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Dwight Yoakam

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Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, and actor.

Dwight Yoakam

Biography

Yoakam was born in Pikeville, Kentucky, and raised in Columbus, Ohio, growing up with his mother and step-father, who had a white-collar job in the automotive industry. He graduated from Columbus's Northland High School on June 9, 1974. During his high school years, he excelled in both music and drama, regularly securing the lead role in school plays, such as Charlie in the stage version of Flowers for Algernon, honing his skills under the guidance of teacher-mentors Jerry McAfee (music) and Charles Lewis (drama). Outside of school, Yoakam sang and played guitar with local garage bands, and frequently entertained his friends and classmates as an amateur comedian, impersonating politicians and other celebrities, such as Richard Nixon, who, at that time, was heavily embroiled in the Watergate controversy.

Yoakam briefly attended The Ohio State University, but dropped out and moved to Nashville in the late '70s with the intent of becoming a recording artist. When he began his career, Nashville was oriented towards pop Urban Cowboy music, and Yoakam's brand of Bakersfield honky tonk was not considered marketable. He began playing live in the Los Angeles area, performing with punk bands like Dead Kennedys, Butthole Surfers and X; and roots-rock bands The Blasters and Los Lobos.

Yoakam's recording debut was on the independent album A Town South of Bakersfield, planned and produced by Pete Anderson, in 1984 (1984 in music). His debut LP was 1986's Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. and it instantly launched his career (1986 in music). "Honky Tonk Man" (Johnny Horton) and "Guitars, Cadillacs" were hit singles. The follow-up LP, Hillbilly Deluxe, was just as successful. His third LP, Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room, included his first #1, a duet with Buck Owens, "Streets of Bakersfield". 1990's (1990 in music) If There Was a Way was another best-seller.

Yoakam's song Readin', Rightin', Route 23 pays tribute to his childhood move from Kentucky, and is titled after a local expression describing the route that rural Kentuckians needed to take to find a job. (U.S. Highway 23 runs north from Kentucky through Columbus and Toledo, and through the automotive centers of Michigan.)

Yoakam has also taken some acting roles, most notably as the abusive alcoholic Doyle in Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade (1996) and as a sociopathic killer in 2002's Panic Room. He has also appeared in Southern California live theater, combining his acting talents with the talents of director Peter Fonda. More recently, he appeared in a cameo role as the doctor for Chev Chilios in "Crank".

Having diverged from pop-icon status in country-western fare, Yoakam is today more likely to be identified as having an older, more traditional style. But along with his bluegrass and honky-tonk roots, Yoakam has written or covered many Elvis Presley-style rockabilly songs, including his popular covers of Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" in 1999 and Presley's "Suspicious Minds" in 1992. He even recorded a cover of the Clash's "Train In Vain" in 1997.

Yoakam is currently touring in support of his new album Blame The Vain.

When asked by Larry King, Johnny Cash cited Yoakam as his favorite country singer.

Yoakam currently resides in Southern California, but still maintains close ties with his family in the Columbus area.

Discography

Full albums

  • Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc. (Oak, 1984) - independent release
  • Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc. (Warner/Reprise, 1986)
  • Hillbilly Deluxe (Reprise, 1987)
  • Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room (Reprise, 1988)
  • If There Was a Way (Reprise, 1990)
  • This Time (Reprise, 1993)
  • Dwight Live (Reprise, 1995)
  • Gone (Reprise, 1995)
  • Come On Christmas (Reprise, 1997)
  • Under the Covers (Reprise, 1997)
  • A Long Way Home (Reprise, 1998)
  • dwightyoakamacoustic.net (Reprise, 2000)
  • Tomorrow's Sounds Today (Reprise, 2000)
  • South of Heaven, West of Hell (Soundtrack) (Warner, 2001)
  • Population Me (Warner, 2003)
  • In Others' Words (Reprise, 2003)
  • Dwight's Used Records (Koch, 2004)
  • Blame the Vain (New West, 2005)
  • Live from Austin, Tx (New West, 2005)

Singles

  • Honky Tonk Man (1986)
  • Guitars, Cadillacs (1986)
  • Little Sister (1987)
  • Little Ways (1987)
  • Please, Please Baby (1987)
  • Streets Of Bakersfield (duet with Buck Owens) (1988)
  • I Sang Dixie (1988)
  • I Got You (1989)
  • Long White Cadillac (1989)
  • Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose (1990)
  • You're The One (1991)
  • It Only Hurts When I Cry (1991)
  • Nothing's Changed Here (1992)
  • Send a Message to My Heart (duet with Patty Loveless) (1992)
  • Suspicious Minds (1992)
  • Ain't That Lonely Yet (1993)
  • A Thousand Miles From Nowhere (1993)
  • Fast As You (1993)
  • Try Not To Look So Pretty (1994)
  • Pocket of a Clown (1994)
  • Nothing (1995)
  • Gone (That'll Be Me) (1996)
  • Sorry You Asked (1995)
  • Things Change (1998)
  • These Arms (1998)
  • Crazy Little Thing Called Love (1999)
  • Thinking About Leaving (1999)
  • I Want You To Want Me (2000)
  • What Do You Know About Love (2000)
  • The Back Of Your Hand (2003)
  • The Late Great Golden State (2003)
  • Intentional Heartache (2005)
  • Blame The Vain (2005)

Greatest hits albums

  • Just Lookin' For a Hit (Reprise, 1989)
  • This Is... (Warner-Japan, 1990) [import]
  • L'Croix D'Amour (Warner-France, 1992) [import]
  • Last Chance For a Thousand Years: Dwight Yoakam's Greatest Hits From the '90s (Reprise, 1999)
  • The Very Best of Dwight Yoakam (Reprise, 2004)
  • Here & There: The Essential Dwight Yoakam (Rhino, 2006)

Filmography

See also

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