Few entertainers have attained the iconic status of Dwight Yoakam. Perhaps that is because so few have consistently and repeatedly met the high standard of excellence delivered by the Kentucky native no matter what his endeavor. His name immediately conjures up compelling, provocative images: A pale cowboy hat with the brim pulled low; poured-on blue jeans; intricate, catchy melodies paired with poignant, brilliant lyrics that mesmerize with their indelible imprint. Then there's Yoakam the actor, who seemingly melts into his roles, impressively standing toe-to-toe with some of the world's top thespians: Jodie Foster, Tommy Lee Jones, Forest Whitaker, Nicholas Cage. Add to that Yoakam the entrepreneur and you have a singular talent without peer. Is it any wonder that Time magazine dubbed Yoakam A Renaissance Man?
But that's getting ahead of the story.
Much has been made that the Kentucky-born, Ohio-raised Yoakam was too country for Nashville when he first sought out his musical fortune in the mid-'80s, but the truth is his music has always been too unique, too ruggedly individualistic to fit neatly into any one box. Like the icons he so admires-Elvis, Merle, Buck-Yoakam is one of a kind. He has taken his influences and filtered them into his own potent blend of country and rock that honors his forbearers and yet creates something beautifully new. As Vanity Fair declared, "Yoakam strides the divide between rock's lust and country's lament."
The long-time Los Angeleno has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, placing him in an elite cadre of global superstars. Yet the sales have never come at the expense of his musical integrity. Whether singing about the twisted wreckage of romance or broken dreams of this hard life, Yoakam brings a knowing, glorious edge to his delivery and stands, in a world of artifice and flash, as a beacon of authenticity. He has 12 gold albums and nine platinum or multi-platinum albums, including the triple platinum "This Time." Five of those albums have topped Billboard's country albums chart with another seven landing in the Top 10. More than 30 singles have charted, with 18 going Top 20, including the incomparable hits "Honky Tonk Man," "Please Please Baby," "Little Ways," "I Sang Dixie," "It Only Hurts When I Cry," "Fast as You" and "Thousand Miles from Nowhere." He's won two Grammy® Awards and earned a staggering 21 nominations.
His debut album, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., had critics and fans alike taking notice, heralding a new voice that arrived fully formed with no contemporary rival. With those 10 songs, full of twang and truth, Yoakam led the new traditionalist movement. From the start, it was clear this jaded, often inscrutable troubadour could put a voice to our thoughts, expressing them better than we ever could.
Over the next several albums, Yoakam morphed from talented newcomer to musical legend. With Hillbilly Deluxe, People's Ralph Novak aptly praised Yoakam for his "uncluttered natural style, with a little rockabilly sob in his voice that harks back to Hank Williams. Indeed, as his artistry continued to develop-through such albums as Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room and This Time-Yoakam progressed on a singular path.
But the music only tells part of the story. Over the last 15 years, Yoakam has carved out a niche as one of the top character actors on film.
Starting with a role as a truck driver in John Dahl's spicy film noir Red Rock West in 1992, Yoakam was an instantly mesmerizing presence on the big screen. However, nothing prepared viewers for his riveting appearance as the malevolent Doyle Hargraves in the Academy Award winning film Sling Blade, for which he and his co-stars were also nominated for the Screen Actors Guild's Award for outstanding performance by a cast. In David Fincher's box office hit Panic Room, as the brilliantly underplayed antagonist Raoul, Yoakam once again seamlessly shape shifted in front of our eyes. His performance in Tommy Lee Jones' Cannes Film Festival award-winning The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada was effusively praised for its penetrating honesty. He played the hilarious Pastor Phil alongside Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn in the broad comedy romp Four Christmases.
Latest CD
Dwight Sings Buck