Yoakam was born in Pikeville, Kentucky, the son of Ruth Ann, a key-punch operator, and David Yoakam, a gas-station owner. He was raised in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Columbus's Northland High School in 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 a 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 entertained his friends and classmates with his impersonations, such as Richard Nixon, who, at the time, was heavily embroiled in the Watergate controversy.
Yoakam briefly attended Ohio State University, but dropped out and moved to Nashville in 1977 with the intent of becoming a recording artist. Later on, Ohio Valley University in Parkersburg, West Virginia awarded and presented Dwight with an honorary doctorate degree on May 7, 2005.
When he began his career, Nashville was oriented toward pop "urban cowboy" music, and Yoakam's brand of hip honky tonk music was not considered marketable.
Not making much headway in Nashville, Yoakam moved to Los Angeles and worked towards bringing his particular brand of new Honky Tonk or "Hillbilly" music (as he called it) forward into the 1980s. Writing all his own songs, and continuing to perform mostly outside traditional country music channels, Yoakam did many shows in rock and punk rock clubs around Los Angeles, playing with roots rock or punk rock acts like The Blasters (Yoakam scored a small video hit with his version of their song "Long White Cadillac"), Los Lobos, and X. This helped him diversify his audience beyond the typical country music fans, and his authentic, groundbreaking music is often credited with rock audiences accepting country music.
Yoakam's recording debut was the self-financed EP Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. on independent label Oak Records produced by lead-guitarist Pete Anderson; this was later re-released by Reprise records, with several additional tracks, as his major-label debut LP, 1986's Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.. It launched his career. "Honky Tonk Man", a remake of the Johnny Horton song, and "Guitars, Cadillacs" were hit singles. His stylish video "Honky Tonk Man" was the first country music video ever played on MTV. The follow-up LP, Hillbilly Deluxe, was just as successful. His third LP, Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room, included his first No. 1, a duet with his musical idol, Buck Owens, on "Streets of Bakersfield". 1990's 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 named after a local expression describing the route that rural Kentuckians took to find a job outside of the coal mines. (U.S. Route 23 runs north from Kentucky through Columbus and Toledo, Ohio and through the automotive centers of Michigan.) Rather than the standard line that their elementary schools taught "the three Rs" of "Readin', 'Ritin', and 'Rithmetic", Kentuckians used to say that the three Rs they learned were "Readin', 'Ritin, and Route 23 North".
Johnny Cash once cited Yoakam as his favorite country singer. Chris Isaak called him as good a songwriter that ever put a pen to paper. Time Magazine dubbed Yoakam "A Renaissance Man" and Vanity Fair declared that "Yoakam strides the divide between rock's lust and country's lament." Along with his bluegrass and honky-tonk roots, Yoakam has written or covered many Elvis Presley-style rockabilly songs, including his covers of Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" in 1999 and Presley's "Suspicious Minds" in 1992. He recorded a cover of The Clash's "Train in Vain" in 1997, a cover of the Grateful Dead song "Truckin'", as well as Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me". Yoakam has never been associated only with Country music; on many early tours, he played with Hardcore Punk bands like Hüsker Dü, and played many shows around Los Angeles with Roots/Punk/Rock & Roll acts. His middle-period-to-later records saw him branching out to different styles, covering Rock & Roll, Punk, 1960's, Blues-based "Boogie" like ZZ Top, and writing more adventurous songs like "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere". In 2003, he provided background vocals on Warren Zevon's last album The Wind.
In the 21st century, Yoakam released dwightyoakamacoustic.net, an album featuring solo acoustic versions of many of his hits; left his major label and started his own label.
2005 saw the release of Yoakam's well-reviewed album Blame the Vain, on New West Records. Yoakam also released an album dedicated to Buck Owens, Dwight Sings Buck, on October 23, 2007. His duet with Michelle Branch, a song titled "Long Goodbye", was released as a free download on Branch's official website in early 2011.
In July 2011, Yoakam re-signed with Warner Bros. Nashville and announced plans to release a new album. 3 Pears was released on September 18, 2012 with twelve new tracks. The album, produced by Yoakam, includes collaborations with Kid Rock, Beck, and Ashley Monroe. 3 Pears was released to resounding critical acclaim and earned Yoakam the highest-charting debut of his career on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Country Albums charts. 3 Pears reached #1 on the Americana Radio chart on October 29, 2012 and went on to break the 2012 record for most weeks at #1 on Americana Radio.[4] By the end of 2012, the album was named on annual best of lists by NPR, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, AOL's The Boot, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, and Rhapsody, and has been included in more critic's "best of 2012" lists than any other artist in the country genre.
Yoakam won the Grammy Award for "Best Male Country Vocal Performance" in 1993 for the song "Ain't That Lonely Yet". He was also named "Artist of the Year" by CMT Europe in 1993 and given the International Touring Artist Award by CMA in 2007.
In 2011, Yoakam received the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award for his trailblazing achievements in the country music genre.
Baby Dont Go
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She hardly knew her dad
She's been in town for 18 years
And I'm the only boy she's had
Baby, I can't stay
Maybe I'll be back someday
Pretty baby please don't go
I love you so, pretty baby
Please don't go
I never had no money
I bought at the second hand store
The way this old town laughs at me
I just can't take it no more
Said she can't stay
She's gonna be a lady someday Oh baby don't go
Pretty baby please don't go
I love you so, pretty baby
Please don't go
When she gets to the city
Her tears will all be dry
My eyes will look so pretty
No one's gonna know I cried
She's goin' away
And maybe she'll back someday
Oh baby don't go
Pretty baby please don't go
I love you so, pretty baby
Please don't go
The lyrics to Dwight Yoakam's song, Baby Don't Go, tell the story of a young girl who has been through a difficult life, with no mother and an absent father. She has spent her entire 18 years in town and has fallen in love with the only boy she has ever been with. He has no money and is made fun of constantly by people in the town. He pleads with her not to leave him, but she feels that she needs to venture out to the city to become a "lady someday." The song ends with the boy saying that when the girl returns, he will still be waiting for her.
The lyrics are emotional and raw, reflecting the pain and desperation of the boy who does not want to lose the girl he loves. The song is a reminder of the power of love and how it can overcome even the most difficult situations. The singer's voice is filled with feeling, and the melody is simple yet catchy, making it easy to get lost in the emotions of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
She never had a mother
She grew up without a mother figure in her life
She hardly knew her dad
Her relationship with her father was distant and limited
She's been in town for 18 years
She has lived in this town for her entire life thus far
And I'm the only boy she's had
She has only had a romantic relationship with the artist (boy) before
Baby, I can't stay
The artist is unable to stay in their current situation with the girl
Maybe I'll be back someday
The singer is uncertain of their return
Oh baby don't go
The singer is pleading with the girl to stay
Pretty baby please don't go
The artist is calling the girl "pretty baby" and begging her not to leave
I love you so, pretty baby
The artist proclaims their love for the girl
Please don't go
The artist desperately does not want the girl to leave
I never had no money
The singer did not have any money
I bought at the second hand store
The artist purchased items at a second hand store due to their lack of funds
The way this old town laughs at me
The singer is being ridiculed by the inhabitants of the town
I just can't take it no more
The singer has reached their breaking point with the town's mockery
Said she can't stay
The girl states that she cannot remain in the current situation
She's gonna be a lady someday
The girl aspires to become a mature and respected woman in the future
When she gets to the city
Referring to the girl moving to a larger city
Her tears will all be dry
The girl will eventually recover from her emotional pain
My eyes will look so pretty
The singer believes the girl's absence will enhance their physical appearance
No one's gonna know I cried
The artist will not reveal their emotional reaction to the girl leaving
She's goin' away
The girl is leaving the current location
And maybe she'll back someday
The artist is uncertain if the girl will return
Oh baby don't go
The singer is desperately pleading with the girl to stay
Pretty baby please don't go
The artist continues to beg the girl using affectionate terms
I love you so, pretty baby
The singer reiterates their strong feelings for the girl
Please don't go
The singer remains desperate for the girl to stay
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Abkco Music Inc.
Written by: Sonny Bono
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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