Whatever Happened To Country Star Hal Ketchum?
Are you from a small town? You know, probably no traffic lights (OK, maybe one by now). Did you drive up and down and up and down and up and down main street? Maybe congregate on the same street corner every Saturday night?
Well so did Hal Ketchum apparently.
The Greenwich New York native (not necessarily what you'd call a small town) moved to Austin Texas in 1981, playing the small to medium sized clubs around town. He honed his singing and songwriting skills while in the Lone Star state, and in 1991 he released a song that many of us....I mean a lot of us could relate to.
'Small Town Saturday Night' became a huge hit for Ketchum and he followed it up with more Top 10 hits like 'Sure Love' and 'Hearts Are Gonna Roll'. His last Top Ten hit came in 1995.
So whatever happened to Hal Ketchum?
In 1998 Hal was diagnosed with a neurological disorder and had to relearn basic tasks like walking and playing guitar. Then he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a disease which took his mother's life.
In April of 2019 Hal's wife Andrea made the announcement that due to early onset dementia, including Alzheimers disease, Hal would no longer be able to perform. Hal passed away at his home in Texas in November of 2020 due to dementia complications. He was just 67 years old.
But thank you Hal for the small town memory and for bringing us back home with a great country classic!
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