MUSIC HISTORY 101 OCTOBER 23, 1956 - Born on this day in Pikeville, Kentucky: Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter/musician/actor DWIGHT YOAKAM Yoakam was born the son of Ruth Ann (née Tibbs), a key-punch operator, and David Yoakam, a gas-station owner, and was raised in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Columbuss Northland High School in 1974. During his high school years, he excelled in both music and drama, playing the drums in his high schools marching band, and 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 (self-taught) 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, studying history and philosophy, but dropped out and moved to Nashville in 1977 with the intent of becoming a recording artist. When he began his career, Nashville was oriented toward pop urban cowboy music, and Yoakams brand of hip honky-tonk music was not considered marketable, so 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. Financial backing to make a high-quality recording came from Dwights sister and brother-in-law, an insurance check that was meant to fix Dwights El Camino and money raised from a benefit classical music concert staged by UCLA music professor Dr. Robert Winter. Yoakams 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, 1986s 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 #1, a duet with his musical idol, Buck Owens, on Streets of Bakersfield. 1990s If There Was a Way was another best-seller. Yoakams 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 rocks lust and countrys lament. After establishing himself in the music industry, Dwight set his sights on his second love, acting. In 1991 he appeared as a stuntman/country singer in an episode of P.S.I. Luv U (1991). This became the beginning of his professional acting career. In 1993, Dwight released what is considered his masterpiece, the album This Time. He supported the album with a tour that lasted over a year and covered the world. In 1994, he received his first Grammy for the albums single, Aint That Lonely Yet. Along with his bluegrass and honky-tonk roots, Yoakam has written or covered many Elvis Presley-style rockabilly songs, including his covers of Queens Crazy Little Thing Called Love in 1999 and Presleys Suspicious Minds in 1992. He recorded a cover of The Clashs Train in Vain in 1997, a cover of the Grateful Dead song Truckin, as well as Cheap Tricks I Want You to Want Me. Yoakam has never been associated only with country music. In fact, on many early tours, he played with hardcore punk or new wave 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, 1960s, blues-based boogie like ZZ Top, and writing more adventurous songs like A Thousand Miles From Nowhere. While on location in Texas shooting the film, The Newton Boys (1998) he wrote the songs he used for the album A Long Way Home. 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. In 2003, he provided background vocals on Warren Zevons last album The Wind, the same year he received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honored for his recording career. His star is located at 7021 Hollywood Blvd. 2005 saw the release of Yoakams 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 Branchs 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. By the end of 2012, the album was named on annual best of lists by NPR, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, AOLs The Boot, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, and Rhapsody, and has been included in more critics best of 2012 lists than any other artist in the country genre. Yoakam has starred in many other films, like playing a truck driver in the 1993 Wyoming crime thriller, Red Rock West, but is most noted for his critically acclaimed performance as an ill-tempered, abusive live-in boyfriend in Sling Blade (1996). In South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000), he not only starred, he made his directorial debut with a screenplay he authored. Avoiding typecasting, he sought out contrasting roles as a psychopathic killer in Panic Room (2002)(Dwight was injured while filming when he burst a bursa sac on his elbow, hyper-extended both his thumbs, and had a few cracked ribs), followed by his role as a police detective in Hollywood Homicide (2003) and as the sheriff in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005). He also appeared in a supporting role as Doc Miles, the doctor for Chev Chelios, in Crank and its sequel, Crank 2: High Voltage. In addition, he also guest starred in the King of the Hill episode Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men as Lane Pratley. Yoakam also had a cameo appearance in the 2005 comedy movie Wedding Crashers. In 2008, Yoakam played Pastor Phil in Four Christmases, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, and he appears in the 2010 film Dirty Girl. He also appeared in The Last Rites of Ransom Pride, an independent 2010 Western that also stars fellow country singer Kris Kristofferson. He also played Brentwood Glasscock in The Newton Boys. Yoakam also starred alongside Penélope Cruz and Salma Hayek in the movie Bandidas (2006). In 2000, Yoakam co-wrote, starred in, produced and wrote the soundtrack for South of Heaven, West of Hell, also starring Vince Vaughn and Bridget Fonda. Some of his songs are included in the film Big Eden (2000). On May 7, 2005, Ohio Valley University in Parkersburg, West Virginia awarded and presented Dwight with an honorary doctorate degree. His father, David, passed away October 19, 2012. In June 2014, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song Guitars, Cadillacs #94 in their list of the 100 greatest country songs. Yoakam was featured in a recurring role as Bruce on the FX series Wilfred but was replaced by William Baldwin in the shows fourth and final season. He also appears in the second season of Under the Dome as Lyle Chumley, who runs the Chester’s Mill’s barbershop. Yoakams food brand, Bakersfield Biscuits, sells frozen foods at retailers such as Wal-Mart Superstores, Walgreens, Sams Club, and Kroger. READ MORE: dwightyoakam/ imdb/name/nm0948267/bio oldies/artist-songs/Dwight-Yoakam.html allmusic/artist/dwight-yoakam-mn0000791483/biography cmt/artists/dwight-yoakam/biography/ tvguide/celebrities/dwight-yoakam/bio/148239 bakersfieldbiscuits/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Yoakam https://facebook/dwightyoakam https://twitter/DwightYoakam
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 21:08:04 +0000
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