On this day (October 23) in 1956, Dwight Yoakam was born in Pikeville, Kentucky. Over the years, he has introduced new generations of fans to classic songs and artists with covers of the likes of Hank Williams and his duet with the late, great Buck Owens. Later, Yoakam became an actor, sharing the screen with A-list stars in unforgettable films.
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Yoakam burst onto the country music scene with his debut single, a cover of Johnny Horton’s “Honky Tonk Man,” in 1986. It was an immediate hit, peaking at No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs chart. He followed that with “Guitars, Cadillacs,” the partial title track from his debut album, scoring another top-five hit. His full-length debut, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., kicked off a string of three No. 1 albums.
Dwight Yoakam Found Success with a Unique Sound
His debut album was more than a hit, though. It introduced him as an artist who balanced a deep respect for the genre’s history and forward-thinking style. He blended honky tonk, country-rock, and the Bakersfield Sound of the 1950s and ’60s to create a unique sound that continues to catch the ears of listeners.
He has only scored two No. 1 singles in his career. The first came in 1988 with “Streets of Bakersfield,” a duet with Buck Owens, one of Yoakam’s musical heroes. He followed that with the chart-topping “I Sang Dixie.” Both singles came from his third album, Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room. While he is yet to reach the top of the country chart again, he saw continued chart success throughout the ’80s and ’90s. Songs like “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere,” “Fast As You,” and “Ain’t That Lonely Yet” dominated the country airwaves and narrowly missed the top spot in the early ’90s.
Silver Screen Success
Dwight Yoakam also found success as an actor in both television and film. He made his film debut in Red Rock West (1992). However, it was the 1996 film Sling Blade, in which he starred alongside Billy Bob Thornton, that catapulted him to fame as an actor. Since then, he has appeared in several films. He also wrote, directed, and appeared in South of Heaven, West of Hell (2001).
Highlights from Yoakam’s filmography include Wedding Crashers (2005), Crank (2006), and Bloodworth. Most recently, he was in Cry Macho (2021). His roles in TV include the Stephen King adaptation Under the Dome, King of the Hill, Roswell, and Drunk History.
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