Sammy Sadler Attempts to Put the Past Behind Him on New Album 1989 : 'I Haven't Let a Bullet Stop Me'

Inside country artist Sammy Sadler's left shoulder is a bullet. It's a .38 caliber bullet that is now safely hidden beneath a lengthy scar that once held over 100 staples, staples that were carefully placed there in an effort to save the life of the Texas native.

It's also a scar that reminds him that he is very much alive.

"It's never going to go away," Sadler tells PEOPLE in a new interview. "I look at it every day, and instantly, it takes me back to that night."

The night was March 9, 1989, and Sadler found himself on the cusp of country music stardom. As he prepped to release his debut album and the almost certain spotlight that would come of that, Sadler was shot along with his friend, Cash Box magazine chart director Kevin Hughes.

Hughes was killed. Sadler was left for dead.

Karen Rogers Sammy Sadler

And while much of the physical pain has now subsided over the years, the mental anguish and toll it took on Sadler both personally and professionally can't be understated. In fact, Sadler admits he has dealt with his share of PTSD stemming from the incident, leaving the country crooner with more questions than answers as to how the tragic event from 32 years ago continues to affect his life.

"There was a time when I thought PTSD only affected people that had gone to war, but I now know that's not the case," says Sadler, who wrote about his experience in the 2019 book A Hit with a Bullet. "People who have been inflicted with any kind of pain or trauma in their lives probably have some form of PTSD."

Yet, despite the pain of that night and the pain that remains, Sadler re-entered the studio, working on a new album that essentially visits that fateful year of 1989. And in doing so, he found himself healing many a wound through music.

"So much was taken away from me that year, but I also believe that it just happens to be an era of some of the best country music ever made and produced," Sadler says of 1989, a new album of duets of re-recorded hits such as "Darlene," which PEOPLE exclusively premieres the lyric video for Thursday. "I ended up going back to some of the songs that I really loved and really connected to."

Karen Rogers Sammy Sadler

And in doing so, Sadler had the once in a lifetime opportunity to collaborate with some of country music's finest, including Marty Raybon of Shenandoah, T. Graham Brown, and Larry Stewart of Restless Heart.

"It's a collaboration of songs I not only love, but it's also features a collaboration of artists that I have a lot of respect for," explains Sadler. "I'm humbled to have them on this record with me."

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Perhaps one of the most treasured tracks on the album to Sadler is "Tell It Like It Is," an Aaron Neville cover that served as Sadler's sixth single at the time. In fact, the song was inching its way up the charts when Sadler was shot down.

"Billy Joe Royal ended up hearing that song and went in and cut the same song and ended up naming his album 'Tell It Like It Is,'" Sadler recounts. "It remains the biggest record of his career today."

Karen Rogers Sammy Sadler

Indeed, it's a sound that could easily find itself on the radio now - something that Sadler isn't that surprised by.

"I feel like there's a big void out there for music like this," he says emphatically. "I feel like there's a big market for it. I think people are hungry for it. They still want to hear this music."

This new album also gives Sadler a chance to flip a personal switch on that dreaded year of 1989, where the year no longer serves as just an awful year on her personal timeline.

Perhaps, it will now give him the resurgence he deserves.

"I haven't let a bullet stop me," he says. "The only reason that I'm here today is because of the grace of God. He gave me back my life and he gave me the opportunity to sing a song and tell my story. And that's what I'm here to do. And I hope that I can touch people with what I've been through and let them know that, if they too are going through something, they shouldn't give up. Look to God, believe in yourself and keep going."