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 Hรผsker Dรผ, 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.
Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She had my baby and caused me to care
Then coldly she left me to suffer and cry
She wore red dresses and told such sweet lies
I never knew him but he took her away
And on my knees like a madman for vengeance I prayed
While the pain and the anger destroyed my weak mind
I searched til I found them, then I cursed at the sight
Of their sleeping shadows in the cold neon light
In the dark morning silence I placed the gun to her head
She wore red dresses, but now she lay dead
The lyrics of Dwight Yoakam's song Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room describe a tumultuous relationship between two people, where the woman in question is depicted as manipulative, deceptive, and ultimately unfaithful. Throughout the song, Yoakam describes her wearing red dresses and having black, shining hair, which is symbolic of both her femininity and her dangerous and seductive allure. She has a child with Yoakam but then callously abandons him, causing him immense pain and suffering.
Yoakam's anger and pain eventually drive him to seek revenge against the woman and the man who took her away from him. He obsessively tracks them down, watching them sleep in a motel room before ultimately taking matters into his own hands and killing the woman. The woman wearing red dresses serves as a symbol throughout the song, representing both desire and danger, love and betrayal. Ultimately, the song is a haunting meditation on love, loss, and the often-destructive consequences of our most passionate emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
She wore red dresses with her black shining hair
She presented herself in a way that was alluring and striking, with her dark hair and vibrant red clothing.
She had my baby and caused me to care
She became a mother with me and through this, initiated strong feelings of attachment and affection within me.
Then coldly she left me to suffer and cry
She abandoned me without empathy and caused me enormous pain and sadness.
She wore red dresses and told such sweet lies
She deceived me with her charming falsehoods, while continuing to wear her seductive attire.
I never knew him but he took her away
I never had familiarity with this man, but he took her out of my life and control.
And on my knees like a madman for vengeance I prayed
I was so consumed with anger and desire for retaliation that I prayed desperately for it while in a state of deep mental instability.
While the pain and the anger destroyed my weak mind
The emotional agony and fury wholly ruined my fragile state of mental well-being.
She wore red dresses and left the wounded behind
She left behind the hurt and mentally-scarred individuals in her wake, still clinging to their pain and heartache.
I searched til I found them, then I cursed at the sight
Until I discovered their whereabouts, I incessantly looked for them, and upon seeing them, lashed out in anger and frustration.
Of their sleeping shadows in the cold neon light
Their figures in restful dormancy looked eerie and unsettling within the stark, artificial glow of the neon light.
In the dark morning silence I placed the gun to her head
In the murky, silent hours of the morning, I held a gun to her head.
She wore red dresses, but now she lay dead
Despite her captivating clothing, she was lifeless in front of me, having been killed by my hand.
Lyrics ยฉ CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: DWIGHT YOAKAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@larrybeavens7580
Iโm 75, Iโve listened to country music all my life, and that riff towards the end of the song with Pete and Flaco is absolutely as good as it gets. Amazing pairing of guitar and accordion. Iโve listened to it a thousand times over the years, and itโs wonderful to sit here and watch them perform it. Dwight Yoakam stands alone at the top of my all-time favorite artists list, and this song is one reason why...
@shirleymoore6862
Dwight is the ultimate artist i have listened to him since he began there no one with more music talent than him i love him keep it up Dwight your the best have seen him live many times shirley from up of michigan got to get on his bus up here and meet him
@teresan4930
@Shirley Moore no
@teresan4930
@Shirley Moore MO
@franktucker5
AMEN
@jeffbounds6674
Check out Marcus King band and then also look up Billy strings. These 2 young kids will blow your mind if you love this guitar riffs
@kawodi1
Dwight Yoakam is one of the very best Country-singers ever!!! I loved his songs 40 years ago. And I love it now. Soo great, what a voice!!!!!
@frederben4776
The modern day Hank Williams
@johngoguen361
Excuse me Buck Owen's not Hank and Dwight even went to Bucks funeral and said his style is like bucks may buck RIP
@manolofalcomateu8541
3:46