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.
Rock It All Away
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Somethin’ said with a word
At least I never trusted what I was told or ever heard
I never really believed in
Somethin’ said with a word
At least I never trusted what I was told or ever heard
If it did come along
‘Cause whatever happened next always proved it was wrong
But you rocked that all the way
You rocked what words can’t say
You rocked it up and down, the front and then back around
Every lonely place
You rocked it all away
Every empty space
You rocked it all away
You and me both walked alone
Down streets where nobody’s home
You and me we both hung around
The kinda places that can’t be found
You and me we both new the score
But whatever it was, it ain’t adding up anymore
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
You rocked it all the way
You rocked what words can’t say
You rocked it up and down
The front and then back around
Every lonely place
You rocked it all away
Every empty space
You rocked it all away
I never really believed in, something said with a word
At least I never trusted what I was told or ever heard
You rocked it all the way
You rocked what words can’t say
You rocked it up and down
The front and then back around
Every lonely place
You rocked it all away
Every empty space
You rocked it all away
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
In Dwight Yoakam's song "Rock It All Away", the singer expresses their skepticism towards words, and how they never believed in them. They didn't trust what they were told or heard, and so they never tried to avoid anything if it did come along because they knew they would be disappointed whatever happened next. However, that all changed when they met someone who managed to bring them out of their shell and helped them to forget all their troubles. This person "rocked it all away", meaning they were able to express something that couldn't be said with words. They took every lonely place and every empty space, and made it all go away with their music.
The verse "You and me both walked alone, down streets where nobody's home" shows us that the singer and the person they're talking about have lived through hard times where they've felt like outcasts, and it's only when they're together that they're able to feel a sense of belonging. The singer also mentions how they both used to hang around places that "can't be found", which could mean they were searching for something that didn't exist. The person they're referring to could be seen as a beacon of hope, someone who has helped them believe in something greater.
Some interesting facts about the song include that it was co-written by Yoakam and Chris Isaak, and was released as a track on Yoakam's 33rd album, "Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars...". The album features acoustic versions of his previous hits, as well as covers of other classic country songs. "Rock It All Away" is a departure from Yoakam's usual sound and is more rock-oriented. The song was included in the soundtrack of the 2017 romantic comedy "The Big Sick".
Line by Line Meaning
I never really believed in
I have never put much faith in
Somethin’ said with a word
things that people say
At least I never trusted what I was told or ever heard
I didn't take anything anyone said as the truth, nor did I believe all the rumors I heard
I never tried to avoid it
I didn't actively try to avoid it
If it did come along
If it ever did come up
‘Cause whatever happened next always proved it was wrong
Whatever happened usually ended up being wrong
You rocked that all the way
You changed that completely
You rocked what words can’t say
You changed something that words can't describe
You rocked it up and down, the front and then back around
You transformed it thoroughly from every angle
Every lonely place
Every place that has ever made me feel lonely
You rocked it all away
You took away that sense of loneliness
Every empty space
Every place that made me feel empty
You rocked it all away
You took away that sense of emptiness
You and me both walked alone
You and I have both felt lonely before
Down streets where nobody’s home
Through streets where no one we know lives
You and me we both hung around
Both of us have spent time around here
The kinda places that can’t be found
Places where you'd only stumble upon by chance
You and me we both new the score
Both of us knew what was going on
But whatever it was, it ain’t adding up anymore
Whatever was happening before no longer matters
Every lonely place
Every place that has ever made me feel lonely
You rocked it all away
You took away that sense of loneliness
Every empty space
Every place that made me feel empty
You rocked it all away
You took away that sense of emptiness
I never really believed in, something said with a word
I have never put much faith in things that people say
You rocked it all the way
You changed that completely
You rocked what words can’t say
You changed something that words can't describe
You rocked it up and down
You transformed it thoroughly
The front and then back around
From every angle
Every lonely place
Every place that has ever made me feel lonely
You rocked it all away
You took away that sense of loneliness
Every empty space
Every place that made me feel empty
You rocked it all away
You took away that sense of emptiness
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DWIGHT DAVID YOAKAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nancy Gray Barrow
I never really believed in
Somethin' said with a word
At least I never trusted what I was told or ever heard
I never really believed in
Somethin' said with a word
At least I never trusted what I was told or ever heard
I never tried to avoid it
If it did come along
'Cause whatever happened next always proved it was wrong
But you rocked that all the way
You rocked what words can't say
You rocked it up and down the front and then back around
Every lonely place
You rocked it all away
You and me both walked alone
Down streets where nobody's home
You and me we both hung around
The kinda places that can't be found
You and me we both knew the score
but whatever it was ain't adding up anymore
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
But you rocked that all the way
You rocked what words can't say
You rocked it up and down the front and then back around
Every lonely place
You rocked it all away
I never really believed in something said with a word
At least I never trusted what I was told or ever heard
But you rocked that all the way
You rocked what words can't say
You rocked it up and down the front and then back around
Every lonely place
You rocked it all away
Sylvia West
He is such a good looking man and his voice is unbelievable . Dwight gets better with age . They don’t ever give him his props .
Jenny Bee
❤️❤️❤️‼️‼️
TheodoreCHill
Sadly hes been losing his voice, it's got a lot deeper too. I noticed in one of his last performances. Still amazing to hear
Char Baird
Forever a fan !! Such talent. Everything he does is golden !! Congrats new Papa !!
Denise Inácio
I love this song, especially the Tommy James Crimson & Clover bit at the end... sweet. Dwight continually amazes and impresses me...
zzippycorgi11
The more I listen the more I love it, like the nod to Crimson And Clover at the end. Thanks Dwight!
April A. Severin
I think Dwight Yoakam is a sweet thing! He is such a talented musician and entertaining performer.He ranks right up there with Johnny Cash in my mind.
Douglas Reed
Isn't that John Rich on the drums.
Jayne Weaver
When Johnny Cash was interviewed by Larry King, Larry asked Mr. Cash "who is your favorite performer" and he said "that would be Dwight Yoakam" an awesome moment and well deserved accolade from one legend to another. :o)
On the 1
April Severin--he's way higher art then Johnny Cash. Dwight a super hillbilly and he got a lot of his rockabilly from Buck Owens Cross who was ahead of his time and started a new genre of country music. Dwight as an acoustic album it's all acoustic I recommend you buy it it's called Dwight Yoakam at Acoustic. Net. and you will see and hear how he is better then the greatest of all times were talking James Taylor Carole King all the great singer songwriters Dwight is right up there with them all he's so underrated it is sickening