Dwight Yoakam brings us this morning’s CarTune, “Guitars, Cadillacs,” his breakthrough hit of 1986. 

Just in case anyone missed them, the next words after “guitars” and “Cadillacs” in this song are “hillbilly music.” Dwight Yoakam is a country music purist. And you know, these are three of our favorite things as well. The chorus:

And it’s guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music
And lonely, lonely streets that I call home
Yeah, my guitars, Cadillacs and hillbilly music
the only thing that keeps me hanging on

When Yoakam’s hardcore honky-tonk sound first blew into the scene in the mid 1980’s, it was a powerful antidote to the weak country pop that then dominated Nashville. A talented songwriter, he also has a gift for crafting memorable character roles on the screen, including the Faulknerian Doyle Hargraves in Sling Blade. 

This live version of “Guitars, Cadillacs” was captured on the long-running PBS television show, Austin City Limits, in 1986.