Miller issued only one single by Rusty and Doug, “No No, It’s Not So”and one under Barkdull’s name, the last release on Feature in 1955 before Miller discontinued the label.
Male vocal duos were regaining popularity in country music, especially thanks to the 1954 hit record “If You Don’t, Somebody Else Will” by Jimmy and Johnny. It is likely that the success of this record led Rusty and Doug to develop their own vocal harmony act. It was a forceful and distinctive style. Soon they were invited to perform at the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport.
In April 1955, Rusty, Doug and Wiley made the transfer to Nashville and started to record for Wesley Rose’s Hickory label, intended as an outlet for Acuff-Rose copyrights. Four tracks were laid down on May 18, 1955, all co-written by J.D. Miller, who had a very good working relationship with Wesley Rose. The first Hickory single by Rusty and Doug, “So Lovely Baby”, was an immediate success, peaking at # 14 on the country charts. Soon afterward, the two brothers were invited to become cast members of the Louisiana Hayride, a popular country music radio show broadcast from Shreveport. They also performed on Wheeling Jamboree.
In 1957, they became members of the Grand Ole Opry. Simultaneously enlisting in the U.S. Army, in 1958, the Kershaws devoted their attention to the military for the next three years. Discharged in 1961, the brothers soon recorded their greatest hit, "Louisiana Man," an autobiographical tune written by Doug. Their follow-up single, "Diggy Diggy Lo," was nearly as successful.But it would be the last of their chart entries. One last Hickory session followed in December 1961, which included a splendid remake of their first hit, “So Lovely Baby”.
In 1962 the brothers signed with RCA-Victor, but the label didn’t seem to know what to do with them. Four unsuccessful RCA singles were released in 1963-64. Rusty and Doug had different ideas regarding the musical direction in which they wanted to move and they split up in July 1964.
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| Doug Kershaw |
Doug went on to win fame as the “Cajun Hippie”, whose outrageous stage antics and driving performance style made him a favourite of the musical counter-culture during the 1970s, with recordings for Mercury, MGM and Warner Bros. Despite the success of his solo career, Doug Kershaw was plagued by depression. Until 1984 he battled drug and alcohol abuse and was known for erratic behavior Even so, he has made many albums and was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
Rusty
also continued to perform and record on his own. He released a good, but
poor-selling album in 1970, “Cajun in the Blues Country”, which featured
Charlie Daniels on fiddle. He figured prominently on Neil Young’s 1974 album
“On the Beach”, playing fiddle and slide guitar and also providing the liner
notes. Young later returned the favour by performing on eight tracks of Kershaw’s
award-winning 1992 album “Now and Then” on Domino Records. Also playing on that
album were Art Neville and Ben Keith.
Two days after playing his last show in New Orleans, Rusty Kershaw died of a heart attack on October 23, 2001at the age of 63.
(Edited from This Is My Story, All Music & Wikipedia)