Born in an unincorporated community called Tiel Ridge in Cameron Parish, Kershaw spoke Louisiana French and did not learn English until the age of eight.

[6] Although the brothers initially sang in French, J. D. "Jay" Miller, owner of the Feature Records label, persuaded them to incorporate songs in English into their repertoire.

[3][7] Despite the demands of his music career, Doug enrolled in McNeese State University, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics.

[4] After fulfilling their military obligation, the two brothers recorded "Louisiana Man", an autobiographical song that Doug had written while in the Army.

[4] After watching Kershaw's Johnny Cash Show performance as an eight-year-old boy, Mark O'Connor became inspired to learn to play the fiddle.

[9] He capped the year with a week-long engagement at the New York City's Fillmore East as opening act for Eric Clapton's Derek and the Dominos.

While it seemed to many rock and pop fans that Kershaw had appeared out of nowhere, he had already sold more than 18 million copies of the records he had made in the early '60s with his brother, Rusty.

[10] In July 1969, he performed at the Newport folk festival along with Joni Mitchell, Arlo Guthrie, Ramblin Jack Elliott, Big Mama Thornton, and Mimi Fariña, among others.

In 1970, Kershaw contributed a violin part to Arlo Guthrie's record single "Alice's Rock and Roll Restaurant.

[15] Marrying his wife, Pam, at the Houston Astrodome on June 21, 1975, Kershaw began raising his own family that included five sons – Douglas Jr, Victor, Zachary, Tyler, and Elijah; two grandsons, Joshua and Levi; a granddaughter, Courtney; great-grandson, Ethan; and three great-granddaughters, Baya, Lillian, and Scarlet.

Kershaw released a French-language album, Two-Step Fever, in 1999, and Michael Doucet of BeauSoleil is featured on the duet "Fievre de Deux Etapes".

[18] Kershaw formerly owned and operated the Bayou House, a restaurant in Lucerne, Colorado, but parted ways with his partners in 2007 due to his displeasure with management and ambiance.