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.
Rapid City South Dakota
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He thumbed a ride one day
He said, "Anywhere you're headed on my way."
But as we passed by Big Al's drive-in
His eyes began to flash
He was leavin' Rapid City mighty fast.
He said, "I hope to God she finds
But the mail don't move to fast
In Rapid City, South Dakota."
--- Instrumental ---
Well, he left her just a blanket
Of snow upon the farm
And that don't keep your conscience very warm.
He said his friends were too durn country
And his pa was too damn mean
And there ain't no money pumpin' gasoline.
And her gentle eyes, the merchandise
Of dreams the peddler sold her
As he left her there in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Now the reason he was goin',
I ain't sure I could say,
Might've been the rodeo in Santa F'.
"There's a doctor in chicago,
I know she'll be all right."
He told himself as he stared into the night.
And he said, "I hope to God she finds
The good-bye letter that I wrote her
But the mail don't move so fast
In Rapid City, South Dakota."
And all her people treatin' her
Just like they never knowed her
Lord, the winter's passin' slow
In Rapid City, South Dakota.
The song "Rapid City South Dakota" by Dwight Yoakam is a heartbreaking tale of a young man who leaves his girlfriend behind as he sets off for a new life. The story is told through the perspective of the man who picked him up while hitchhiking. The song opens with the ragged kid in overalls who asks for a ride to anywhere that the driver is headed. As they drive by Big Al's drive-in, the young man's eyes begin to flash, and he tells the driver that he is leaving Rapid City, South Dakota, mighty fast. He hopes that his girlfriend finds the goodbye letter he wrote for her, but he knows the mail doesn't move too fast in Rapid City.
The young man talks about how he left his girlfriend alone on a farm covered in a blanket of snow, and the guilt of leaving her weighs heavily on his conscience. He felt like his friends and family didn't understand him, and he couldn't make a living in Rapid City, so he felt like he had to leave. His girlfriend had dreams of a better life, but he felt like he couldn't give her what she wanted. As he leaves her behind, he hopes that she finds happiness and that she can move on without him.
Overall, the song "Rapid City South Dakota" is a poignant reminder of how leaving someone behind can be a difficult and heart-wrenching decision. The driving force of the song is the young man's journey of self-discovery, and it's clear that he's not sure where he's going or why he's leaving. Ultimately, the song is a reminder that sometimes in life, we have to leave things behind in order to move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Just a ragged kid in overalls,
A young boy dressed in shabby clothes hitchhikes for a ride.
He thumbed a ride one day
He signaled cars to get a lift.
He said, 'Anywhere you're headed on my way.'
He asked the driver to take him along wherever he is going.
But as we passed by Big Al's drive-in
While driving, they went past Big Al's drive-in.
His eyes began to flash
The boy's eyes lit up with excitement.
He was leavin' Rapid City mighty fast.
The boy was desperate to leave Rapid City quickly.
He said, 'I hope to God she finds
The boy hopes that the recipient of his letter reads it.
The good-bye letter that I wrote her
He left a farewell letter to someone before he left.
But the mail don't move to fast
The postal service is slow in that area.
In Rapid City, South Dakota.'
The town of Rapid City has a slow mail service.
Well, he left her just a blanket
He left his lover with nothing, just the snowy fields of their farm.
Of snow upon the farm
He left a layer of snow covering the fields of the farm.
And that don't keep your conscience very warm.
He knows he's not doing the right thing, and his conscience bothers him.
He said his friends were too durn country
He didn't like the people he spent his time with in Rapid City, describing them as too unsophisticated.
And his pa was too damn mean
He didn't get along with his father and thought of him as cruel.
And there ain't no money pumpin' gasoline.
There's not much money to be made pumping gas in Rapid City.
And her gentle eyes, the merchandise
The boy loved his lover's gentle eyes that were the result of her dreams
Of dreams the peddler sold her
The boy thought she was idealistic and naïve, easily influenced by others.
As he left her there in Rapid City, South Dakota.
The boy left behind his lover in Rapid City.
Now the reason he was goin',
The boy's motive for leaving is not clear.
I ain't sure I could say,
The artist is unsure why the boy is leaving.
Might've been the rodeo in Santa F'.
The boy could have been going to attend the rodeo in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
'There's a doctor in chicago,
The boy tells himself that his lover will be alright with a doctor in Chicago.
I know she'll be all right.'
The boy is reassuring himself that his lover will be fine.
And he said, 'I hope to God she finds
The boy hopes that the person he left behind finds the letter he wrote.
The good-bye letter that I wrote her
He left a farewell letter for someone before he left.
But the mail don't move so fast
The postal service is slow in the area of his lover's residence.
In Rapid City, South Dakota.'
The town of Rapid City has a slow mail service.
And all her people treatin' her
The people in that town are treating his lover poorly.
Just like they never knowed her
Her community is treating her like a stranger despite her living there for some time.
Lord, the winter's passin' slow
The boy is thinking that winter is passing slowly in Rapid City.
In Rapid City, South Dakota.
The winter is dragging in Rapid City.
Contributed by Austin I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@beerbottlebaby
Just a ragged kid in overalls
He thumbed a ride one day
He said, "Anywhere you're headed on my way."
But as we passed by Big Sky drive-in
His eyes began to flash
He was leavin' Rapid City mighty fast
He said, "I hope to God she finds
The good-bye letter that I wrote her
But the mail don't move to fast
In Rapid City, South Dakota."
Well, he left her just a blanket
Of snow upon the farm
And that don't keep your conscience very warm
He said his friends were too durn country
And his pa was too damn mean
And there ain't no money pumpin' gasoline
And her gentle eyes, the merchandise
Of dreams the peddler sold her
As he left her there alone Rapid City, South Dakota
Now the reason he was goin'
I ain't sure I could say
Might've been the rodeo in Santa F'
"There's a doctor in Chicago
I know she'll be all right."
He told himself as he stared into the night
And he said, "I hope to God she finds
The good-bye letter that I wrote her
But the mail don't move so fast
In Rapid City, South Dakota."
And all her people treatin' her
Just like they never knowed her
Lord, the winter's passin' slow
In Rapid City, South Dakota
@willardjohnston2133
Born in Kentucky, raised in Ohio, and grew up in California. The great, country soul of Dwight Yoakam.
@kevinlindberg2220
Life is good because God gave us Dwight Yoakam!
@kathygreen8058
How can one man have so much talent? Singer/songwriter/musician. Dwight you are the very best! Love you!
@kevinlindberg2220
And great actor!
@markmenning1804
Kinky Freeman wrote the song
@camelia516
This is one of my favorite songs Dwight sings. Love the sound of his voice on this. Have been to many of his concerts but don't think I've heard him sing it live. Thanks for the post.
@teresarardin6631
South Dakotey. Great, great song.
@gortbot7748
Greetings from the West Side.
@louiserawle8999
Love this..its real cowboy stuff..You must have heaps you can release Dwight,we want to hear them all..your fans hunger for more music from you.love you Dwight
@2chooks
i am from Rapid City., South Dakota