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.
Loco Motion
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Come on baby, do the Loco-motion)
I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now
(Come on baby, do the Loco-motion)
My little baby sister can do it with me
It's easier than learning your A-B-C
So come on, come on, do the Loco-motion with me
You gotta swing your hips, now
Come on, baby
Jump up
Jump back
Well, now, I think you've got the knack
Wow, wow
Now that you can do it, let's make a chain, now
(Come on baby, do the Loco-motion)
A chug-a chug-a motion like a railroad train, now
(Come on baby, do the Loco-motion)
Do it nice and easy, now, don't lose control
A little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul
Come on, come on
Do the Loco-motion with me
Ye-ye-ye-yeah
Move around the floor in a Loco-motion
(Come on baby, do the Loco-motion)
Do it holding hands if you get the notion
(Come on baby, do the Loco-motion)
There's never been a dance that's so easy to do
It even makes you happy when you're feeling blue
So come on, come on, do the Loco-motion with me
(Come one)
You gotta swing your hips, now
(Come one)
That's right (do the Loco-motion)
You're doing fine!
(Come one, do the Loco-motion)
Come on, babe
(Come one, do the Loco-motion)
Hm-hm-hm, jump up
(Come one)
Jump back (do the Loco-motion)
You're looking good
(Come one, do the Loco-motion)
Hm-hm-hm, jump up
(Come one)
Jump back (do the Loco-motion)
The lyrics of Dwight Yoakam's "Loco Motion" are quite straightforward, as they invite the listener to join in on a new dance craze that's taking the world by storm. The song starts by stating that everyone is doing the brand-new dance and encourages the listener to do it too. The dance is so simple that even a small child can do it, and it's even easier than learning your ABCs! An irresistible offer is made to convince the listener to try it and the chorus repeats catchy invitation to do the Loco-motion with the singer, encouraging everyone to swing their hips.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody's doing a brand-new dance, now
Many individuals are participating in a new dance style
(Come on baby, do the Loco-motion)
Encouragement to participate in the Loco-motion dance
I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now
Assurance that one will enjoy the dance with practice
(Come on baby, do the Loco-motion)
Encouragement to participate in the Loco-motion dance
My little baby sister can do it with me
The dance is simple enough for children to perform
It's easier than learning your A-B-C
The Loco-motion dance is even easier to learn than the alphabet
So come on, come on, do the Loco-motion with me
Invitation for listeners to join in the dance
You gotta swing your hips, now
Part of the Loco-motion dance involves swinging one's hips
Come on, baby
Encouragement to continue participating in the Loco-motion dance
Jump up
A movement involved in the Loco-motion dance
Jump back
Another movement involved in the Loco-motion dance
Well, now, I think you've got the knack
Assurance that the listener has learned the Loco-motion dance moves
Now that you can do it, let's make a chain, now
Since the listener has learned the dance, it's time to create a chain with other dancers
(Come on baby, do the Loco-motion)
Encouragement to continue dancing the Loco-motion
A chug-a chug-a motion like a railroad train, now
A comparison of the dance movements to a train chugging along
Do it nice and easy, now, don't lose control
Advice to maintain a comfortable pace and not to become reckless
A little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul
Dancing the Loco-motion requires a combination of rhythm and soul
Come on, come on
Repeated invitation to continue the dance
Do the Loco-motion with me
Request for the listener to dance with Dwight Yoakam
Ye-ye-ye-yeah
Exclamation of enthusiasm for the dance and music
Move around the floor in a Loco-motion
Description of dance movements
(Come on baby, do the Loco-motion)
Encouragement to continue dancing the Loco-motion
Do it holding hands if you get the notion
Option to hold hands with a dance partner during the Loco-motion
There's never been a dance that's so easy to do
The Loco-motion is described as an extremely easy dance to learn
It even makes you happy when you're feeling blue
Dancing the Loco-motion can improve one's mood
So come on, come on, do the Loco-motion with me
Continued invitation to dance with Dwight Yoakam
(Come one)
Encouragement to continue participation in the dance
You're doing fine!
Assurance to the listener that they are performing the dance movements correctly
Hm-hm-hm, jump up
Description of a dance movement
Jump back (do the Loco-motion)
Instructions to perform a dance movement, accompanied by encouragement to continue dancing
You're looking good
Compliment to the listener's performance
Hm-hm-hm, jump up
Description of a dance movement
Jump back (do the Loco-motion)
Instructions to perform a dance movement, accompanied by encouragement to continue dancing
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CAROLE KING, GERRY GOFFIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Susan
on Fast As You
Who is Sookie? I gotsta know!