Dwight Yoakam's debut album, Guitar, Cadillacs, etc., etc., released forty years ago in 1986, was a historic turning point in the history of country music. There was something about the cover that suggested this was something different, something fresh. Had country music finally found its savior?
Dwight Yoakam had the right voice and his guitarist/producer, Pete Anderson, understood twangy guitars. The album featured a handful of great songs, both originals written by Yoakam, such as “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “Bury Me,” a duet with Lonesome Justice's Maria McKee, as well as songs from country music history; Harland Howard's “Heartaches by the Numbers” and Johnny Horton's “Honky Tonk Man.” That same year, Dwight Yoakam made his way to Norway for the first time when he played at Circus in the basement of Chateau Neuf with Tom Russell Band as guests.
The album “Guitars, Cadillacs, etc., etc.” reached the top of the Billboard Country Album chart, the first of three in a row.
It was quickly followed by Hillbilly DeLuxe in '87, which contained four Top 10 hits; “Little Ways,” “Please, Please, Please” and Lefty Frizell's “Always Late with Your Kisses” as well as Pomus/Shuman's “Little Sister.”
On his third album, Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room (88), Yoakam's status had grown enough for him to sing a duet with his biggest idol, Buck Owens. “Streets of Bakersfield” had originally been recorded by Owens in 1973, but in the duet version, it became a potent signal that Nashville did not have complete control over country music.
Dwight Yoakam is also a fashion-conscious gentleman, and he was one of the artists who made the so-called tailored Manuel jackets fashionable again.
Manuel was the son-in-law of the Ukrainian-born Hollywood tailor Nudie Cohn, who created the original “Nudie suits” and in the 80s had moved to Nashville.
Dwight Yoakam and Pete Anderson's strategy that country and rock could come together again made Yoakam a big crossover star, especially with the album This Time, which in 1993 became a triple platinum seller. With hits like “Ain't That Lonely Yet” and “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere.”
Dwight Yoakam has remained an important artist in the country world and has collaborated with a long list of artists and songwriters.
In 2024, the most recent album, Brighter Days, the 21st studio album in the line, was released, where he sang a duet with the rapper Post Malone.
Yoakam has won a Grammy twice and has been nominated 18 times.
Soloists: Johanna Demker - Jørund Vålandsmyr - Harald Thune - Frode Haarstad
Band: Tore Blestrud - Dagfin Hjorth Hovind - Even Finsrud - Ivar T. Brynildsen
