Dwight Yoakam - Long White Cadillac official video

What this video is

Dwight Yoakam recorded 'Long White Cadillac' — a Dave Alvin composition originally recorded by The Blasters — as a defiant gesture toward mainstream country radio, delivering a hard-rocking, psychedelic arrangement for his 1989 compilation Just Lookin' for a Hit. The song eulogizes Hank Williams, who died in the backseat of a Cadillac on New Year's Day 1953, threading a direct line from honky-tonk origins through…

Why it matters

Represents a pivotal document of the late-1980s New Traditionalist backlash against Nashville pop-country, demonstrating how Yoakam's Bakersfield-influenced, punk-informed sensibility stretched the genre's boundaries. The video's dark, muted visual treatment visually mirrors the song's outlaw…

The director

Neil Abramson (born 1963, Johannesburg, South Africa) relocated to Los Angeles in 1979 and trained at UCLA and Pasadena's ArtCenter College of Design. He directed more than 40 music videos and 30 commercials, working with acts including Dwight Yoakam, UB40,…