Johnny Cash once cited Yoakam as his favorite country singer. Chris Isaak said Yoakam "is about as good a songwriter that ever put a pen to paper. I think he is someone who years from now will still be remembered, like Hank Williams or Buck Owens."  Time magazine dubbed Yoakam "A Renaissance Man" and Vanity Fair declared, "Yoakam strides the divide between rock's lust and country's lament."