Dwight Yoakam (Country) August 2, 2006

With his stripped-down approach to traditional honky tonk and
Bakersfield country, Dwight Yoakam helped return country music
to its roots in the late '80s. Like his idols Buck Owens, Merle
Haggard, and Hank Williams, Yoakam never played by Nashville's
rules; consequently, he never dominated the charts like his
contemporary Randy Travis. Then again, Travis never played
around with the sound and style of country music like Yoakam.

On each of his records, he twists around the form enough to
make it seem like he doesn't respect all of country's traditions.
Appropriately, his core audience was composed mainly of roots
rock and rock & roll fans, not the mainstream country audience.
Nevertheless, he was frequently able to chart in the country Top
Ten, and he remained one of the most respected and
adventurous recording country artists well into the '90s.