About The Song
“Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose” was released by Dwight Yoakam as a single on September 26, 1990, via Reprise Records. It served as the lead-off single from his album If There Was a Way, which dropped later that year and featured a mix of honky-tonk energy and traditional country arrangements. Produced by Pete Anderson, the track runs 3:23 and opens with a driving beat, prominent electric guitar, fiddle, and Yoakam’s signature twangy vocal delivery that gives it an urgent, dance-floor feel.
The song was written by Kostas and Wayland Patton. Kostas, a Greek-American songwriter just breaking into Nashville, crafted the demo that caught attention when producer Tony Brown passed it to Pete Anderson, noting it sounded exactly like something Yoakam would write himself. This marked one of Kostas’s earliest major placements and helped launch his successful run with Yoakam.
Lyrically, the narrator struggles with lingering memories of a lost lover that refuse to fade. Unable to shake the pain, he turns to the jukebox for relief: crank up the music loud enough to drown out the heartache. Key lines capture the plea—“Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose”—as a raw request for volume and escape, blending defiance with vulnerability in classic honky-tonk fashion. The verses paint a picture of restless nights and fading love, while the chorus delivers an anthemic call to let the beat take over.
The single climbed to No. 11 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and No. 5 on Canada’s RPM Country Tracks. It earned Yoakam a Grammy nomination for Best Male Country Vocal Performance—his fourth in the category—and helped push the album to strong sales and radio play. The B-side, “Since I Started Drinkin’ Again,” added depth to the release.
A music video directed by Steve Vaughan accompanied the single, capturing the song’s lively spirit. Though not heavily covered, the track has remained a fan favorite and live staple, often closing sets with its high-energy sing-along chorus. In later compilations like Last Chance for a Thousand Years: Dwight Yoakam’s Greatest Hits from the 90s, it stands out as a bridge between Yoakam’s traditional roots and his commercial peak.
Video
Lyrics
Well, I’m back again for another night
Of trying to break free from this sadness that I can’t lay to rest
This old honky-tonk sure does feel like home
And the music with the laughter seem to soothe my loneliness
Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose
From her memory that’s driving me lonely, crazy and blue
It helps me forget her, so the louder the better
Hey mister, turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose
If a tear should fall if I should whisper her name
To some stranger I’m holdin’ while we’re dancin’ to an old Buck Owens song
I know she won’t mind, she won’t even know
She’ll be dancing with a memory crying teardrops of her own
Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose
From her memory that’s driving me lonely, crazy and blue
It helps me forget her, so the louder the better
Hey mister, turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose
Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose
From her memory that’s driving me lonely, crazy and blue
It helps me forget her, so the louder the better
Hey mister, turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose
Yeah, mister turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose