Garth Brooks is a pivotal figure in the history of country music, no matter how much some country purists would like to deny it. With his commercially savvy fusion of post- country, honky tonk, post-folk-rock sensitive singer/songwriter sensibilities, and '70s arena rock dramatics, Brooks brought country music to a new audience in the '90s -- namely, a mass audience. Before Brooks, it was inconceivable for a country artist to go multi-platinum.
He shattered that barrier in 1991, when his second album, No Fences, began its chart domination, and its follow-up, Ropin' the Wind, became the first country album to debut at the top of the pop charts; No Fences would eventually sell a record-shattering 13 million copies. After Garth, country music had successfully carved a permanent place for itself on the pop charts. In the process, it lost a lot of the traditionalism that had always been its hallmark, but that is precisely why Brooks is important.
Garth Brooks is the son of Troyal and Colleen Carroll Brooks. Colleen was a country singer herself, recording a handful of records for Capitol in the mid-'50s that never experienced any chart success. As a child, Garth was interested in music and frequently sang at family gatherings, but he concentrated on athletics.
He received a partial athletic scholarship at Oklahoma State University as a javelin tosser, but he wound up dropping the sport during his collegiate career. While he was at college, Brooks began singing in local Oklahoma clubs, often with lead guitarist Ty England.
After he graduated with an advertising degree in December of 1984, Garth Brooks decided to try to forge out a career as a country singer.
In 1985 he traveled to Nashville with hopes of being discovered by a record label. Just 23 hours after arriving in Nashville, he returned to Oklahoma, frustrated with the industry, his prospects, and his naïve dreams. Brooks continued to perform in Oklahoma clubs, and in 1986, he married his college girlfriend, Sandy Mahl.
The couple moved to Nashville in 1987, this time with a better idea of how the music industry operated. Brooks began making connections with various songwriters and producers, and he sang on a lot of songwriter's demo tapes. Although he had made several connections within the industry and had a powerful management team, every label in town was refusing to sign him.
In 1988, six weeks after Capitol Records passed on his demo, one of the label's executives saw Brooks sing at a local club. Impressed with the performance, the executive convinced the label to sign Garth.
Brooks recorded his first album with producer Allen Reynolds at the end of 1988; the self-titled debut appeared early in 1989.
The album was an instant success, with its first single, "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)," climbing into the country Top Ten. Garth's debut was a success, crossing over into the pop album charts, but it was overshadowed by the blockbuster appeal of , as well other similar new male vocalists like and . Within a year, Brooks would tower above them all with his surprise, widespread success.
had three other hit singles -- the number one "If Tomorrow Never Comes," the number two "Not Counting You," and the number one "The Dance" -- but it was his second album, No Fences, that established him as a superstar. No Fences was released in the fall of 1990, preceded by the massive hit single "Friends in Low Places." No Fences spent 23 weeks at the top of the country charts and sold 700,000 copies within the first ten days of its release.
Throughout 1990 and 1991, Brooks had a string of number one country hits from the album, including "Unanswered Prayers," "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House," and "The Thunder Rolls." By 1993, No Fences would sell over ten million copies.
Not only did his record sales break all the accepted country conventions, but so did Garth Brooks' concerts.
By the end of 1990, he was selling out stadiums within minutes and was putting on stadium-sized shows, patterned after '70s rock extravaganzas. Brooks used a cordless, headset microphone so he could run around his large stage. He had an elaborate light show, explosions, and even a harness so he could swing out above the crowd and sing to them.
It was the first time any country artist had incorporated such rock roll techniques into stage shows.
Ropin' the Wind, Brooks' third album, was released in September of 1991 and became the first country record to debut at the top of the pop charts. Ropin' the Wind matched the success of No Fences, selling over ten million copies within its first two years of release and spawning the number one hit singles "Shameless," "What She's Doing Now," and "The River.
"
By the end of 1991, Brooks had become a genuine popular music phenomenon -- even his 1992 Christmas album, Beyond the Season, went multi-platinum -- and there were no signs of his momentum slowing down. Naturally, a backlash began to develop in the fall of 1992, beginning with the release of "We Shall Be Free," the first single from his fourth album. Featuring a strong gospel underpinning, the single stalled at number 12 and many radio stations refused to play it.
It was indicative of the eclectic nature of his forthcoming album, , which pushed the boundaries of contemporary country. debuted at number one upon its October 1992 release and by the end of the year, it sold over five million copies. Nevertheless, that number was half the size of the figures for his two previous albums and there was speculation in the media that Brooks' career had already peaked.
Sensing that he was in danger of losing his core audience, Brooks returned to straight country with 1993's In Pieces. The album was critically acclaimed and sold several million copies, though it was clear that Brooks would not reach the stratospheric commercial heights of No Fences and Ropin' the Wind again. Even so, he remained one of the most successful artists in popular music, one of the few guaranteed to sell millions of records with each new album, as well as sell out concerts around the world.
, which was only available for a year, was released in the fall of 1994 and would eventually sell over eight million albums. Brooks released , his first album of new material in two years, in November of 1995; within six months of its release, it had sold over three million copies. Despite its promising start, plateaued quickly, topping out at quadruple platinum -- a healthy number for any artist, but a little disappointing considering Brooks' superstar status.
Brooks decided to push his seventh album, appropriately titled , very hard to confirm his superstar status. Originally, it was scheduled to be released in August of 1997, when he would promote it with a huge concert in Central Park. Plans went awry when Capitol Records experienced a huge management shakeup, leaving many of his contacts at the label out in the cold.
Upset at the new management, Brooks held back the release of until he received commitment for a major marketing push for the album. He went ahead and performed the Central Park concert, which received major coverage in the media. On the strength of the concert, Capitol acquiesced to Brooks' demands, and was released in November of 1997.
catapulted to number one upon its release and quickly went multi-platinum over the holiday season.
The following spring, Brooks pulled his first six albums out of print and issued , a box set that contained all six records plus bonus tracks. Once all two million copies of were sold, the individual albums would remain out of print until their tenth anniversary, when they would be released only on DVD audio.
The set followed in late 1998, and its sales were brisk but not quite as heavy as projected. In the spring of 1998, Brooks unsuccessfully tried out for the San Diego Padres pro baseball team, a major indication of his growing desire to expand his success beyond country music.
Once it became clear that professional baseball wasn't in his future, he became fascinated with film, specifically starring in The Lamb, a supposed thriller about a conflicted, tortured rock star called Chris Gaines.
He was determined to win the role, and he did after extensive lobbying. Sometime in the spring of 1999, the film was given the green light with as a producer and Brooks as the star. During pre-production, Brooks decided the best way to prep for the role was to become Chris Gaines.
He invented a brooding, leather-clad image and filled in holes in Gaines' back story by inventing biographies and a musical history. The most important piece in the puzzle was a collection of Gaines' "greatest hits," since it would prime audiences for the big-budget spectacular of The Lamb, scheduled for late 2000. So, Brooks jumped the gun, recording a set of 13 songs -- as Chris Gaines -- that would fill in the fictional singer's history.
As the Chris Gaines album was about to hit stores, Brooks' new persona was revealed to the public. Since the machinations of The Lamb were only known to music insiders and fans who religiously followed the trades, Brooks' sudden re-emergence as a slimmed-down, soul-patched, shaggy-haired soulful pop crooner was utterly bizarre to almost every observer. There was a massive PR campaign to shed light on Chris Gaines, complete with a TV special, but the details were so convoluted that it couldn't be explained easily.
In the Life of Chris Gaines was released at the end of September 1999, and although it entered the charts at number two, it was a major commercial disappointment; by the time Christmas rolled around, some major stores were offering heavy discounts on the record in hopes of clearing out unsold stock. Fan bewilderment over the Gaines project also likely hurt sales of Brooks' second holiday record, , a traditional pop-styled outing that appeared just two months later.
Brooks kept a low profile through most of 2000, as the disastrous marketplace showing of the Chris Gaines album effectively scuttled plans for The Lamb.
Late in the year, it was announced that Brooks and his wife were getting a divorce; the rumors may have proven premature, though, as Brooks publicly speculated about preserving his family life by retiring after his next solo project. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
In 2000, Brooks prepared to make a move into the realm of fiction films with The Lamb, a feature starring him as the titular kohl-eyed rocker alter ego introduced by Brooks' 1999 album ...
In the Life of Chris Gaines. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide For more famous quotes by Garth Brooks, visit , ) is an and director.
, having come apparently from nowhere, and was an immediate commercial success.
Lacking the tall and lanky physical appearance typical of some male country stars, he successfully integrated and elements into his recordings and live performances. He soon began to dominate the country singles and country album charts and quickly crossed over into the mainstream pop arena, selling possible.
Brooks enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, with over 70 hit singles and 15 charted albums to his credit and over 115 million albums sold in the US alone, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the 1990s.
Possibly dissatisfied and looking to expand his career boundaries, he then attempted an artistically ambitious (but Troubled by the conflicts between career and family, the year after the decade ended, Garth Brooks announced his retirement from recording and performing, thereby disappearing from the music world as suddenly as he had come. Brooks returned to Oklahoma and in married Sandy Mahl of , , whom he had met while working as a at the Tumbleweed. Garth landed a record deal and tour first and took Trisha on the road as his opening act in 1991. The rest is country music history. It peaked at #2 in the US country album chart and reached #13 on the pop album chart. Most of the album was traditionalist country, Feel This Damn Old", a country top 10 success. It was followed by his first well-known song, " ", which was his first country #1 and is still considered one of his best-crafted efforts. "Not Counting You" reached #2, and then " " Brooks has also claimed that of all the songs he has recorded, "The Dance" is his favorite. The album contained two other Brooks classics, the dramatic and controversial "The Thunder Rolls" and the philosophically ironic "Unanswered Prayers". Also a hit was the affectionate "Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House"; all four of these songs hit #1 on the country chart. Similarly, Brooks was influenced by the operatic rock of the 1970s-era and . In his highly successful live shows, Brooks used a wireless headset microphone to free himself to run about the stage, adding energy and theatrics to spice up the normally staid country music approach to concerts. It also further propelled the sales of his first two albums, such that he sometimes occupied the top two spots in the pop album chart. Nashville had never imagined that a country artist could become the biggest artist in popular music, but when both record sales and concert attendance were looked at, Garth Brooks was doing just that. Ropin' the Wind's music Brooks was in when the broke out there. To then express his desire for tolerance of all kinds, he co-wrote from country radio stations and from the culturally conservative country audience, and only made it to #12 on the country chart, his worst showing to date. Nevertheless, the song often received when performed in concert. But it would not quite match the sales of his previous albums, and the tension between what Brooks wanted to do and what at least parts of his core audience were willing to accept would seem to stay with him for the balance of his career. In any case, Brooks's most loyal fans greatly admired his pushing of boundaries and personal vision. As a performer and artist he has been compared to fellow country and pop/rock legends, such as the likes of , During this period Garth and Sandy Brooks had three children: Taylor Mayne Pearl, born , and Allie Colleen, born , . In the , one of Brooks' most committed fan bases outside the United States, country music disc jockeys, such as Martin Campbell and John Wellington, noted that many fans were actually released there. Once officially released, in , it reached the top spot on the UK Country chart and number two on the UK pop albums chart. That same year "The Red Strokes" became Brooks' first single to make the pop top 40 there, reaching a high of number 13; it was followed by " ", which made number 23. Previous albums No Fences, Ropin' The Wind and The Chase also remained in the top 30. He also made a number of other television and radio appearances, experiencing considerable rude treatment from the British media (see below). Nevertheless, Brooks success in bringing his brand of country music to Britain was evident; indeed, Brooks has been nicknamed Garth Vader (a play on country genre, and the nickname probably originated from Britain when a top disc jockey, Nick Barraclough, used the phrase to describe Brooks' success on his radio show. Brooks returned to the UK in 1996 for more sold-out concerts, although this time his media appearances were mostly restricted to country radio and interviews with magazines. Garth would cover the song " ", one of the band's biggest hits, and one of drummer ' signature songs. When Brooks was asked if he dream of performing the song any other way than Peter Criss did. Nevertheless, Brooks' version made its way into the country charts. Brooks once again won the award for the ACM Entertainer of the year in 1998. The film, being produced by Brooks' production company Red Strokes Entertainment and as a musician in the public eye. In an effort to create a larger than life character, Brooks took on the the identity of Gaines the film. Brooks also subsequently appeared as Gaines in a television for the experiment became fairly evident mere weeks after the album was released. Critics admired Brooks for demonstrating his range as a musician and actor, but the majority of the American public was either totally bewildered, or completely unreceptive to the idea of Garth Brooks as anything but a pop-country singer. Many of his fans also felt that by supporting the Gaines project they would lose the real Garth Brooks. Sales of the album were unspectacular and although it made it to #2 on the pop album chart, expectations had been higher and retail stores began heavily discounting their oversupply. Dismal sales of the album and lack of into obscurity. Production on The Lamb was never completed and Brooks has since been wildly criticized for this seemingly odd career move. In 2005, would In 1991, Brooks took part in Voices That Care, a multi-artist project that featured other top names in music for a one-off single to raise money for the allied troops in the Gulf War. The project included fellow country singers , and . He has also donated at least $1 million to causes. Brooks won a 1993 for the song and his subsequent comments about it, such as, "But if you're in love, you've got to follow your heart and trust that God will explain to us why we sometimes fall in love with people of the same sex." Because of Brooks' gay-positive comments, and the close and heavily publicized relationship with his sister, Brooks has become one of very few country music . (By comparison, in the pop or rock worlds, none of these stances would cause much notice.) He talked of retiring from performing in 1992 and 1995, but went back out on tour each time instead. In 1999, he talked again of retirement again on 's Crook Chase program; this time, falling records sales may have been an additional trigger. they made On , 2000, Brooks officially announced his retirement from recording and , 2001, saw the release of Brooks' last album, . Brooks staged a few performances for promotional purposes, but stated that he would be retired from recording and performing at least until his youngest daughter, Allie, turned 18. Although the album did not sell as well as his heyday, it still sold comfortably well, reaching #1 on both the pop and country charts. It was Brooks' second marriage and the third for Yearwood. Trisha and Garth are constantly spotted at in Tulsa where they shop and dine. They also live on a ranch in , , just northeast of Tulsa. This is the first time in history that a musician has signed a deal that states his music will be sold by only one retailer. Confirmation that Brooks still has a large fan base was shown as the set sold more than 500,000 physical copies on its day of issue and it quickly topped 1 million by multiple albums is equal to 6 million units). Granted the boxed set was released around Christmas, as a limited-edition, and priced well below what one might expect of a six-disc collection. Selections included a duet with on "Long Neck Bottle", another joint effort with country legends , , and , and a solo guitar "The Dance", after telling the audience he hoped it was like riding a bicycle. The audience sang along with Garth, and there was a rousing long standing ovation. The audience went wild, and Garth looked like his old self. In December, the single reached #1. All of the Garth Brooks studio albums were In , Garth Brooks, who had criticized music stores which sold used CDs since it led to a loss in royalty payments, persuaded Capitol Records not to ship his album In Pieces to stores which engaged in such practices. This led to several lawsuits against the record label and ended with Capitol shipping the CDs to the stores after all. During Brooks' 1994 tour of the UK he made a number of general radio and television appearances. On 's regional news show , he was introduced with the words "Howdy partners, I've gone on down to Wembley Arena to interview a top-selling, rooting tooting, cotton picking, Country and Western star, yeeha!" On 's nationwide show he was mocked by presenters and , with Evans commenting, "He's selling more records than anyone in the world, but none of us have ever heard of him." Yates did an impression of a Country singer and told Brooks that, "Country singers always seem to be weeping over the dead dog and things," and also remarked, "I thought you'd come in here and twiddle your pistol around and be impressed. " During this interview, Brooks seemed a little uneasy and was relieved when he was told it was over; although he remained very polite, he did mention to Yates that she clearly didn't know a thing about Country music, at least in the last 20 years. Scores of Brooks fans wrote to complain about the way he was treated by the show. Sometime after this, appeared on the same show and after Yates told him, "You seem different from other Country singers we've had on the show," Yoakam replied, "What? All two of us?" " Unlike , who refused to return to the UK after being treated in a similar manner by the press, Brooks returned in 1996 for more sell out concerts, although this time his media appearances were mostly restricted to country radio and interviews with . This latter point led to much discussion and criticism of how RIAA does its certifications and lifetime totals, and how those methods may well have been faulty during the period decades ago in which Presley got many of his sales. In any case, Brooks, while proud of his sales accomplishments, deferred to "The King" and stated that he too believed that Presley must have sold more. S. history." Garth Brooks now holds the number two spot. The revision brought more criticism of the accuracy of the RIAA's figures, this time from Brooks' followers. With nearly 20 million discs sold at Wal-Mart in the first year of his exclusive relationship with the retailer, Brooks has been able to transcend his retirement and continue his history-making performances. This limited edition has already become the number one pre-order item on Walmart.com Music in 2006. Although this new chart is still criticized by some, it shows stronger placings for country songs, in addition to this, he has also had stronger placings on another Billboard pop music chart, , since it began in the late 1990s. Still, no solo male country artist has topped the Billboard pop music singles chart since in 1980, despite the many who have had #1's on the pop album listings (a chart based purely "brokenlink">citation needed
Ray Brooks worked as a for an oil company, while his mother
Brooks began his professional singing career in that same year. He became very successful as a local artist, playing to packed clubs and bars in Oklahoma, particularly the Tumbleweed in Stillwater. However, a trip to a miserable failure.
In , the couple moved to Nashville, and Brooks was gradually able to wend his way into the music industry. By , he was signed to .
During the early years, Brooks frequently recorded demo records for songwriter Kent Blazy. It was Blazy who introduced Brooks to , another unknown aspiring singer, in . The pair became immediate friends and pledged to help the other out once one of them made it big.
Garth Brooks' was released in and was both a critical and chart success.
the Billboard country music chart (staying there for 23 weeks) and #3 on the pop chart, and would go on to become Brooks' biggest-selling album, with global sales of over 20 million copies. It contained what would become Brooks' , the anthem " ", which was a favorite of American troops serving in the 1991 .
While Brooks' music was definitely in the country idiom, he had also absorbed a sensibility from the 1970s movement, especially (whom he idolized and named his first child after) and .
When Garth Brooks' third album, , was released in September , it had advance orders of 4 million copies and entered the pop album charts at #1, a first for a country act.
The Chase, which Brooks would later describe as his album that gave the closest look into his mind, would go on to become a huge success, with its next two singles both making it back to #1.
award for Entertainer of the Year for 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993, and the award for Top Male Vocalist for 1990 and 1991.
Brooks' August 1993 album was another instant number 1 success, going on to sell in the region of 10 million copies world-wide. However, it was not issued across the world all at once, which caused upset among his fans.
Brooks then embarked on a 1994 UK tour, selling out venues such as 's . He opened the London radio station, .
Brooks' success as a star elsewhere in the world is also evident, enjoying hit records and sell-out tours in , , throughout , , The Far East, , , etc.
, a collection of cover songs by popular artists from all genres. Garth requested to be on the project, and the band wholeheartedly agreed.
Estimates of the actual crowd size varied considerably, from 250,000 to 750,000 or even higher (this is because many were outside the actual venue, which was filled, enjoying the show. Brooks himself once said that he "played to over 800,000 people" at the . Billy Joel and made guest appearances.
an by Garth Brooks. Gaines was conceived by Brooks as the principal character in his thriller film The Lamb.
In 1999, Garth Brooks began the Teammates for Kids Foundation which provides financial aid to charities for children. The organization breaks down into three categories spanning three different sports.
The foundation enlists players to donate a predetermined sum of money depending on their game performance. Brooks has in 2000, and most recently with the in 2004 to promote his foundation.
Brooks is also a fundraiser for various other charities, including a number of children's charities and relief.
In 2000, Brooks appeared at the Equality Rocks for . He sang a duet with openly gay singer In the lyrics to his song "We Shall Be Free", Brooks sings "When we're free to love anyone we choose," a possible reference to gay relationships.
Brooks' sister and live bassist somewhat early in his career, Betsy Smittle, is a well-known entertainer in . She has worked with the late country star Gus Hardin and several Tulsa musicians.
As his career rose, Garth Brooks seemed frustrated by the conflicts between career and family.
Although Brooks ceased to record new material between 2002 and (most of) 2005, he continued to chart with previously recorded material, including a top 30 placing for "Why Ain't I Running" in .
country music superstar in front of a packed house in , . In December 2005, Patricia Lynn Yearwood and Troyal Garth Brooks drove to , and got their at the Courthouse. They wed on , 2005, at their home in Oklahoma.
Later in 2005 there were rumours of a comeback concert in ; however, these proved false and Brooks insisted he was not touring, neither did he have any plans to make any new studio material until 2015. However, there was some good news for his fans in August 2005 when it was announced that Brooks had signed a deal with his split with Capitol. Three months later, Brooks and Wal-Mart issued , a six-CD box set containing past material and a Lost Sessions disc with eleven previously unissued recordings.
In September 2005, Brooks came out of his retirement long enough to perform 's "Who'll Stop the Rain" with Yearwood on the nationwide telethon for relief. A new single was also issued, , a tribute to his late friend, rodeo star and fellow country singer, . Later in the month Brooks performed at the 's 80th birthday celebration.
On November 15, 2005, Brooks performed "Good Ride Cowboy" in front of a live audience in in New York City, as part of the 2005 Awards show.
In early Wal-Mart issued The Lost Sessions as a single CD apart from the boxed set, with extra tracks including the top 40 duet with Yearwood, "Love Will Always Win".
In a radio interview with British Country disc jockey John Wellington, Brooks was quoted as saying, "Yeah I was shocked at the reaction I got from the crowd in London. From the media attention I got, I thought country music didn't exist here, but Country music is alive and well in London, as well as all of England.
an announcement that Garth Brooks was the best-selling solo artist of the 20th century in America.
As of January 2004, the RIAA announced that Presley had taken over the top solo artist spot and that "Elvis Presley now stands as the best selling solo artist in U.
On November 1, 2006, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. announced that Garth Brooks, made history as the company's top selling music artist of all time.
The milestone comes just days prior to the launch of Garth's most limited production release to date. The latest exclusive offering from singer/songwriter Brooks is a limited five DVD set, appropriately titled Garth Brooks: The Entertainer.
Last year's boxed set release, Garth Brooks: The Limited Series, sold half a million copies in its first day of availability.
While Brooks scored many number ones on the pop album chart, very few of his singles reached the parallel singles chart, an odd discrepancy. The Hot 100 chart has been the subject of much criticism over the years due to the way it has been compiled, especially since it stopped using sales as its main source of information. In 2005, long after Brooks' peak success, the was launched by Billboard in answer to these critics.
Probably because of Garth's mother's cancer, Sandy waited to file for divorce.[citation needed] Soon after his mother died, divorce papers were filed.
Brooks and Yearwood married in 2005.
Brooks and Yearwood have continually denied having had an affair, saying that although they had feelings for one another (Brooks said the first time he saw Yearwood, he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen; Yearwood said she had a crush on Garth for years and never told him), they were never intimate while married to others.[Scarecrow, in addition Fresh Horses debuted at #1 on the country chart and #2 on the pop 200.
) In total, the double live album went on to sell in excess of 32 million units worldwide.
"
...
No one
"
happiness isn't getting what you want, it is wanting what you've got.
News RSS