Country Artist - Dwight Yoakam

Born: 1956 in Pikeville, KY

Honky Tonk country and Dwight Yoakam go together like tequila and lime with his Bakersfield approach Dwight brought country music back to it's roots. His idols Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Hank Willams would surely approve of the approach this Honky Tonk rocker brought to country music. Like the outlaws Dwight didn't play by Nashvilles rules and to some degree suffered the consequences despite huge followings in America and abroad he never quite dominated the charts like some of his contempories who played the Nashville tune.

Criticised by some for doing covers of old classics, sometimes it would seem he couldn't win. He certainly covered classics he also did quite a lot of original material, when he covered a classic it was done in his own unusual style, I know people who couldn't tell one country artist from another but know when Dwight Yoakam sings there is definately something unique and original about this guy that makes you sit up and take notice.

Dwight's website

Hank Williams & Johnny Cash

Born in Kentucky, raised in Ohio, Dwight learned how to play guitar at the age of six. As a child, he listened to his mother's record collection, honing in on the traditional country of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash, as well as the Bakersfield honky tonk of Buck Owens. When he was in high school, Dwight played with a variety of bands, playing everything from country to rock & roll. He completed high school, Yoakam but dropped out of Ohio State University and headed for Nashville to become a recording artist.

Nashville in the 70's was not a place for a rocker like Dwight Yoakam the Urban Cowboy movement was in full throttle and there was noway this guy was going down that route. meeting up with guitarist Pete Anderson, who had a similar taste in music to Dwight. They moved out to Los Angeles, where the audiences were more appreciative than in Nashville.

In comparison to the polished music coming out of Nashville, Dwight's stripped-down, direct revivalism seemed radical. The cowpunks, as they were called, that attended Yoakam's shows provided an invaluable support for his fledgling career.

Dwight's website

Bakersfield 1984

1984 saw Yoakam released an independent EP, A Town South of Bakersfield. This received substantial airplay on Los Angeles college and alternative radio stations. The EP also helped him land a record contract with Reprise Records. Dwight's full-length debut album, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., was released in 1986 and was an instant sensation. Everybody raved about it and still do but more importantly it hit the country charts like a rocket and it was his cover of a Johnny Horton Hit 'Honky Tonk Man that was released as a single and climbed to Number 3 this album eventually went platinum.

dwight yoakam

His follow up album Hillbilly Deluxe released in 1987 spawned four top ten hits Little Sister, Little Ways, Please Please Baby and Always late with your Kisses. The following year he was to have his first number one with Streets of Bakersfield another cover of a Buck Owens song, which featured Buck Owens himself. He had further success from this album Buenos Noches from a Lonely Room with I Sang Dixie and I Got You.

His next major success came in 1993 with This time spawning 3 number two singles, Ain't That Lonely yet A Thousand Miles From Nowhere and as Fast As You. After this success Dwight went quiet for a few years until he got asked to do a little commercial for Khakis commercial where he sang Queen's 'Crazy Little Thing called Love' this hit even made the pop charts.

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Dwight's website