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.
Guitars Cadillacs
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You showed me how this town can shatter dreams
Another lesson about a naive fool that came to Babylon
And found out that the pie don't taste so sweet
Now it's guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music
Lonely, lonely streets that I call home
Yeah my guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music
There ain't no glamour in this tinseled land of lost and wasted lives
And painful scars are all that's left of me
Oh but thank you girl for teaching me brand new ways to be cruel
If I can find my mind now, I guess I'll just leave
And it's guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music
Lonely, lonely streets that I call home
Yeah my guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music
Is the only thing that keeps me hanging on
Oh it's guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music
Lonely, lonely streets that I call home
Yeah my guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music
Is the only thing that keeps me hanging on
It's the only thing that keeps me hanging on
It's the only thing that keeps me hanging on
The lyrics of Dwight Yoakam's "Guitars Cadillacs" reveal a sense of disillusionment and heartbreak that arises from the singer's encounter with the harsh realities of life in the city. In the opening lines, he acknowledges that the girl he once loved has taught him how to feel immense pain and to cry himself to sleep. He goes on to state that the town they live in shatters dreams, thereby demonstrating a loss of faith in the notion of hope and possibility.
The chorus reveals that in the face of such despair, music is the only thing that keeps him going. Yoakam repeats the phrase "guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music" several times, indicating that these are symbols of a simpler, happier time, perhaps in his childhood or in his hometown. The notion of "lonely streets" becomes a motif, underscoring the sense of isolation and disconnection that he feels from the world around him.
The final verse is the most bitter, as the singer expresses his gratitude for the girl who has taught him new ways to be cruel, indicating a sense of resentment and anger towards her. However, he also acknowledges that he needs to leave the city and find his mind, suggesting that he still possesses a desire for growth and self-improvement. Overall, the lyrics of "Guitars Cadillacs" reveal the heartache and despair that arise from a disillusioned encounter with urban life, and the need for music as a form of solace and escapism.
Line by Line Meaning
Girl you taught me how to hurt real bad and cry myself to sleep
You were the one who showed me how deeply and emotionally painful life can be, which has left me feeling lost and alone
You showed me how this town can shatter dreams
You opened my eyes to the harsh reality that the place we call home is not a place where dreams can come true
Another lesson about a naive fool that came to Babylon
I was foolish to have come to this place looking for something that I thought I could find here
And found out that the pie don't taste so sweet
I discovered that even though I came here for something sweet and satisfying, all I found was disappointment and disillusionment
Now it's guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music
My only source of comfort and joy in this place is through the music I make and the car I drive
Lonely, lonely streets that I call home
I am in a place where I feel isolated and alone, wandering the streets without any sense of belonging
There ain't no glamour in this tinseled land of lost and wasted lives
The glitz and glam of this place is just a facade, covering up the harsh realities of the people who live here
And painful scars are all that's left of me
The emotional wounds I have suffered have left me scarred, and those scars are the only thing I have left to show for my time here
Oh but thank you girl for teaching me brand new ways to be cruel
Despite the pain, I am grateful to you for showing me how to be strong and unyielding in the face of adversity
If I can find my mind now, I guess I'll just leave
If I can regain my sense of self and find my way out of this place, I will go and leave this town behind
It's the only thing that keeps me hanging on
My love for music and the comfort it brings is the only thing that keeps me going and helps me survive in this harsh and unforgiving place
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Dwight David Yoakam
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@archangele1
I generally don't like country music, especially the newer stuff. But the first
time I heard Dwight Yoakam I had to buy his CD with this song on it.
I never heard of him when I first heard this but when someone told me his name
it was easy to remember since Dwight is my middle name..
He has a wide variety of songs from fast toe tappers
like this one or sad ballads like the one I Sang Dixie
which really hit home with me since I lost a child hood best friend
several years ago who loved the South. I also like
certain country music especially if it has a violin in it since
I play violin and bass.
@joshuabrooks4907
Dwight racked up a lot of hits between 1986 and 2000. I mean...
1. Guitars, Cadillacs
2. Honky tonk man
3. Streets of Bakersfield
4. Long white Cadillac
5. Fast as you
6. Ain't that lonely yet
7. Gone
8. Claudette
9. A thousand miles from nowhere
10. The back of your hand
11. Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose
12. Always late with your kisses
13. Suspicious minds
14. Little sister
15. Little ways
16. Pocket of a clown.....
Help me out here folks....
@Insignificatos
''I WANT YOUR CLOTHES, YOUR BOOTS AND YOUR MOTORCYCLE''
@Shiloh715
And that Winchester Lever Action Shotgun
@crushnkill
You forgot to say please...
@Surgicalshred
That's why I'm here, lol
@CheJoffre
Lol
@lyndahobby2413
And when you make as much money as he did on this song …..then you can!
@ryno411j9
Not even a country fan but watching T2 so many times. I’ve grown to love this song
@garysimmons1117
Song is in Terminator Dark Fate too.
@kimcrews1721
Just saw him 2 days ago at boots in the park in Bakersfield. He sounds even better than before. An awesome show.
@canadiansoviet
T2 made me a country fan