From the Associated Press – Dwight Yoakam will make his 24th appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” this week, breaking the record for most musical performances by any artist. Yoakam, 51, is currently tied with Lyle Lovett for the show’s most musical performances with 23. Besides his appearances with Leno, Yoakam also was on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” six times, beginning in 1986.
Some of the appearances that stand out the time he and his late friend and mentor Buck Owens went on together to sing “Streets of Bakersfield.” Or when he flew 20 hours nonstop to entertain troops with Leno in the Middle East during the holidays.
“The great thing about everybody there is they’ve always been very willing to allow me the latitude to do what I wanted to do. I did things like ‘Back of Your Hand,’ which was a very low-key track. One time I went on with a (Latin) brass section and did ‘Silver Bells.'”
Yoakam’s latest album is “Dwight Sings Buck,” a musical tribute to his friend. When he does the show Thursday, one of the tunes he plans to perform is the Owens classic “Act Naturally.”
Dwight Yoakam & Buck Owens – Street of Bakersfield – The Tonight Show
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niberYoJako[/youtube]