Dwight Yoakam Explains Country Music's Staying Power To Dan Rather

05-17-2023

Video still

(AXS TV) Country music isn't a stagnant, outdated genre. It's a music style that's in a constant state of rediscovery and rebirth, says Dwight Yoakam. During an interview with Dan Rather, the country superstar traced the history and development of country music throughout the 20th century: From performers in the Dust Bowl era, to the explosion of the Bakersfield sound in the late 50s and early 60s, to the origins of country rock in the late 60s with The Byrds.

"Chris Hillman... he had been a bluegrass mandolin player and he was chosen to be a member of this band they were putting together, The Byrds. As he worked through The Byrds for the first couple of years, he kept introducing or trying to introduce country music into that rock band," Yoakam said.

But Hillman's efforts would prove successful, ushering in wave of "country rock" music with performers like Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and The Eagles, Yoakam said.

You can watch Yoakam's full conversation with Dan Rather on The Big Interview, available now on the AXS TV website here., mobile app and the AXS TV app on Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and other streaming platforms.