\nHal Ketchum

11-10-2017
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\nHal Ketchum \;is one of the finest singer/songwriters to ever come softly into Nashville and then blow outta there in a blaze. He was a major presence on country radio during the 1990s through hits like &ldquo\;Small Town Saturday Night\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Hearts Are Gonna Roll\,&rdquo\; "\;Past The Point of Rescue\,"\; "\;I Miss Mary\,"\; "\;I Know Where Love Lives"\; and &ldquo\;Mama Knows the Highway.&rdquo\; Today\, he operates outside of country music convention as an indie artist whose music gains as much admiration from Americana audiences as the Nashville mainstream. \;
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\nHe tours in a stripped-down duo with longtime guitarist \;Kenny Grimes. Ketchum\, 63\, does have a new album to showcase\, &ldquo\;I&rsquo\;m the Troubadour.&rdquo\; But the big news isn&rsquo\;t so much that the record is his first full studio work since 2008 or his first release after a 17-year alliance with Curb Records. No\, the headline here is that there is new music from him at all. After the release of his 2008 album\, &ldquo\;Father Time\,&rdquo\; Ketchum was diagnosed with acute transverse myelitis\, a spinal cord inflammation that brought paralysis and a near end to any kind of career. &ldquo\;I was paralyzed from the neck down\,&rdquo\; he said. &ldquo\;I was blind. So I moved to New Mexico\, to Santa Fe. I rented a little adobe casita and just had to really work everything out. I had no feeling in my arms\, so I had to learn to play guitar again. It was pretty tough for a while. But I&rsquo\;m like the Black Knight\,&rdquo\; he said\, alluding to the character in &ldquo\;Monty Python and the Holy Grail&rdquo\; who loses both legs and arms in a battle but refuses to concede defeat. &ldquo\;It was only a flesh wound.&rdquo\; \;
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\nMusical lifetimes spent in Texas and Tennessee might suggest Ketchum&rsquo\;s prime musical inspirations hailed from the world of country music. But he is quick to point out otherwise. &ldquo\;I have three musical heroes: Van Morrison\, Van Morrison and Van Morrison."\; And the new album is a combination of folk\, blues\, country and soul music\, tying the whole thing together with the rootsy rumblings of his studio band and the same croon that helped make him a permanent member of the \;Grand Ole Opry \;and a regular presence on \;A Prairie Home Companion. \;
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