Doug Supernaw Has Died, But Not Before Finding Redemption

Doug Supernaw’s tumultuous life was like a country song. It went from obscure beginnings, to superstardom, to a return to anonymity, and eventually a path of new redemption. But now it has ended. Doug Supernaw has passed away after a prolonged battle with Cancer at the age of 60.

One of the most promising stars in country music in the early 90’s, Doug Supernaw’s album Red and Rio Grande calling on the border rivers of his native Texas saw his song “Reno” reach the Top 5 on the country charts, and then the heartbreaking “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” go all the way to #1. Signed to BNA Records and with a big following in his native state of Texas and beyond, Supernaw had a bright future in country music, earning a Song of the Year nomination for “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” from the ACM’s.

In 1995, Supernaw found further Top 5 success with his single “Not Enough Hours in the Night.” But soon Doug Supernaw became one of those country artists who seemed to disappear too soon, and become the subject of the question, “Where are they now?”

By the late 90’s and into the 2000’s, Doug Supernaw had assembled a rap sheet that included arrests for public intoxication and driving while intoxicated, and things began to spiral from there. By the late 2000’s stories began to emerge about the fragility of Supernaw’s mental state.

After a prolonged era of no news about him, 2011 found Supernaw reportedly living in Bandera, TX, sleeping on top of a pool table in a local pub, and trying to trade discarded television sets for sandwiches. After numerous incidents in the Texas Hill Country town, Supernaw was arrested and put under evaluation. At this point fans of the singer had moved far beyond worries of when he may release new music, and were simply concerned for his well-being.

But in 2016 and at 55-years-old, Supernaw started to emerge from his troubled past, and restart his country music career after a 20 year absence. Supernaw was inducted into the CMA of Texas Hall Of Fame. He recorded a Greatest Hits album comprised of new studio recordings of some of his classics, as well as two new songs, “Here’s My Heart” and “The Company I Keep,” and released it 2017. Supernaw was taking a one-step-at-a-time approach, and it was working. Supernaw also started playing more live shows.

“Doug fell on some hard times for some very specific reasons,” Doug Supernaw’s manager BJ Mezek told Saving Country Music in 2017. “Once he hit his all-time low, he realized that there was two sides to his life, and he chose to get back to the more positive side. Through that, he started making his way, cleaning up, and realizing that it’s not going to happen overnight. He started doing some gigs in Texas near home, and then a songwriter by the name of Jerry J. Thomas asked me, ‘Do you remember Doug Supernaw?’ I met with him, we sat and talked, he had a show in the Houston, TX area, and I can say with absolute assurity that he’s back. He wants to get back into it, and he’s pretty serious about it.”

Then, right as things were starting to come together for Supernaw, the Cancer diagnosis came in. First diagnosed with Cancer in his lung and bladder in February of 2019, it had recently spread to his brain and spine, and he had been placed in hospice care. “I have been hoping to not have to pass this information on to you, but, Doug’s cancer has spread to the brain and spine, and he is now under hospice care,” Doug’s wife informed fans on October 18th. “Please keep Doug in your thoughts and prayers, as you all have been.”

Born on September 26, 1960, in Bryan, Texas, Doug Supernaw’s mother was a big fan of country music, and exposed him to artists such as George Jones and Gene Watson at an early age. Doug played golf in high school and went to college on a scholarship, but dropped out in 1979, and started working on oil rigs. In the 80’s he moved to Nashville to become a professional songwriter, but left after four years. It wasn’t until he came back to Texas and started his band “Texas Steel” that he was discovered and awarded a major label deal.

Just as Doug Supernaw was beginning to see a second wind in his career, Cancer took it away from him. But he passed away after finding the straight and narrow, and redemption.

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