From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sun Feb 2, 2003  4:31 pm
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Rusty Kershaw
 
RUSTY KERSHAW (By Kevin Carey)

Born Russell Lee Kershaw, 2 February 1938, Tiel Ridge, Louisiana
Died 23 October 2001, New Orleans, Louisiana

Russell Lee "Rusty" Kershaw joined his brothers Doug and Nelson
("Pee Wee") in 1948 to form the Cajun band Pee Wee Kershaw & The
Continental Playboys. He was the group's guitarist. From 1953 to 1955,
the Kershaws performed on KPLC-TV in Lake Charles, La. They also
began appearing on the Louisiana Hayride in 1955 but moved the following
year to become members of the Wheeling Jamboree on radio station
WWVA in Wheeling, W. Va.
Rusty Kershaw's first record with Doug was "No, No It's Not So," recorded
in the early '50s for Feature Records in Crowley, La. Now performing as
Rusty & Doug, the brothers came to Nashville and signed with Hickory
Records, an Acuff-Rose affiliate. Their first single on Hickory, "So Lovely
Baby," was released in 1955 and went to No. 14 on the country charts.
For their follow-up two years later, they did a cover of Jill Corey's 1957
pop hit, "Love Me to Pieces." It too reached No. 14. Rusty & Doug joined
the Grand Ole Opry in 1957. Over the next three years, the Kershaws
charted three more singles for Hickory, the highest one being "Louisiana
Man," which went to No. 10 in 1961. The duo signed to RCA Records in
1963. The next year, however, Rusty left the duo.

Continuing to record and perform on his own, Kershaw released the album
Cajun in the Blues Country (which featured Charlie Daniels on fiddle) on
Cotillion Records in 1970. He figured prominently in 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
Big Easy Award-winning 1992 album, Now and Then, on Domino Records.
Also playing on that album were Art Neville and Ben Keith.

Rusty Kershaw died of a massive heart attack on October 23rd 2001 in New
Orleans.

Recommended listening: Best of Doug and Rusty Kershaw (Curb Records).