Dwight Yoakam

Born in Pikeville, Kentucky, and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Dwight Yoakam trained in classic country before moving to Los Angeles in the early 1980s, where he played clubs frequented by both country audiences and the punk and roots rock scenes. There he developed a songwriting approach rooted in honky-tonk and the Bakersfield sound, with dry, rhythmic songs driven by taut, edgy guitars and a highly recognizable nasal vocal timbre. His recording career took shape with the EP Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. in 1984 and the album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. in 1986, recorded with guitarist and producer Pete Anderson, a central partner in his early years. Yoakam followed with Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room (1988), If There Was a Way (1990) and This Time (1993), while maintaining an explicit link to Buck Owens’s Californian legacy, with whom he notably recorded 'Streets of Bakersfield.' Over the decades Dwight Yoakam broadened his palette without abandoning country, as evidenced by 3 Pears (2012) and Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars... (2016), the latter revisiting his repertoire from a bluegrass perspective. Alongside his music, Dwight Yoakam has also maintained a steady acting career in film and television.