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.
Wild Ride
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There said slim
Cleaning up his memory with some sapphire gin
Mr. Paine grabbed my arm
Pulled me aside
And said kid are you ready for the wild ride
I looked up
I said if you didn't look so great
I'd say you look good
She took her hand ran it up my thigh
And said cowboy you ready for the wild ride
Come on now junior take the wild ride
See can you make it on the wild ride
Don't try no shakin' on the wild ride
'Cause things start breakin' on the wild ride
Layin' on the highway
I saw my mind
In tiny little pieces thrown from side to side
My heart was shattered along with my pride
Guess you can't keep 'em the wild ride
Come on now junior take the wild ride
See can you make it on the wild ride
Don't try no shakin' on the wild ride
'Cause things start breakin' on the wild ride
I was crawlin' 'cross the floor
I was trying to leave when I
Felt something tuggin' what was left of my sleeve
I heard a little voice with a gold-plated vibe
Say I bought a ticket on the wild ride
Come on junior take the wild ride
See can we make it on the wild ride
Let's try to shake it on the wild ride
We might just break it on the wild ride
Come on junior take the wild ride
See can we make it on the wild ride
Let's try to shake it on the wild ride
We might just break it on the wild ride
Come on come on take me on the wild ride
See can you make me on the wild ride
Come on an' shake me on the wild ride
You might just break me on the wild ride
Dwight Yoakam's Wild Ride is a classic song about the thrill and danger of a wild ride. The opening lines set the stage for the wild ride that's to come.
In the first verse, the singer is in a bar when Mr. Paine approaches him and tells him to get ready for the wild ride. The second verse introduces us to a mysterious woman who runs her hand up the singer's thigh and invites him to take the ride with her.
The chorus emphasizes the excitement and danger of the wild ride, cautioning listeners not to resist or try to control it. The last verse reveals that the singer has already taken the wild ride and been thrown from it, his mind shattered and his heart broken. Despite this, he is once again tempted to take the ride with the woman who bought a ticket.
Overall, Wild Ride is a cautionary tale about the seductive power of danger and the consequences of giving in to it.
Line by Line Meaning
I walked in
I entered the place
There said slim
Slim was present there
Cleaning up his memory with some sapphire gin
Slim was drinking gin to forget his past experiences
Mr. Paine grabbed my arm
Mr. Paine held my arm
Pulled me aside
He moved me away from the crowd
And said kid are you ready for the wild ride
He asked me if I was prepared for the wild experiences
I looked up
I raised my head
There she stood
I saw her standing there
I said if you didn't look so great
I complimented her appearance
I'd say you look good
I would've praised her even more
She took her hand ran it up my thigh
She touched my thigh with her hand
And said cowboy you ready for the wild ride
She asked me if I could handle the extreme experience
Come on now junior take the wild ride
She invited me to join her in the wild ride
See can you make it on the wild ride
She questioned my ability to handle the experience
Don't try no shakin' on the wild ride
I shouldn't hesitate during the ride
'Cause things start breakin' on the wild ride
The ride is so intense that things might break
Layin' on the highway
I was lying on the road
I saw my mind
I experienced a mental breakdown
In tiny little pieces thrown from side to side
My thoughts were scattered in chaos
My heart was shattered along with my pride
I was emotionally broken and embarrassed
Guess you can't keep 'em the wild ride
You can't control everything during the wild ride
I was crawlin' 'cross the floor
I was crawling on the ground
I was trying to leave when I
I was attempting to exit
Felt something tuggin' what was left of my sleeve
Someone pulled me back by my sleeve
I heard a little voice with a gold-plated vibe
I heard a voice with authority
Say I bought a ticket on the wild ride
The voice claimed to be a part of the ride
Come on junior take the wild ride
I was invited once again to join the ride
See can we make it on the wild ride
We wondered if we could handle the experience
Let's try to shake it on the wild ride
We decided to try our best to face the challenge
We might just break it on the wild ride
We were aware that we might fail
Come on come on take me on the wild ride
She asked me again to take her on the adventure
See can you make me on the wild ride
She asked me if she would be able to handle the experience
Come on an' shake me on the wild ride
She wanted me to shake her spirit by taking her on the ride
You might just break me on the wild ride
She was aware that she could breakdown during the extreme experience
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: DWIGHT YOAKAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@francestilton2199
Now you young bucks of todays' so called country music, this is how it's done. Go Dwight!
@louiserawle8999
He knows if he stares with those baby blues he has the audience in the palm of his hands.He is beyond gorgeous.
@ramonacabral3586
Love the way he stares out at the audience 🔥🔥🔥💙💙
@dawnmelvin1150
I am watching live videos of Dwight 3month tour , if I had not been married for40 years I would have went to every show he put on. He's good-looking, great singer ,perfect in every way. Dwight you have had a great career. I love to watch you and listen.
@denisecorral9037
Dwight sure looks good in those leather chaps. Wild ride, another country rock song. Love his signature hip moves. Dwight is fantastic in this video.
@sadahrose3349
oh those chaps and those skinny shiny jeans!! (looks almost like they were sprayed on! 😂
@louiserawle8999
I always felt Pete was competing with Dwight on stage!!,And awesome guitarist he is,but no one can ever compare to Dwight almighty..SENSATIONAL!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
@lindainglis8506
Great performance, Dwight. And what a glorious band!
@stevescrews447
Dwight has that stage presence and charisma that keeps every body's attention not never letting them know what's next keeping them guessing just a great entertainer.
@chriswhitejr1689
Love Dwight Yoakam. The man’s a cowboy rockstar