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.
Who At the Door Is Standing
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Patiently drawing near
Entrance within demanding
Whose is the voice I hear
All through the dark hours dreary
Knocking again is He
Oh, Jesus at Thou not weary
Sweetly the tones are falling
Open the door for me
Oh, if Thou will heed my calling
I will abide with Thee
Sweetly the tones are falling
Open the door for me
Oh, if Thou will heed my calling
I will abide with Thee
Door to my heart I hasten
Thee will open wide
Tho' He rebuke and chasten
He shall with me abide
Sweetly the tones are falling
Open the door for me
Oh, if Thou will heed my calling
I will abide with Thee
The lyrics of Dwight Yoakam's song "Who at the Door Is Standing" are a representation of a conversation between the singer and Jesus. In the song, the singer hears a voice at the door and wonders who it could be. As the knocking continues, the singer recognizes the voice as belonging to Jesus. The lyrics describe Jesus standing patiently outside the entrance, waiting for the singer to open the door and invite him in. The singer asks Jesus whether he is tired of waiting, to which Jesus sweetly responds that he will abide with the singer if the door is opened.
The song speaks to the idea that we all have a choice when it comes to inviting Jesus into our lives. According to the lyrics, Jesus stands steadfastly outside, knocking and waiting for us to invite him in. The song encourages listeners to heed Jesus' calling and open the door to welcome him into their hearts. The lyrics use religious imagery to create a sense of intimacy and vulnerability, emphasizing the importance of one's connection with Jesus.
Line by Line Meaning
Who at the door is standing
Reflecting on someone who is at the door waiting to come in
Patiently drawing near
Approaching slowly without being disruptive or impatient
Entrance within demanding
Asking to enter the door as the person is outside, seeking permission
Whose is the voice I hear
Curiously listening to the voice coming from the person at the door
All through the dark hours dreary
In a difficult or gloomy situation that seems unending
Knocking again is He
Repeatedly requesting permission to come in
Oh, Jesus at Thou not weary
Asking if Jesus is not tired of waiting and knocking
Waiting so long for me
Expressing how long the person at the door has been waiting for me to let them in
Sweetly the tones are falling
The voice outside the door is sounding nice or pleasant to hear
Open the door for me
Requesting permission to enter the place after knocking for so long
Oh, if Thou will heed my calling
If you grant my request, I am ready to come in
I will abide with Thee
Promising to stay or live with Jesus once they get into the place
Door to my heart I hasten
Referring to the heart as the door and rushing to open it for Jesus
Thee will open wide
Believing that Jesus will grant permission to enter the person's heart
Tho' He rebuke and chasten
Despite the possibility of being corrected or punished for doing wrong things
He shall with me abide
Jesus will stay or live with me and help me do things right
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: DWIGHT YOAKAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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