A singer who fused honky-tonk with rock and roll, Dwight Yoakam, with his trademark white cowboy hat, emerged during the late 1980s as one of the more respected country artists. In the early 90s, he began branching out into acting at which he has proven equally adept.

Born in Kentucky in 1956, Yoakam was raised in Columbus, OH. Learning the guitar at a young age, he showed an early facility for music and by high school had joined a succession of bands. He moved to Nashville to pursue a career but found his music, which owed much to the rockabilly roots of country was out of vogue. Hooking up