Editing Dwight Yoakam (section)

===1990{{ndash}}1992: ''If There Was a Way'' and soundtrack contributions===
[[File:KOSTAS - songwriter (cropped).jpg|150px|thumb|right|Kostas wrote several of Yoakam's singles in the 1990s.|alt=Songwriter Kostas in an outdoor setting.]]
In 1990, Yoakam entered the ''Billboard'' country charts for the thirteenth time with "[[Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose]]", which peaked at number eleven.<ref name="whitburn"/> This song led off his fourth studio album ''[[If There Was a Way]]''. The album would account for five more singles between 1990 and 1992: "[[You're the One (Dwight Yoakam song)|You're the One]]", "[[Nothing's Changed Here]]", "[[It Only Hurts When I Cry]]", "[[The Heart That You Own]]", and the [[Patty Loveless]] duet "Send a Message to My Heart". Of these, all except "Send a Message to My Heart" were top-20 country hits.<ref name="whitburn"/> "Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose" was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, Yoakam's fourth nomination in that category.<ref name="grammy"/>

Unlike his previous albums, Yoakam co-wrote several tracks on ''If There Was a Way'' with other writers. He wrote with [[Roger Miller]] on "It Only Hurts When I Cry", a song to which Miller also contributed backing vocals.<ref name="way liner"/> Yoakam had met Miller at the Grammy Awards and presented him with the title, and Miller agreed to co-write the song after Yoakam stated he was a fan of Miller's music.<ref name="right time">{{cite journal | url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gavin-Report/90/93/Gavin-Report-1993-03-05.pdf | title=Dwight Yoakam: The Right Time | author=Cyndi Hoelzle | journal=[[Gavin Report]] | pages=40–41 | date=March 5, 1993}}</ref> "Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose" was one of the first successful cuts for Greek-American songwriter [[Kostas (songwriter)|Kostas]].<ref name="new">{{cite journal |last=Simons |first=David |date=May 1994 |title=Made in Montana: Kostas Is A Hitmaking Machine From Way Up North |journal=New Country |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=20–21 |issn=1074-536X }}</ref> Record producer [[Tony Brown (record producer)|Tony Brown]] had sent Kostas' [[demo (music)|demo]] of the song to Pete Anderson because he thought the song sounded like Yoakam had written it. Because of this, Anderson suggested that Yoakam begin writing songs with Kostas.<ref name="right time"/> The two co-wrote both "Nothing's Changed Here" and "Send a Message to My Heart" on ''If There Was a Way'', leading to further collaborations on subsequent albums.<ref name="whitburn"/> Yoakam had written "You're the One" in 1978 about a woman with whom he had ended a relationship.{{sfn|McLeese|2012|p=36}} In addition to Roger Miller, backing vocals on the album included [[Amy Ray]] (of the [[Indigo Girls]]) and bluegrass musician [[Tim O'Brien (musician)|Tim O'Brien]].<ref name="way liner">{{Cite AV media notes |title=If There Was a Way |others=Dwight Yoakam |date=1990 |type=CD booklet |publisher=Reprise Records |id=7599-26344-2}}</ref> [[Alanna Nash]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' rated the album "A", stating that it continued on the "[[hillbilly]]" themes of his previous albums while also containing more [[rock and roll]] influence than its predecessors.<ref name="nash way">{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/article/1990/11/02/if-there-was-way/ | title=''If There Was a Way'' review | publisher=February 11, 1990 | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | access-date=September 2, 2022 | author=Alanna Nash}}</ref> Jurek praised the album for rock influences as well, particularly the cover of "[[Let's Work Together]]".<ref name="allmusic way"/>

Yoakam contributed to two movie soundtracks in 1992. First, he cut two songs for ''[[Falling from Grace (film)|Falling from Grace]]'', the 1992 directorial debut of rock singer [[John Mellencamp]]. Yoakam performed Mellencamp's composition "Common Day Man";<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/falling-from-grace-mw0000277710 | title=''Falling from Grace'' review | publisher=AllMusic | access-date=September 2, 2022}}</ref> the two also joined [[Joe Ely]], [[John Prine]], and [[James McMurtry]] on the track "Sweet Suzanne". Credited to Buzzin' Cousins, this song charted on Hot Country Songs for five weeks in early 1992.<ref>Whitburn, p. 65</ref> It also accounted for Yoakam's second CMA nomination in the category of Vocal Event of the Year.<ref name="cma"/> Later in the year, Yoakam covered Elvis Presley's "[[Suspicious Minds]]" for the soundtrack of ''[[Honeymoon in Vegas]]''. This rendition charted on Hot Country Songs by year's end.<ref name="whitburn"/> In addition to these, he re-recorded "Miner's Prayer", a track from ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.'', as a duet with bluegrass singer [[Ralph Stanley]] on the latter's 1992 album '' Saturday Night & Sunday Morning''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/dwight-yoakam-guide-bluegrass-7518949/ | title=Dwight Yoakam's Guide to Bluegrass, From Ralph Stanley to Ricky Skaggs | publisher=Billboard | date=September 28, 2016 | access-date=September 3, 2022 | author=Elias Leight}}</ref> This track was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.<ref name="grammy"/> Finally, Yoakam released an album titled ''La Croix d'Amour'' for the European market in 1992. This consisted mainly of selections from other albums, as well as previously unreleased cover songs.<ref name="virgin"/>