Doug Kershaw

After an appearance on The Johnny Cash Show, Doug Kershaw received a lot of attention, which led to a contract with Warner Brothers/Seven Arts. Two months later, Kershaw's autobiographical tune, "Louisiana Man," became the first song broadcast from the moon by the astronauts of Apollo 12.

Kershaw also had a much-publicized, week-long engagement at the Fillmore East in New York as the opening act for Eric Clapton's Derek & 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 done 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. The son of an alligator hunter, Kershaw was the seventh 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 8. 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.

In 1955, his first band recorded the single, "So Lovely, Baby." Released on the Hickory label, the tune became a top five 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, LA. In 1957, they recorded a top 40 country hit, "Love Me to Pieces." They became members of the Grand Ole Opry the following year.

In February 1961, Kershaw and his brother 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.

In 1981, Kershaw rebounded from a series of failed albums 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.

In 2009, Doug was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.