Introduction
DWIGHT YOAKAM WAS TOLD HE WAS “TOO COUNTRY” FOR NASHVILLE — BUT THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT MADE HIM A LEGEND.
In the late 1970s, Dwight Yoakam arrived in Nashville with a sound that refused to follow the trends. While the industry leaned toward polished country-pop, he stayed true to the raw honky-tonk music he believed in. Nashville wasn’t ready for him, but he wasn’t about to change who he was just to fit in.
Instead, he headed to Los Angeles, where he brought traditional country music to rock clubs filled with punk audiences. Against the odds, his debut album, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., reached No. 1 on the country albums chart and helped launch a remarkable career.
He also helped bring Buck Owens back into the spotlight, honoring the very tradition that Nashville had nearly left behind.
Dwight Yoakam proved that staying true to yourself can be more powerful than following the crowd. Sometimes, what the world calls too different is exactly what the world needs.
Has anyone ever made you feel like you were too much of who you are? Never forget that the things that make you different may be the very things that make you special.
We remember the forgotten, and we honor the giants.