Page 83 - ION Indie Magazine JulyAug 2023

You probably have heard Karen Waldrup’s music and not realized it.
She has been on Netflix, The Hallmark Channel, Bravo TV,
NASCAR, ESPN Live, The NFL Experience for Super Bowl XLVII,
CMT, Fox, and many more outlets. Her debt album “Justified”
debuted on four of Billboard’s Album charts (Country Album Sales,
Heatseekers, Heatseekers South Central, and Independent Album).
One of her most moving songs she wrote with a World War II veteran.
Karen was kind enough to take the time to conduct this interview.

Tim Board: How did you get started in music? What inspired
you to pursue music as a career?

Karen Waldrup: My musical journey began when I was sixteen and
growing up in south Louisiana. I really attribute a lot of my passion
towards music to my upbringing and having amazing parents who
motivated me to pursue my wildest dreams!

TB: One of your most moving songs for me is the song
‘Normandy,’ which you wrote with Jim ‘Pee Wee’ Martin, a World
War II veteran who served as a paratrooper. How did that
meeting occur?

KW: The song ‘Normandy’ is very close to my heart and gave me
such an inspiring opportunity to form a bond with someone as heroic
as Jim Martin. I was lucky enough to get in touch with Jim Martin
through a mutual friend of ours named Ross Battiato. Ross was a
former Special Forces Green Beret and introduced me to Jim Martin.