Introduction
An American author and performer of songs in the style of country music, Dwight David Yoakam, extremely popular in the 1980s, he has recorded over 20 albums and compilations. Billboard music magazine has put more than 30 songs of Yokam in the charts of the most popular country music songs – “Hot Country Songs”. Dwight Yoakam, who has greatly contributed to the heritage of country music and country genre development, doesn’t seem to rest on his laurels but keeps on rejoicing cockles of his admirers` hearts and pleasing their ears with his new music masterpieces and, what`s more, in increasing frequency acting in popular feature films.
Yokam, born in Pikeville, KY in 1956, he was the son of wealthy parents far-distant from music. Dwight's childhood passed in Columbus, Ohio, where in 1974 he graduated from Northland High School. During his years of study he perfectly manifested himself in music and drama, improved his skills for future activity being mostly driven by the Monkeys – later he will tell in his interview with Don McLesse “I was a Monkees kid the Monkees were a cultural access point that the Beatles weren’t.”(McLeese, 2012, p. 36). Constantly getting lead roles in school plays, and sharpening his performing talents, he sang and played guitar with local "garage" bands in his free time as well.
Having dropped Ohio State University in 1977 he opted for “the capital of country music” – Nashville where he went the same year to look for the fame of a performer of country, especially of honky-tonk style of it. But, without any perspectives or opportunities to achieve the targeted in Nashville he was forced to leave it for Los Angeles. There, in the eighties, having joined efforts with Pete Anderson Dwight continued to bring honky-tonk, or as he called it – "hillbilly" – to the masses. In 1986 a record was published, which can be considered as the Yoakam`s full and independent debut – “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.”. That particular album marked a breakthrough in a career of the musician. Hit singles, widely popular till today, were “Honky Tonk Man” and a remake of the song by John Horton “Guitars, Cadillacs”.
It was a prelude to the success Dwight Yoakam has achieved later. Today “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 14 landing in the Top 10. More than 30 singles have charted, with 22 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 Grammys and earned a staggering 21 nominations”. (“Music Marketing Tools”, 2012).
The listenership of his oeuvre is really impressive. His songs seem to cater for various types of target audience from “mainstream country fans to bikers, to alt-country hipsters, to straight-up rock fans who otherwise have no taste for twang”. (Dickinson, 2012). Such a great success of the music of the popularly accepted exponent resides not only in his professional vocal, gripping artistic expression alongside with wide, universally adored employment of horns, background vocals and strings in his songs, but also in lyrics full of profound meaning. His philosophic approach which is applied for his songwriting may be absolutely explained by his quotation "I believe we're born knowing a lot more than we remember and we're taught to forget (for) the rest of our lives. That's what songwriting is to me — a momentary touchstone of remembering on some small scale what we've been taught to forget". (Dickinson, 2012).
Another reason for his expanding listenership is that Yoakam has been always experimentalising with genres of the music he is playing, performing not exclusively country music but “diluting” it with techniques descended from rock-n-roll, pop music and others. The vivid example of that is his last released in 2012 album “3 Pears” recorded with collaboration with other experimentalists in the rock music – Beck and Kid Rock.
Conclusion
All those above mentioned facts turn up to be the reasons for the great success and acknowledgement of Yoakam as one of the most proficient, talented, and charismatic country performers of all times. And only by virtue of “the drive, the focus, the work ethic, and the professionalism” (McLeese, 2012, p. 220) he had and always will have, Dwight Yoakam has reached worldwide fame and appreciation he has got today.
References
Dickinson, C. (2012, September 17). The bustling world of Dwight Yoakam. Chicago Tribune, p. 28.
Dwight Yoakam. Bio. Retrieved from http://www.dwightyoakam.com/bio
McLeese D. (2012). Dwight Yoakam. A thousand miles from nowhere. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Music Marketing Tools. (2012). Dwight Yoakam - A biography [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.musicmarketingtools.com/onesheets/artist/DwightYoakam/bio.pdf
