AMG Review of Best of Doug & Rusty Kershaw

Thom Owens
All Music Guide

The Best of Doug & Rusty Kershaw collects 12 of the Kershaw brothers' recordings for Hickory Records in the late '50s, including the hit singles "Louisiana Man" and "Diggy, Diggy Lo." During this time, the group sounded like a cross between a Cajun string band and the Everly Brothers, which resulted in one of the most unique sounds of the late '50s. They might not have had many hits, and some of their material now sounds dated, but Doug and Rusty's musical interplay still sounds fresh. The Best Of isn't a perfect collection -- it's missing the hits "So Lovely, Baby," "Love Me to Pieces," and "Hey Sheriff" -- but what is here is very good, making it an adequate retrospective.