Garth Brooks, the #53 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"Garth's a legend.  And what a talent."

"I've got nothing but respect for this man."

"Garth is an incredible storyteller."

"This voice is God-given talent."

"Garth is a one of a kind."

"I get goosebumps listening to his music."

"Garth is The Man".

"What tremendous talent."

"What a blessing to be able to listen to his voice."

"I love Garth and all of his songs."

There never has been anyone like him.  A Country artist so influenced by rock & roll that he incorporated the best elements of both into his music.  His unique style and the incredible things he could do with his voice changed "Country" music forever and made it sound like, in fact, rock & roll.

Troyal Garth Brooks was born February 7, 1962 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  As his mother Colleen was a recording artist for Capitol Records in the 1950s, the family scheduled weekly talent nights in which all of the couple's six children were required to participate.  Garth learned to play guitar and banjo for those contests.  

Brooks was active in sports in high school, playing football, baseball and participating in track and field.  He earned a track scholarship to Oklahoma State University competing in the javelin and graduated in 1984 with a degree in advertising.

Garth immediately began playing guitar and singing in local clubs and bars, playing often at Wild Willie's Saloon in Stillwater.  He loved rock music, influenced by Billy Joel, Bob Seger, James Taylor and Dan Fogelberg, and it is that background which allowed him to transcend the boundaries of segmented radio and thrive in the mainstream where 90% of other Country artists fail.

In 1985, Rod Phelps, an entertainment lawyer from Dallas, Texas, drove to hear Brooks.  Phelps was impressed, and through his contacts in Nashville, Tennessee, offered to help Garth record a demo and encouraged him to pursue a recording contract.  Brooks and his wife Sandy Mahl eventually moved to Nashville and began to develop relationships in the music industry.

Brooks signed a recording contract with Capitol Records and released his self-titled debut album in 1989.  Thanks to a tour opening for Kenny Rogers, the album peaked at #13.  The standout track is "The Dance", still one of his most popular songs, in which Garth sings about actively participating in life, whether it is met with pain or happiness.  Brooks commented on the meaning of the song to him:

    To a lot of people, I guess "The Dance" is a love 

    gone bad song," says Brooks. "Which, you know, 

    that it is. But to me it's always been a song about 

    life. Or maybe the loss of those people that have 

    given the ultimate sacrifice for a dream that they 

    believed in, like the John F. Kennedy's or the 

    Martin Luther King's. And if they could come back,
    I think they would say to us what the lyrics of 'The Dance' say.

 

This is the song that got Garth his recording contract.  Kent Blazy told the story to Bart Herbison of the Nashville Songwriters Association International:

    We pitched it around town for about a year and 

      nobody was interested.  We were going to get 

     together and rewrite it to see if we could get it better.

     About a week before that, Garth got a call to come

     play the Bluebird to fill in for someone.  They let him

     do one song, and he performed "If Tomorrow Never Comes".  Linda Schultz from Capitol Records, who 

     passed on him for the third time that week

     heard something.  She said, "Why don't you come

     back?  Maybe we missed something."  He came in

     and got a record deal.

"Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)", co-written with his friend Randy Taylor, is about a rodeo cowboy who has been competing for years but just isn't able to go on, missing being at home while also watching all the new bucks come on the scene.

That opening, though credible, didn't give a hint of things to come.  Brooks didn't break through to become by far the biggest Country singer in history by accident; he did it with amazing music, especially with his next two albums.

Brooks released the album No Fences in 1990.  It is impossible to understate the importance of this album, both to Garth's individual success and to forever changing the face of Country music.  Today's "Country" music sounds more like Rock & Roll than Country, and it even sounds more like Rock & Roll than today's "Rock" artists.  

 

Top 40 stations used to play whatever was popular, regardless of the style.  Artists such as Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Olivia Newton-John, Glen Campbell and others scored hit after hit, because they deserved it.  But then radio took a bad turn, fracturing and segmenting their audiences while depriving listeners of great material from all genres.  What a shame.  "The Thunder Rolls" is a great opener for No Fences.  Brooks originally tried to get Reba McEntire and Tanya Tucker to record it but when they didn't, he recorded one of his best career songs.

 

Garth communicated how this next song came about in liner notes of his Hits album.

     This song came to me through Jon Northrup. He was 

     doing a demo deal,and "Two of a Kind" was one of the

     four songs he was pitching for a demo. When I heard it, 

     I said, "I wish you all the luck on your deal, but if for 

     some reason it falls through, I'd love to have this." He called me three months later and told me I could have it if I wanted it. I immediately cut it. And to this day,even though it's a small, light-hearted song,it's one of the strongest parts of our live show. People just seem to connect with this song. This is a big point to writers and artists out there, especially myself, that sometimes intense gets the point across, but don't forget to show'em your sense of humor.

Enjoy "Two Of A Kind, Workin' On A Full House".

 

The groundbreaking No Fences album rocketed to #3.  It has now sold over 17 million copies in the United States alone. Another standout track is "Victim Of The Game".

(Note:  Garth's songs have been unavailable to share for decades, and are rarely available for more than a few days before they are deleted.  Finally, Brooks signed a deal with Amazon for the sharing rights to his music.  To best experience this special, it needs to be heard as if it were on the radio, one song after another.  

In this case, however, we ask for your help.  When you click on the link, it will only play a short snippet of the song.  After you click on "Try It Free" (there is no cost), please go back to this page and press the "pause" button at the bottom of the video screen and select to play the full song on the new Amazon Music screen.  When the song ends, press "stop" and come back for the next song.  You will need to do this to hear each Brooks song only available on Amazon.

We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, but it is the only way we can salute Garth in the same way we do the other 99 incredible artists in this special, by featuring his timeless music.

Songs like "Unanswered Prayers" make Brooks one of the most beloved performers of all-time.  Garth said "Happiness isn't about getting what you want; it's about wanting what you have."

Brooks was nominated for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Friends In Low Places" at the Grammy Awards.   Garth picked up an American Music Award for Favorite Country Album and was nominated for Favorite Male Country Artist.  He also won Billboard Music Awards for Album Artist of the Year and Top Country Album.

The music wasn't the only thing that made Brooks stand alone in the huge field of Country artists--instead of standing in one place on stage like his contemporaries, he used a wireless headset microphone to move about the stage and play to the crowd.  His ability to personally connect with fans and his skills as an entertainer are nearly unparalleled.

There is much more to come--be sure to catch Parts II and III of Garth Brooks!