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.
Santa Claus Is Back In Town
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the snow is on the ground
It's Christmastime pretty baby
And the snow is on the ground
Said you better be good now baby
'Cause Santa Claus is back in town
I got no sleigh with reindeer
You're gonna see me coming
In a big black Cadillac
It's Christmas time pretty baby
And the snow is on the ground
Said you better be good now baby
'Cause Santa Claus is back in town
Hang up your pretty stockings
Turn out the lights
Santa Claus is comin' down
Your chimney tonight
It's Christmastime pretty baby
And the snow is on the ground
Said you better be good now baby
'Cause ol' Saint Nick is back in town
The lyrics of Dwight Yoakam's "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" speak directly to the feeling of anticipation and excitement that typically accompanies the Christmas season. The opening lines suggest that it is indeed Christmastime, and the snow on the ground, a classic symbol of winter and the yuletide season, reinforces this. The next lines feature the singer warning listeners to behave, as Santa Claus is coming to town. This line fits squarely into the Santa Claus mythology that Santa rewards good behavior with gifts and toys, while naughty children receive nothing but coal. The subsequent verse sees Yoakam arguing that he doesn't require a normal Santa sleigh, fancy reindeer, or a bundle of toys. Instead, he rolls into town in a big black Cadillac, signifying that he is no typical Santa Claus figure. The final verse sees Yoakam urging those listening to turn out the lights and hang up their stockings as Santa comes down the chimney, the classic image of Santa Claus delivering presents to good boys and girls.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, it's Christmastime pretty baby
The holiday season has arrived, my dear
And the snow is on the ground
There is a layer of white, powdery snow present on the earth
Said you better be good now baby
I advise you to behave in a positive manner, my darling
'Cause Santa Claus is back in town
Since the beloved figure of Santa Claus has returned to this area
I got no sleigh with reindeer
I do not possess a vehicle to carry Christmas presents, powered by flying deer
Got no toys on my back
I am not carrying any trinkets or playthings in my possession
You're gonna see me coming
You will catch sight of me approaching
In a big black Cadillac
In a grand, dark-colored automobile of the Cadillac brand
Hang up your pretty stockings
Place your attractive socks, adorned for Christmas time, in a visible location
Turn out the lights
Disable the lighting in your abode
Santa Claus is comin' down
Father Christmas is descending into your residence
Your chimney tonight
Through the chimney above you, this very evening
Said you better be good now baby
Once again I urge you to have decent behavior, my darling
'Cause ol' Saint Nick is back in town
Due to the fact that the cherished figure of Saint Nicholas has returned to this area
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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