Dwight called me on his way to Piers Morgan to plug his show at MGM Foxwoods and talk a little business...
BW: Your album '3 Pears' set records on the Americana charts, and when we think Dwight Yoakam, we think country artist. Did that surprise you and was that something you set out to do?
DY: You hope for successful reception of what you do musically; that folks receive it in a positive way. In the case of which chart it landed on, it's a coin toss and anybody's guess. We're in a world where things are in constant flux. I think that the traditional country chart has really kind of changed its demographic (in that) it's become a very young, late teen, early adult kind of format and that probably pushed listeners and artists over into other charts, I know AAA's playing us a lot. Although, in saying that, the next five minutes could mean that I'm back on country radio. Country radio's a very broad, encompassing kind of format today.
BW: Are you disappointed or hurt at all that country radio hasn't really gotten behind you?
DY: I've been really, really fortunate. I had a lot of success. Country radio has been great supporters of my music and I'll always support country radio when asked. We're doing interviews like this all the time at country radio stations. I really think that country radio has become a very diverse format. So when you say country radio, I think Americana radio is also transcending the boundary and they're both commingling at times.
