Whatever Happened to Dwight Yoakam?
What To Know
- Dwight Yoakam rose to fame in the 1980s with three consecutive #1 country albums and helped revive traditional country music styles.
- Beyond music, Yoakam built a successful acting career in films and television.
- In recent years, he married Emily Joyce and welcomed their first child. He is returning to the spotlight with a new album, “Brighter Days,” a duet with Post Malone, and a major 2026 tour with ZZ Top, showing he remains active in the industry.
Dwight Yoakam is a country star who knows what it is like to dominate the airwaves — his first three albums all hit #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart back in the 1980s. Now 69, he’s stepping back into the spotlight with an appearance on New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, reminding audiences just how much he’s still doing.
How did Dwight Yoakam get his start?
Yoakam first broke through in the mid-’80s with Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., an album that didn’t just launch his career; it helped steer country music back toward its honky-tonk and Bakersfield roots. His first three albums all reached number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, an achievement that immediately set him apart. Songs like “Honky Tonk Man,” “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “I Sang Dixie” became big hits.
The early ’90s marked his commercial high point, with This Time becoming his biggest-selling album and earning triple-platinum status. Tracks like “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere,” “Fast as You” and “Ain’t That Lonely Yet” were some of his most popular. By that point, Yoakam had already won two Grammy Awards and proven that traditional country could still be relevant to newer audiences. When radio trends shifted, Yoakam didn’t chase them. Although his fame slipped a little bit in the 2000s and beyond, he kept working steadily, releasing album after album.
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Along the way, Yoakam quietly built a second career as a respected actor. He delivered memorable performances in films such as Red Rock West, Four Christmases, Sling Blade, Panic Room and Wedding Crashers, and appeared on television series such as Under the Dome and Goliath.
Where is Dwight Yoakam now?
In recent years, he settled into his personal life when he married Emily Joyce in 2020, and the couple welcomed their first child later that year; Yoakam had previously been a famously eligible bachelor linked to stars including Sharon Stone. In November 2024, he announced Brighter Days, his first studio album in nine years. The project includes the single “I’ll Pay the Price” and a duet with Post Malone.
Yoakam also has a major tour on the horizon. In November 2025, he announced a co-headlining Spring 2026 U.S. run with ZZ Top dubbed the “Dos Amigos Tour.” The tour kicks off March 26 in Brookings, South Dakota, and runs through May 23 in Huntington, West Virginia, with 15 dates scheduled primarily across the Midwest and Southeast. Now, he’s also performing at the New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, proving he is not retiring quite yet.
How can you watch New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash?
The special airs on CBS and live on Paramount+ on December 31, 2025, at 8/7c. In addition to Yoakam, Lainey Wilson, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn, Gretchen Wilson and many others will also perform.
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Kings Of Country
March 2022
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