Wide-Open Country : Dwight Yoakam, Who Plays Thursday at Anaheim’s Sun Theatre, Pushes the Genre’s Boundaries

God bless Dwight Yoakam for being such a free spirit. While the veteran singer-songwriter-guitarist staunchly values the roots of country music, he simultaneously leads the genre down adventurous new pathways.

Not only that, the Kentucky native has reaped impressive commercial rewards in the process, selling nearly 15 million albums in the U.S. since the release of his 1986 major label debut, “Guitar, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.”

How exactly did this lover of traditional hillbilly and West Coast honky-tonk, who plays Thursday at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim, evolve into a forward-thinking, risk-taking maverick?

“I’ve never tried to deny the cornerstones of my musical influences, which I grew up hearing primarily on AM radio in the ‘60s,” said Yoakam recently by phone during an Indianapolis tour stop. “In rural Kentucky, you’d hear Bill Monroe and Jim & Jesse playing bluegrass . . . the honky-tonk of Johnny Horton and Hank Snow . . . and just a lot of pure mountain music from people like Jimmy Martin and the Stanley Brothers. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t escape the impact that music would have on me.

“At the same time, that doesn’t mean you have to exclude other, more contemporary influences. I’m always seeking out new forms of inspiration and a cross-pollination of styles. It’s just my nature to assimilate these divergent elements into something that’s hopefully fresh and innovative.”

Yoakam’s eclecticism is perhaps best captured on his 1995 release, “Gone.” Its diverse stylings range from ‘50s rock to ‘60s country and pop to even a little spirited mariachi music. When he performed his song “Nothing” four years ago at the Country Music Assn. Awards in Nashville, Yoakam was supported not only by his band, but by four backup vocalists, 12 string players and a five-piece horn section.

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Still, as experimental as Yoakam gets, his most stirring work is often his simplest. At some point during his current tour--his first since 1996--Yoakam’s six-piece band briefly leaves him alone, armed with only his acoustic guitar and penetrating voice.

“It’s really been gratifying to come out and play a few songs in more of a naked, intimate setting,” the 43-year-old musician said. “One of the solo numbers I play, ‘Miner’s Prayer,’ goes back to my first EP, before I was even signed to Warner Brothers. I wrote it after I got back [to Kentucky] to attend my grandfather’s funeral. Whenever I play that song, it always takes me back to a place that served as a catalyst for my direction in life . . . Pikeville in Southeast Kentucky--the culture that I was born into.”

Another highly-personal number, “Traveler’s Lantern,” is a tribute to his grandmother. The bittersweet ballad ends with Yoakam singing: “‘Walking beside/The weary soul life’s forgotten/Bringing comfort and love/And gently leading their way.”

“She had a tremendous influence on me as I grew up,” said Yoakam, a disciple of the Bakersfield-bred sound of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. “I recorded it on my last studio album (1998’s ‘A Long Way Home’), so it really serves as kind of a bookend to ‘Miner’s Prayer.’ ”

“[Bluegrass legend] Ralph Stanley was gracious enough to sing and play banjo on the recorded version, which made it even more special for me. When we first started working with Ralph, I remember [guitarist] Pete Anderson saying, ‘It’s like listening to the white Muddy Waters’ . . . in terms of emotional delivery and his contextual sense of place and time.”

While the ageless, pure-voiced Stanley lent him a helping hand, Yoakam has often donated his time to others less fortunate. In December 1997, he performed his second benefit concert for the Los Angeles Mission at Billboard Live in West Hollywood. In ‘92, he saluted singing cowboys such as Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Rex Allen and Gene Autry while performing at a concert to raise money for the Gene Autry Museum in Los Angeles.

Yoakam has also honored many of his musical influences, adding his unique interpretations of their songs to a number of tribute LPs.

Fittingly, a Yoakam tribute album, “Will Sing for Food--The Songs of Dwight Yoakam,” was released last year on Little Dog Records. The benefit project for the homeless features spirited covers by Gillian Welch, David Ball and Tim O’Brien, among others.

Last May, Yoakam released “Last Chance for a Thousand Years--Dwight Yoakam’s Greatest Hits From the ‘90s.” In addition to the expected hit songs, it features three new selections, including a cover of Queen’s ’80 hit single, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”

Yoakam’s version of the catchy Queen tune first surfaced as a commercial for the Gap clothing store that premiered during the ’99 Grammy Awards telecast. As Yoakam explains, it resulted from “a happy accident.”

“I thought what the Gap did with the Louis Prima swing tune in their previous ad campaign showed a great deal of respect for the music,” he said. “I thought we might access another audience--a new audience--through that medium, so I approved the use of my song, ‘Honky Tonk Man’, “ his breakthrough 1986 hit.

“But the week they were shooting the commercial, the Gap folks asked if we’d consider cutting Queen’s ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ instead. I went, ‘Whoa, I like that. That’s Freddie Mercury’s tribute to rockabilly . . . to Elvis and Gene Vincent and cats like that.’

“The only hitch,” added Yoakam, “was that they needed it done by the next day. So we quickly worked up an arrangement and laid down a track. It was kind of a blur . . . but I really thought it turned out pretty cool.”

Yoakam’s involvement in the film and television industry is not limited to pitching products. Among his acting credits are appearances in the HBO film “When Trumpets Fade”; the bank-robber saga “The Newton Boys”; Billy Bob Thornton’s Academy Award-winning “Sling Blade”; and his movie acting debut in the Nicolas Cage and Dennis Hopper film “Red Rock West.”

More recently, Yoakam has a supporting role in the just-released psychological thriller “The Minus Man.” In addition, the upcoming “South of Heaven, West of Hell”--an independent neo-western featuring Thornton, Vince Vaughan, Paul Reubens and Peter Fonda--marks Yoakam’s debut as a feature-length director. Bridget Fonda--Yoakam’s real-life romantic interest--is the film’s female lead.

“I had some experience directing quite a number of my music videos, but I encountered a lot of the classic struggles of directing an indie film,” Yoakam said. “Still, it was a very rewarding experience. I was fortunate to have the cast and crew that I did. I will forever be in their debt for their ferocious will and dedication.”

Yoakam made his theatrical acting debut six years ago in “Southern Rapture,” a play at the MET Theatre in Los Angeles directed by Peter Fonda.

“I had done some theater when I was young, but I hadn’t acted on stage for about 16 years until I got that role,” he recalled. “It was a great rebirth for me, and I couldn’t have had a better midwife--so to speak--than Peter. He was a tremendous source of inspiration.”

How does the restless, ambitious Yoakam manage such heavy demands on his time?

“It’s certainly an exhausting existence right now,” he said. “It’s all worthwhile stuff, though. I have nothing to complain about, although I am hoping to reach a state of calm in the near future. You can always rest later, I guess.”

* Dwight Yoakam and Jon Randall play Thursday at the Sun Theatre, 2200 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. 8 p.m. $52.50 (714) 712-2700. Yoakam, with Randy Scruggs, plays Sunday at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, 1122 N. Milpas St. 7 p.m. $26-$43. (805) 962-7411.