His father died when he was 11, so Sammy Kershaw worked a variety of jobs by day while playing roadhouses at night to support his family. He opened shows for Ray Price, Merle Haggard and George Jones while barely into his teens. When the pressures of growing up fast took their toll in the form of a serious drug and alcohol problem, he quit his bad habits cold turkey in 1988 and took a break from music to work as a remodeling supervisor. Eventually, one of Kershaw's demo tapes made its way to Mercury Records, which released his debut album in 1991. His traditional country voice found a receptive audience with hits like "Cadillac Style," "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" and the remake of "Third Rate Romance." Toward the end of the decade, he struggled for a spot on the charts, although his 1999 duet with Lorrie Morgan "Maybe Not Tonight" cracked the Top 20. He released the album I Want My Money Back on Audium Records in 2003. In 2008, Sammy Kershaw was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in honor of his career achievements and was also inducted into the Louisiana Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 2010. More recently, he released the album The Blues Got to Me. Sammy Kershaw continues to tour the country.