Dwight Yoakam has been making top-shelf country music for four decades. Today (October 22), the Kentucky native turns 68 years old, and, with a new album on the way later this year, he shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
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Yoakam remains one of the best songwriters, performers, and musicians in the country music world. With that in mind, we’re going to celebrate his birthday the best way we can: by cranking up some of his best songs. Here are five tracks that belong on any country fan’s playlist.
[RELATED: Top 10 Dwight Yoakam Songs]
1 “Honky Tonk Man”—Dwight Yoakam’s Debut Single
Dwight Yoakam’s music is steeped in the sounds of classic country music. He showed his respect for the history of the genre with his debut single, “Honky Tonk Man.”
Country legend Johnny Horton co-wrote “Honky Tonk Man” with Tillman Franks and Howard Hausey and released it as a single in 1956. It went to No. 9 on the country singles chart. He would release it again in 1962. It went to No. 11 upon its re-release.
Three decades after its initial release, Yoakam chose “Honky Tonk Man” as his debut single and the lead track from his debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. It went to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. His rendition of the song is infused with the Bakersfield for which Yoakam still carries the torch.
2 “Streets of Bakersfield”—Yoakam Gets a No. 1 with Some Help from a Legend
Dwight Yoakam has only notched two No. 1 hits in his career. The first was “Streets of Bakersfield,” a duet with country legend Buck Owens who was also one a major influence on Yoakam’s sound.
Owens recorded the song in the early ‘70s. Then, he and Yoakam performed it on a television special in the mid-‘80s. After the performance, Owens wanted the young up-and-comer to cut the song. Yoakam agreed to record it if Owens would join him on the recording.
“Streets of Bakersfield” was the lead single from Yoakam’s 1988 sophomore album Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room. It was Yoakam’s first No. 1 and Owens’ final chart-topper.
3 “I Sang Dixie”—Dwight Yoakam’s Heartbreaking Chart-Topper
Dwight Yoakam wrote “I Sang Dixie” and released it in 1988 as the second single from his sophomore album Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room. It was his second consecutive No. 1 and his final chart-topper to date.
The song sees the narrator comforting a man from the South as he dies on the streets of Los Angeles. As the man dies, he urges the narrator to move away from the city and to the South. Yoakam is from Kentucky and moved to Los Angeles in the early years of his career.
4 “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere”—‘90s Country at Its Finest
Dwight Yoakam’s take on the Bakersfield Sound was a perfect fit for country radio in the ‘90s. “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere” is a prime example of that.
Yoakam wrote “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere” and released it in 1993 as the second single from his album This Time. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and was a mainstay on the airwaves throughout the mid-‘90s.
5 “Guitars, Cadillacs”—Yoakam’s First Solo-Penned Hit
Dwight Yoakam wrote “Guitars, Cadillacs” and released it as the second single from his debut album. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. More than being a great example of his spin on the classic Bakersfield Sound, it was the first glimpse that listeners got of his songwriting prowess.
Featured Image by Larry Marano/Shutterstock
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