Rock History

Garth Brooks

1962 – Born on this day, Garth Brooks, country singer, (1991 US No.1 album ‘Ropin’ The Wind’ spent 70 weeks on the US chart, 1994 UK No.13 single ‘The Red Strokes.’ Biggest selling artist of the 90′s with over 60 million sales).

Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music artist. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at #2 in the US country album chart while climbing to #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Brooks’s integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances has earned him immense popularity. This progressive approach allowed him to dominate the country single and album charts while quickly crossing over into the mainstream pop arena, exposing country music to a larger audience.

Brooks has enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the 1990s. Garth Brooks still continues to sell well and according to Nielsen Soundscan, his album sales up to 68,363,000 (until the end of 2009), which makes him the best-selling albums artist in the United States in the SoundScan era (1991-to date), a title held since 1991, well over 7 million ahead of his nearest rival, The Beatles.

Troubled by conflicts between career and family, Brooks officially retired from recording and performing from 2001 until 2009. In 2005, Brooks started a partial comeback, and has since given several performances and released two compilation albums.

On October 15, 2009, Garth Brooks announced the end of his retirement. In December 2009, he began a 5 year concert deal with the Encore Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. He continues to deny any plans to tour or record new music for another 5 years.

Early life

Garth Brooks was born on February 7, 1962 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Troyal Raymond Brooks, a draftsman for an oil company, and Colleen Carroll, a 1950s-era country singer who recorded on the Capitol Records label and appeared ON Ozark Jubilee.http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=00144

Later that year, Brooks began his professional music career, singing and playing guitar in Oklahoma clubs and bars, particularly the Tumbleweed in Stillwater. Brooks traveled to Nashville to pursue a recording contract; he returned to Oklahoma within 24 hours. In 1986, Brooks married Sandy Mahl, whom he had met while working as a bouncer. In 1987, the couple moved to Nashville, and Brooks began making contacts in the music industry. The couple later had three daughters: Taylor Mayne Pearl (born 1992), August Anna (born 1994) and Allie Colleen (born 1996).

1989 – 1990: Breakthrough success

Garth Brooks’ eponymous first album, was released in 1989 and was a critical and chart success. It peaked at #2 in the US country album chart and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Most of the album was traditionalist country, influenced in part by George Strait.

His follow-up album, No Fences, was released in 1990 and spent 23 weeks as #1 on the Billboard country music chart.
1991 – 1993: Ropin’ the Wind and The Chase

Brooks’ third album, Ropin’ the Wind, released in September 1991, had advance orders of 4 million copies and entered the pop album charts at #1, a first for a country act.

After spending time in Los Angeles during the 1992 riots, Brooks co-wrote the gospel-country-rock hybrid “We Shall Be Free” to express his desire for tolerance. The song became the first single off his fourth album The Chase. It only reached #12 on the country chart, his first song in three years to fail to make the top ten.
1993 – 1994: In Pieces

In 1993, 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 August 1993 album In Pieces to stores which engaged in this practice. This led to several anti-trust lawsuits against the record label and ended with Capitol shipping the CDs to the stores in question.

Despite the delay in shipping the album to certain stores, In Pieces was another instant No. 1 success, selling a total of about 10 million copies worldwide. Some of his fans were upset, however, that the album was not released simultaneously around the world. In the United Kingdom, 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 buying the album on import. This made it the first album to debut in the top 10 of the UK Country album charts before its official release date. Once officially released there, in 1994, the album 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 in the UK, reaching a high of No. 13; it was followed by “Standing Outside The Fire”, which reached No. 23. Previous albums No Fences, Ropin’ The Wind and The Chase also remained in the top 30 in the UK.

To support the album, Brooks embarked on a 1994 UK tour, selling out venues such as Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre and London’s Wembley Arena. He opened the London radio station, Country 1035 and made a number of general television and radio appearances, where he was often mocked by the presenters. On ITV’s regional news show London Tonight, Brooks was described as “a top-selling, rooting tooting, cotton picking, Country and Western star, yeeha!” The nationwide Big Breakfast show’s presenters Chris Evans and Paula Yates, commented that “He’s selling more records than anyone in the world, but none of us have ever heard of him.” Yates then 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.” Although Brooks remained polite, he did observe that Yates was obviously unfamiliar with modern country music. Scores of Brooks fans later wrote to complain about his treatment on the show. Sometime after this, Dwight Yoakam 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?”

Despite the disdain of the British media, Brooks’ overall popularity in the country was evident, with a top disc jockey, Nick Barraclough, referring to Brooks as Garth Vader (a play on Darth Vader) for his “invasion” of the charts and his success as an icon of the country genre. Unlike Alan Jackson, who refused to return to the UK after being treated in a similar manner by the press, Brooks returned in 1996 for more sold-out concerts, although this time his media appearances were mostly restricted to country radio and interviews with magazines.

Elsewhere in the world Brooks was also considered a star, and he enjoyed hit records and sell-out tours in countries including Brazil, throughout Europe, the Far East, New Zealand, and Australia.

In 1994 Brooks paid homage to one of his musical influences when he appeared on the hard rock compilation Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved, a collection of Kiss cover songs by popular artists from all genres. As the only country performer to participate, some worried that Brooks would turn his cover of the song originally sung by drummer Peter Criss, “Hard Luck Woman,” into a country song. Brooks instead insisted on remaining true to the song, and requested that the members of Kiss perform the music on the track, the only song on the album where the band musically contributed. The unlikely collaboration performed the song live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in promotion of Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved, and despite its hard-rock appeal, Brooks’ version did appear on the country charts.
1995 – 1998: Success in the mid and late 90s

Brooks released Fresh Horses, his first album of new material in two years, in November 1995; within six months of its release, it had sold over three million copies. Despite its promising start, Fresh Horses plateaued quickly, topping out at quadruple platinum.  The album’s lead single, “She’s Every Woman” peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Chart, however its follow-up single, “The Fever” (a cover of the Aerosmith song) only peaked at #23, becoming Brooks’ first released Country single to not chart on the Top 10. However, Brooks had three additional Top 10 hits from the album following the second single, including “The Beaches of Cheyenne,” that also hit #1.

In 1997, Brooks released his seventh studio album, Sevens. Originally, it was scheduled to be released in August 1997, when he would promote it with a 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.  The album was then released in November 1997, and debuted at #1 on both the Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 album charts in the United States, and later became his fourth album to reach a sales of 10 million copies. Its first single was also Brooks’ first duet, “In Another’s Eyes” with friend and popular country singer, Trisha Yearwood. The song peaked at #2 on the Country Charts. The album spawned three additional Top 10 Country hits, including two #1 hits between 1997 and 1998, “Two Pina Coladas” and “To Make You Feel My Love”, which also was a Top 10 hit on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.
1999: Chris Gaines

In 1999 Brooks and his production company Red Strokes Entertainment, with Paramount Pictures, began to develop a movie in which Brooks would star. The Lamb was to have revolved around Chris Gaines, a fictional rock singer and his emotionally conflicted life as a musician in the public eye. To create buzz for the project, Brooks took on the identity of Gaines in the October 1999 album Garth Brooks in … The Life of Chris Gaines, which was intended as a ‘pre-soundtrack’ to the film. Brooks also subsequently appeared as Gaines in a television mockumentary for the VH1 series Behind The Music and as the musical guest on an episode of Saturday Night Live which he hosted as himself.

Brooks’ endless promotion of the album and the film did not seem to stir much excitement and the failure of the Chris Gaines experiment became fairly evident mere weeks after the album was released. Although critics admired Brooks for taking a musical risk, 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.

Despite the less than spectacular response to the Chris Gaines project, Brooks gained his first – and only – US Top 40 pop single in “Lost in You”, the first single from the album.
2000 – 2004: Official retirement

As his career flourished, Brooks seemed frustrated by the conflicts between career and family. He talked of retiring from performing in 1992

On October 26, 2000, Brooks officially announced his retirement from recording and performing.

Brooks’ final album, Scarecrow, was released on November 13, 2001. The album did not match the sales levels of Brooks’ heyday, but still sold comfortably well, reaching #1 on both the pop and country charts. Although he staged a few performances for promotional purposes, Brooks stated that he would be retired from recording and performing at least until his youngest daughter, Allie, turned 18. Despite ceasing to record new material between 2002 and (most of) 2005, Brooks continued to chart with previously recorded material, including a top 30 placing for “Why Ain’t I Running” in 2003.
2005 – 2008

In 2005 Brooks insisted that he was not touring and did not plan to record any new studio material until at least 2015. However, in August 2005 it was announced that Brooks had signed a deal with Wal-Mart, leasing them the rights to his back catalog following his split with Capitol.

Brooks took a brief break from retirement early in 2005 to perform for several charity causes. With Yearwood, he sang Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop the Rain” on the Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast nationwide telethon for Hurricane Katrina relief.

In early 2006 Wal-Mart issued The Lost Sessions as a single CD apart from the boxed set, with extra tracks including a top 25 duet with Yearwood, “Love Will Always Win”. The couple were later nominated for a “Best Country Collaboration With Vocals” Grammy Award for the song.

On August 18, 2007, Brooks announced plans for a new boxed set called The Ultimate Hits. The new set features two discs containing 30 hits, three new songs, and a DVD featuring music videos for each of these songs. The album’s first single, “More Than a Memory”, was released to radio on August 27, 2007.

In November 2007, Brooks performed nine sold-out shows in Kansas City at the Sprint Center, which had opened a month prior. Originally scheduled to be only one show, the performance expanded to nine due to incredibly high demand, with all nine shows (equaling about 140,000 tickets) selling out in under two hours.
2009 – present: Return to performing

On October 15, 2009, Brooks announced that he was coming out of retirement to do weekend performances at Encore Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Four performances are planned for several weekends in 2010; one on Friday night, two shows on Saturday, and one on Sunday. This schedule will allow Brooks to continue during the week to have the family life for which he had retired, and to continue to perform on the weekend.

Brooks’ first weekend of shows in Vegas received positive reviews and was called the “antithesis of Vegas glitz and of the country singer’s arena and stadium extravaganzas” by USA Today.
Brooks at the We Are One concert in 2009
Personal life

In 1999, Brooks and his wife separated, announcing their plans to divorce on October 9, 2000.

In 2000 Brooks attempted to donate part of his liver to country music contemporary, and close friend, Chris LeDoux; however, it was found to be incompatible. LeDoux did find a compatible donor but died in March, 2005, due to complications from liver cancer.
Setting records

The Recording Industry Association of America announced that Garth Brooks was the best-selling solo artist of the 20th century in America.

The RIAA has since reexamined their methods for counting certifications. Under their revised methods, Presley became the best-selling solo artist in U.S. history, making Brooks the number two solo artist, ranking third overall, as The Beatles have sold more albums than either he or Presley. The revision brought more criticism of the accuracy of the RIAA’s figures, this time from Brooks’ followers.

On November 5, 2007, Brooks was again named the best selling solo artist in US history, surpassing Presley, after audited sales of 123 million were announced.

He is also notable for a twenty-three hour marathon signing autographs at an unannounced visit to Fan Fair in 1996.
Charitable activities

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.

* Touch ‘Em All Foundation – Baseball Division
* Top Shelf – Hockey Division
* Touchdown – Football Division

The foundation enlists players to donate a predetermined sum of money depending on their game performance. Brooks has participated in spring training for the San Diego Padres in 1998 and 1999, the New York Mets in 2000 and, most recently, with the Kansas City Royals in 2004 to promote his foundation. Starting during the 2008 season, fans at Royals games in Kauffman Stadium now sing along to “Friends in Low Places”.

Brooks is also a fundraiser for various other charities, including a number of children’s charities and famine relief. He has also donated at least $1 million to wildlife causes. It was announced that Garth would perform a charity concert on January 25 and 26, 2008 at the Staples Center for the victims of the recent California Wildfires. On December 1, tickets went on sale and sold out within minutes, prompting them to announce 3 more shows. All 5 L.A. shows sold out in less than 59 minutes. CBS aired the first of these concerts (January 25 at 9 pm) live, giving viewers a chance to donate to the Firefighters Relief efforts.
Awards

* 1990-1999 Artist of the Decade
* 2 Grammy Awards (total of 7 nominations)
* 17 American Music Awards
* 11 Country Music Association Awards
* 18 Academy of Country Music Awards
* 5 World Music Awards
* 10 People’s Choice Awards
* 24 Billboard Music Awards
* 2 ASCAP Awards
* 2 Blockbuster Awards
* American Music Awards, Artist of the Decade (1990s)
* Academy of Country Music Awards, Artist of the Decade (1990s)
* Recording Industry Association of America, Artist of the Century (1900s)
* 1 Radio Music Award
* 2 Primetime Emmy Award nominations (Outstanding in a Variety of Music Program)
* 1 Golden Globe nomination (Best Original Song)
* GLAAD Media Award for “We Shall Be Free”-1993
* 1 CMT Music Awards nomination, Collaborative Video of the Year for “Workin’ For A Livin’” With Huey Lewis (2008)
* Academy of Country Music Awards, inaugural “Crystal Milestone Award” honoring him as the top-selling country music artist in history, with album sales of over 128 million in the U.S. (2008)
* 2 American Music Awards Nominations(2008):

Country Music – Favorite Male Artist Country Music – Favorite Album for “The Ultimate Hits”
Discography
Main article: Garth Brooks discography

Studio albums

* 1989: Garth Brooks
* 1990: No Fences
* 1991: Ropin’ the Wind
* 1992: The Chase
* 1993: In Pieces
* 1995: Fresh Horses
* 1997: Sevens
* 1999: Garth Brooks…In the Life of Chris Gaines
* 2001: Scarecrow

Other albums/compilations

* 1994: The Garth Brooks Collection
* 1994: The Hits
* 1998: Double Live
* 2005: The Lost Sessions
* 2007: The Ultimate Hits