Hal Ketchum (May 2007)

Hal Ketchum was born in Greenwich, New York on Thursday 9 April in 1953.  He has a younger sister Janie (who is also a singer/songwriter) & an older brother Frank.

Music played a big part in Hal's upbringing; his father Frank played with a high school band, his grandfather was a concert violinist & his mother Janet played the Hawaiian guitar.  Hal's mother was his greatest influence; she was a great singer & would sing around the family home every day.  In 1963, Janet was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) & died of complications of the disease in 1986.

As a teenager, Hal & Frank played in a bluegrass band.  At the age of 15, Hal began performing in clubs with a local rhythm & blues trio.  He later moved to the west coast of Florida when he was 17 & started doing carpentry work.

In 1981, Hal moved to Austin, Texas where he lived close to Gruene Hall & where he discovered singer/songwriters Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely & Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

In 1986, after making the trip to Nashville, Hal recorded an independent album titled 'Threadbare Alibis', an album that cost $9,000 to record, the masters of which remained under Hal's bed for two years.

Hal Ketchum eventually signed a recording contract with Curb Records, who released his 'Past the Point of Rescue' album in 1991.  The album was produced by Allen Reynolds & Jim Rooney & the title track was written by Ireland's Mick Hanly.

The 'Past the Point of Rescue' album yielded a number of hit singles on the Billboard country charts; 'Small town Saturday night' (No.2), 'I know where loves lives' (No.13), 'Past the point of rescue' (No.2) & 'Five o'clock world' (No.16).

Hal's second Curb album 'Sure Love' was released in 1993 & it too yielded a number of successful Billboard singles; 'Sure love' (No.3), 'Hearts are gonna roll' (No.2), 'Mama knows the highway' (No.8) & 'Someplace far away' (No.21).

On 22 January 1994, Hal Ketchum achieved a career highlight when he was inducted (as the 71st member) into the Grand Ole Opry.  Hal was joined on stage that night by Ferlin Husky & the two of them sang 'Wings of a dove' (a No.1 hit for Ferlin in 1960).

In May 1994, Hal made a brief appearance in the film 'Maverick' & sang 'Solitary traveler' on the soundtrack.

Hal's third album, 'Every Little Word', was released in June 1994 & was jointly produced by Allen Reynolds & Jim Rooney; it yielded the hit singles 'Tonight we just might fall in love again & 'Stay forever'.

On 9 April 1998 (Hal's 45th birthday), while performing a show in Tampa, Florida Hal lost all feeling in his left arm.  He returned home to Austin, Texas where he underwent an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan & a spinal tap (lumber puncture).  His neurologist stated that his symptoms were compatible with MS (multiple sclerosis).

Hal was later diagnosed as suffering from ATM (acute transverse myelitis).  Hal later lost the use of the left side of his body & had to relearn basic tasks, including how to play the guitar.

As well as music, Hal Ketchum still pints a lot & has much of his work hung on the walls of his home.  He also still enjoys carpentry & constructed the crib for his daughter Ruby Joy.

Other important Hal Ketchum releases include 'The King of Love' (2002) & 'One More Midnight' (2007), the latter released to coincide with his UK & Ireland tour.

On Thursday 17 May 2007, Hal Ketchum visited with Gene Watson at the Curb recording studio in Nashville while Gene was recording vocal tracks for his Shanachie Records debut album, which is slated for a September 2007 release.

Visit Hal Ketchum's Official Site
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Visit Diane's Hal Ketchum Fan Site (UK)