NORWAY — After a long hiatus from performing in Maine, Bethel native Sammy Chapman will perform original songs on Saturday, Dec. 18, at the recently opened Tuckers Pub in the downtown.

Chapman once toured the country as a Hank Williams impersonator and the bass player of a 1950s show band. He started writing songs when playing a ukulele in the third grade and guitar by fourth grade.

Fatherhood inspired a treasure chest of tunes to amuse his children and their young friends. In fact, some teens and twenty-somethings in West Paris, where Chapman resides, recognize him as the man who wrote their favorite childhood songs.

Today, recovering from long-awaited shoulder replacement surgery needed after a skydiving accident, he is getting back into music.

The prolific writer is known to make up a song on the spot or for a special occasion, such as Rockie Graham and Dave Hart’s wedding ceremony at the Bethel Transfer Station.

He wrote a touching tribute to his late nephew, Vince, titled “Love Goes On Forever.”

Admission to the all-ages show is free. Doors will open at 8 p.m.

Tucker’s Pub, owned by Anne and Al Mallory, is a renovated old tack shop that doubles as Creative Media by day and a listening room on weekend evenings. It is at 290 Main St. For more information, call 739-2200.