By Roger Alford
The Associated Press

The three-bedroom house in Betsy Layne where country singer Dwight Yoakam lived briefly as a youngster and visited often when his grandparents lived there. (Associated Press photo) | ZOOM |

BETSY LAYNE - Despite the popularity of country music star Dwight Yoakam, no one has rushed to purchase his family's former home in eastern Kentucky.

The three-bedroom house where he honed his musical talent as a young boy went on the market a month ago.

That it hasn't sold has surprised tourism officials who see the property as an attraction for people traveling through the mountainous region where many of Nashville's biggest stars were born or raised.

"I could see a country music lover making a good income supplement, buying the house and opening it to fans," said Fred James, spokesman for the Kentucky Tourism Cabinet. "It has appeal, no question about it."

American Way Realty in Prestonsburg, lists the price of the wood-frame, single-story house at $89,500. An advertisement says the house, which has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, is remodeled and has new carpet.

James said he believes the house would have sold immediately if it had been advertised more widely.

"I believe people are going to want to see it," he said. "It will be sold the first time the house hits the masses."

Yoakam was born in Pikeville and lived in the house only briefly as an infant before his parents moved to Columbus, Ohio. He returned often to spend time in the house with his grandparents, Luther and Earlene Tibbs, said Billie Jean Osborne, a country music promoter from Betsy Layne.

Tour buses now are common throughout the region, bringing groups from as far away as Canada to see the hometowns and the former homes of favorite singers.

But those buses can't maneuver on the narrow road leading up Pike Floyd Hollow to the house where Yoakam would sit on the porch and play his guitar during weekend visits with his grandparents.

Lots of fans drive by the house, said Trudy Hunter, whose son Randy Hunter owns the property.

"You can tell who his fans are," she said. "They slow down real slow looking at the house. Then they stop, get out and take pictures. There are people from all over the country who come."

The house is only about a mile from U.S. 23, the four-lane route through eastern Kentucky that has been officially designated the Country Music Highway because of the many stars who grew up in communities it runs through.

Those stars include Naomi and Wynonna Judd of Ashland, Ricky Skaggs of Blaine, Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle of Butcher Hollow, Patty Loveless of Pikeville and Billy Ray Cyrus of Flatwoods.

Kentucky tourism officials, trying to capitalize on the region's ties to country music, have begun developing museums and performance halls to cater to the fans who visit eastern Kentucky.

Osborne, who lives in Betsy Layne not far from the house where Yoakam's grandparents lived, said eastern Kentucky has developed a mystique among country music fans. They want to see the hometowns and former homes of their favorite singers.

That, she said, includes the tiny community of Betsy Layne, which had a huge influence on Yoakam's music.

"There are people who have money who could come in here and make a showplace out of it," Osborne said.