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.
Pretty Horses
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lonely memories are where I go to hide
Empty pages are all I choose to write
But I love, I love
But I love, I love, I love
Softly searching for small signs of me and you
Gently thinking of what's left that we could do
About our love, our love
About our love, our love, about our love
About our love, our love
About our love, our love, about our love
Pretty horses are still hard to ride
With each other we will find a place to hide
All the pages are still there to write
I love our love, But our love, our love
In the song "Pretty Horses," Dwight Yoakam sings about how he deals with loneliness and heartache. The pretty horses he refers to are a metaphor for the difficulties he faces in life. He uses these obstacles as a means to escape his own troubled thoughts and memories. Yoakam feels that memories provide sanctuary and that he survives on them. The empty pages he chooses to write on related to his feelings of disillusionment and helplessness. Yoakam explains how love still exists for him, despite the challenges presented by life. He says, "But I love, I love, I love," emphasizing how much he cherishes the feelings that come with loving someone.
Broken windows are the only lenses through which Yoakam sees the world. He uses them to seek out glimpses of his past with his significant other. He regrets the lost opportunities and the times he took their love for granted. He is willing to take a step back and consider what is left of their relationship, hoping that something can be done to save their love. He genuinely wants to make it work, even though it is not easy for him to do so. The second verse reiterates the same concept. He still finds it hard to ride pretty horses, meaning that life still presents difficulties for him. Nevertheless, he hopes that he and his significant other can find a place to hide together. He concludes the song by expressing his love for their love, indicating that it is still worth fighting for.
Line by Line Meaning
Pretty horses are what I have to ride
My means of transportation are elegant stallions
Lonely memories are where I go to hide
I retreat to my solitary reminisces as a means of escape
Empty pages are all I choose to write
I prefer to compose on blank sheets of paper
But I love, I love
Nevertheless, I am fond of the subject matter
But I love, I love, I love
Despite everything, I truly love it
Broken windows are what I look through
I observe through shattered panes of glass
Softly searching for small signs of me and you
I seek subtle indications of our past relationship
Gently thinking of what's left that we could do
I consider options that remain available to us
About our love, our love
Regarding our affection, our affection
About our love, our love, about our love
Concerning our love, our love, concerning our love
About our love, our love
Regarding our affection, our affection
About our love, our love, about our love
Concerning our love, our love, concerning our love
Pretty horses are still hard to ride
Graceful steeds remain a strenuous challenge for me
With each other we will find a place to hide
We will jointly seek refuge in a location
All the pages are still there to write
An abundance of fresh writing opportunities remain available
I love our love, But our love, our love
I cherish our love, Though our love, our love
Contributed by Juliana O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Magic City Video Gamer
Even though this song is fresh off the press for 2018 it still sounds classic just like how country music should sound just like it did decades ago
Jeff Madden
That describes Dwight as well.
bella sue
C&S Gaming
Mary Ward
Great song and music as usual. This man just can’t sound bad. My very favorite singer these days.
Mark GES
Mary Ward I totally agree Dwight is by far one of the most talented musicians out there.
Cynthia G.
Agreed. Super talented. Not recognized enough!
Rodrigo Malverde
Agree ..just cant go wrong w/this guy
Brad Strain
I am SO HAPPY to hear new songs from Dwight today... he ALWAYS is the best!!! This is such a beautiful song... but, then ALL of his songs are amazing!!
aditi banerjee
The thrill of finding another song... That rare feeling of overwhelming overpowering sound ... right from the first hearing of first strain...Filling the senses... Being swept off ... It's so Beautiful... Just as any other Dwight number....
Daniel Tessari
Another classic! Dwight Yoakam is the king of hillbilly music!