Queen, the #51 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"This is truly music at its finest."

"Some of the best Rock vocals ever."

"Excellent band."

"These guys are so talented."

"The real legend."

"They are sensational."

"Queen is one of the best bands of all-time."

"This band is so awesome and inspiring."

"Legends".

"Geniuses is an understatement!"

"One of the best bands of the century."

"Their music is amazing."


Members of this British supergroup could have been scientists or doctors.  Instead, led by the dynamic charisma of their lead singer, they rode the crest of rock's excesses into the spotlight and produced some of the Rock Era's most elaborate music.  It is an unlikely tale of fate and fortune.

In 1968, aspiring British musicians Brian May (lead guitar) and drummer Roger Taylor played in Johnny Quale and the Reactions, Beat Unlimited and the college group Smile, joined in the latter group by bassist Tim Staffell.  

Staffell met Farrokh Bulsara, a fellow student at Ealing Art College  Bulsara assumed the first name of Freddie and after Staffell left, Bulsara joined the group and suggested they change their name to Queen.

Queen performed with this lineup for the first time on July 18.  But after trying several bass players, they didn't decide on John Deacon until 1971.  Queen recorded a demo tape but didn't attract any record companies at the time.

Bulsara changed his stage name to Freddie Mercury and the classic lineup played their first show together on July 2, 1971.  The following year, Queen signed a management deal with Norman Sheffield of Neptune Productions and they signed with EMI Records in 1972.  

Queen debuted at London's Marquee Club and released their self-titled debut album, which didn't do well at the time but has since been certified Gold.  However, "Keep Yourself Alive" with May's great guitar riffs, showed the band's potential.

 

In 1974, the group released Queen II, which received airplay in the U.K., but success was contained there.  "The March Of The Black Queen", with trademark Mercury bombastic style (several tempo changes and operatic harmonies), is the best song on the album.  It is an example of Freddie's love of elaborate storytelling of fairytales with a hidden meaning known only to him.  In an interview with Melody Maker, Mercury said, "That song took me ages to complete. I wanted to give it everything, to be self-indulgent or whatever.  Other members of the group confirmed that it was not an easy song to finish.

"Seven Seas Of Rhye" is another solid track.  Mercury wrote the song based on a fantasy world called Rhye he created with his sister, Kashmira.  Its success in Europe not only earned Queen an appearance on the famous television show Top of the Pops; it allowed Mercury to quit his job at Kensington Market.

Queen opened for Mott the Hoople on a tour of the United States, but when May collapsed in the opening month and was subsequently diagnosed with hepatitis, the rest of the tour was cancelled.

 

May recovered and joined the band in the studio to record their album Sheer Heart Attack, which they released in 1974.  Although their first two albums were bold and contain many gems heard above, this is the album when the band began to put it all together.  Queen scored their first hit with "Killer Queen", a #2 hit in the U.K. and Ireland, #3 in the Netherlands.  The #12 peak in the U.S. is in direct contrast to the fact that the single went Gold in the U.S., making "Killer Queen" one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

May's "Brighton Rock" is another great early Queen song.  May is unique among the elite guitarists in crafting a layered sound with multiple echoes.  Brighton Rock was a 1947 movie starring Richard Attenborough.

 

Tours extended into Canada and Japan in addition to several dates as headliners in the United States.  Queen split with Trident and eventually signed with Elton John's manager, John Reid.  The frenzied "Stone Cold Crazy", about a crazy guy thinking he's a gangster, features May displaying his talents.

In 1975, Queen released the album A Night at the Opera, which became the most expensive album ever produced.  Many websites rushed to claim it as "one of the best albums ever", but the album's sales stand at three million, an extremely low figure to be considered among the world's greatest albums of all-time.

 

The song from the album that did emerge as one of the greatest of all-time was Mercury's six-minute Rock opera "Bohemian Rhapsody".  The record company wanted to cut the song for single release but Queen held firm and manager John Reid backed them up.  While it reached #1 in the U.K. for nine weeks, it didn't attain elite status in the United States until it was re-released years later.  In 1976, the song peaked at #9.  It hit #1 in every other major country in the world except Switzerland, where it peaked at #4, and West Germany, where it reached #7.  "Bohemian Rhapsody" was Queen's first song to reach The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" earned Grammy Award nominations for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus and Best Arrangement for Voices.  The song is #3 in all-time sales in the U.K. behind "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid and "Candle In The Wind 1997" by Elton John.

Queen released "You're My Best Friend" as the next single, which stalled at #16 in the United States but entered the Top 10 in most countries.  This song written by Deacon to the woman he later married is another of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

"Prophet's Song" is as close as Queen got to Progressive Rock.  Brian May tells of dreaming about floods and waking up with bits and pieces of words and melodies in his mind.  Noah of Biblical fame is tied into the story as there is warning of impending doom to the human race if action is not taken.  Somehow, May weaved it all together into this great song.

 

The title song is a solid track.

 

The emotional "Love Of My Life" became a concert favorite.  This sensitive song about losing a love features the classical piano playing that Mercury was so proficient at and May playing harp.

Be sure to catch Parts II and III of Queen!

Three Dog Night, The #52 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Two

 

(Continued from Part One)

 "Never Been To Spain" is another solid winner, a #3 song in Canada that peaked at #5 in the U.S.

 

"The Family Of Man" reached #5 in Canada and #12 in the U.S.

 

In 1972, the group released Seven Separate Fools, another Top 10 and Gold album.  "Black & White" charted at #1 on both the Adult and Popular charts in the U.S. and also hit #1 in Canada and New Zealand.  It sold over one million copies.

 "Pieces Of April" made it to #6 on the Adult chart but only #19 overall, making it one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

Three Dog Night released the live album Around the World with Three Dog Night, which was certified Gold.

 

Jack Ryland replaced Schermie in 1973, when TDN also added another keyboardist, Skip Konte.  The band released the album Cyan.  "Shambala" raced to #1 in New Zealand, #3 in Canada and #4 in the United States and sold over one million units.

"Let Me Serenade You" is another great track on the album. 

 

In 1974, James "Smitty" Smith and drummer Mickey McMeel replaced Allsup and Sneed.  The album Hard Labor made it eight consecutive Gold studio albums.  The unique single "The Show Must Go On", written and first recorded by Leo Sayer, reached #2 in Canada and #4 in the U.S., selling over one million copies.






 

Three Dog Night also enjoyed a minor hit with "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here".

Three Dog Night released Joy to the World:  Their Greatest Hits, yet another Gold album.

Smith didn't last long, replaced the next year by Al Ciner, who previously played with Rufus and the American Breed.  Ryland also left and was replaced by Dennis Belfield, also a member of Rufus.  TDN released the album Coming Down Your Way in 1975.

The group released American Pastime the next year.

Hutton left in 1976, with the group bringing in Jay Gruska for live performances.  Yet another Rufus member, Ron Stockert, came into the fold when Konte left.  Three Dog Night played their final show at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles on July 26, 1976.

In 1981, all of the original members except Schermie reunited for the EP It's a Jungle, released in 1983.  The album did not sell.  The three vocalists continued to tour with a revolving door of musicians until 1985, when the group fired Negron because of drug problems.

In 1999, Three Dog Night participated in the 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection project, releasing The Best of Three Dog Night.

Hutton and Wells endured, again touring with various backing musicians, and recorded singles from time to time, but have not released a studio album since 1976.

Schermie died and on March 11, 2015, Greenspoon died from cancer at the age of 67.  Cory Wells died of sepsis on October 21, 2015 at age 74.

Three Dog Night enjoyed 21 hits, with 11 becoming major hits in the Top 10 and three going to #1.

According to the newspaper The Examiner, Three Dog Night has sold over 90 million records.

In an age of the singer/songwriter, critics didn't appreciate the pure magic of Three Dog Night music.  But critics don't buy a lot of albums.  That magic manifested in the sheer delight of three-part harmony and their adaptions which brought recognition to songwriters previously unheard of.

Three Dog Night, the #52 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"What an incredible catalog!"

"Unforgettable songs."

"Gotta' be one of the greatest groups of all-time."

"Dig this music, man."

"Their three voices were each unique yet blended in perfectly!"

"The magnificent seven!"

"Three Dog Night was phenomenal."

"Great music, singers and a great backing band."

"Awesome tunes!"

"This band is one of the best ever."

"Groundbreaking stuff. God bless us with their talent."

"They sang about topics that mattered, like loving your fellow man--a lesson that people today could really learn from."

"Just great music."

"This band is completely fantastic. What a legacy of smokin' music they have left us to enjoy!"

"Amazing group after all these years."

"Classic, very classic!"

Back in 1976, this act ranked #13.  Times have certainly changed, and many artists have passed them, but they are still solidly in The Top 100*!

This great group with three prominent lead singers formed in 1967 with Danny Hutton, Cory Wells and Chuck Negron.  The three started with the name of Redwood, but the name did not stick.  They hired keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon, guitarist Rex Morgan, bassist Joe Schermie and drummer Floyd Sneed.  Morgan left soon after to join the Electric Prunes ("I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night") and was replaced by Michael Allsup.  

The group named itself after reading about the indigenous people of Australia.  On cold nights, those people slept in a hole in the ground hugging a dingo, or a wild dog.  If it was really cold, they slept with two dogs, but on the coldest night of all, it was "a three dog night".

Three Dog Night wrote some of their own songs, but often, they turned to others to give them enough material for their albums.  Harry Nilsson, Laura Nyro, Paul Williams and Hoyt Axton are just some of the songwriters who contributed to their success.

 

In 1968, the band released their debut album, which went Platinum.  The lead single, "Nobody", went nowhere, but their next one became a classic, underrated even at #4.  "One" sold over one million copies.

Suitable for Framing, released in 1969, also went Gold.  "Easy To Be Hard" reached #2 in Canada and #4 in the U.S. It is one of The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

The single "Eli's Coming" peaked at #8 in Canada and #10 in the United States.

 

Three Dog Night pulled another hit from the album with "Celebrate", #8 in Canada and #15 in the U.S.  

The band released the album Captured Live at the Forum, another Gold album.

 

Three Dog Night released the album It' Ain't Easy in 1970, another Gold album.  The single "Mama Told Me Not To Come" hit #1 in the United States, #2 in Canada, #3 in the U.K. and #4 in Australia and sold over one million copies.

 

"Out In The Country" was another underrated hit, #9 in Canada and #15 in the U.S.

 

"One Man Band" climbed to #6 in Canada and #19 in the United States.

 

The band released Naturally later in the year, their fourth consecutive Gold album.  The group achieved their biggest career hit with "Joy To The World", #1 for six weeks and a million-seller.  It is The #43 Song of the Rock Era*!.

 

"Liar", written for them by Russ Ballard, reached #4 in Canada and #7 in the U.S.

 

The compilation album Golden Bisquits went Gold, as did Harmony in 1971.  The great song "An Old Fashioned Love Song" jumped to #2 in Canada, #3 in New Zealand and #4 in the United States.  It also sold over one million singles.

Join us for more amazing music from Three Dog Night in Part Two!

Garth Brooks, The #53 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two Below)


 

In 1995, Brooks released the album Fresh Horses, which quickly sold three million copies and the count is now over four million.  You may hear this song and it would be completely understandable to say "There are no beaches in Cheyenne."  Brian Kennedy and Dan Roberts co-wrote this song with Garth and Roberts told The Boot:

  

     What we had was about a guy who was living in

     California, a businessman working a regular job 

     who always wished he could rodeo. So he walks

     the beaches at night and thinks about Cheyenne. 

     Garth had the guitar, he was writing the melody 

     and singing, "Every night he walks the beaches of

     Cheyenne," and then Garth sings, "Every night 

     SHE walks the beaches of Cheyenne" by mistake.

     We were all, "Yeah, it's about a woman."  So 

     when he sang that, we started getting focused in

     that it's about a woman, and the story

     materialized out of that.

  

(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.

Once again, Garth was named Favorite Country Male Artist at the American Music Awards, his third consecutive win, and Fresh Horses was nominated for Favorite Country Album.  Garth once again won Favorite Country Male Artist at the American Music Awards in 1997.  He picked up a nomination for Top Country Artist at the Billboard Music Awards and was named Favorite Male Artist at the People's Choice Awards for the fifth consecutive year and World's Best-Selling Country Artist for the fifth straight year.

"She's Every Woman", like "The River", is another written by Brooks and Victoria Shaw.

 

"That 'Ol Wind" tells the story of two lovers who have been separated since a one-night stand ten years earlier, and both have secrets when they reunite.

 

Garth's cover of the Billy Joel song "To Make You Feel My Love" earned a Grammy nomination for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.  It is from the "Hope Floats" Soundtrack. 

Garth returned with the album Sevens, which became yet another Brooks album to debut at #1.  His concert in Central Park in Manhattan, New York on August 7 drew an estimated 980,000 fans, making it the largest in the park's history.

 Brooks & Yearwood teamed up for "Where Your Road Leads", which earned another Grammy nomination for the pair for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.  Sevens was also nominated for Best Country Album.

 Sevens became his fourth album to top 10 million in sales.  Brooks once again was named Favorite Country Male Artist at the American Music Awards and Sevens earned a trophy for Favorite Country Album.  Garth won Billboard Music Awards for Artist Achievement, Male Album Artist of the Year, Male Album of the Year, Top Country Artist, Country Album Artist of the Year, Top Country Album and Country Song Artist of the Year.  He was also nominated for Favorite All-Time Music Performer at the People's Choice Awards.  Fans who have a hard time mixing beer with proper behavior identify with the song.

"She's Gonna' Make It" was another big Country hit in the U.S. and Canada.

 

His duet with wife Trisha Yearwood, "In Another's Eyes", won a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals and was nominated for Best Country Song.

Brooks won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Artist of the 90's.  Another world tour drew 5.5 million fans (#3 all-time) and grossed over $105 million.

Brooks released the album Double Live in 1998, recorded during his second world tour.  It became the best-selling live release of all-time, now with sales over 21 million copies.  

Brooks captured American Music Awards for Favorite Country Male Artist and Favorite Country Album and he received the Founder Award at the ASCAP Awards.  Garth was nominated for Album Artist of the Year and Country Album Artist of the Year.

Brooks also began a brief career in baseball, signing with the San Diego Padres for their spring training camp in 1998 and 1999.  He didn't make the team, so he signed a similar arrangement with the New York Mets the next season.  Garth gave it one final try in 2004 with the Kansas City Royals, but again did not make the final roster.

In 1999, Brooks agreed to portray Chris Gaines, a fictitious Rock and Roll performer in a projected movie, The Lamb.  The album Garth Brooks in...The Life of Chris Gaines was released with the public not impressed.  The album did rise to #2, but sales fell far short of expectations (it eventually sold two million, minuscule in comparison to previous Brooks releases) and the film was canceled.

Brooks earned a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Male Country Artist.

Brooks bemoaned the conflicts of being a recording star and devoting time to family.  He expressed thoughts of retiring in 1992 and again in 1995 and 1999, all the while continuing to perform.  On October 26, 2000, Brooks announced he was retiring from both recording and performing at least until his youngest daughter graduated from high school.   Coincidentally, Capitol Records announced that Garth had gone over 100 million in album sales in the United States at the same time.

 

Brooks' final album before making that announcement was Scarecrow, released in 2001, that features "Why Ain't I Running".

It too rose to #1 on the Album chart.  "Beer Run", recorded with George Jones, earned a nomination for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals at the Grammy Awards.  Garth also won Favorite Male Artist in both 2001 and 2002 at the People's Choice Awards, the sixth and seventh such honors.

Brooks also recorded "When You Come Back To Me Again" for the movie Frequency, which was nominated for Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards.

In 2002, Garth received an Award of Merit at the American Music Awards and he was nominated for Country Songs Artist of the Year.  He also received the Howie Richmond Hitmaker Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 2005, Brooks concluded his arrangement with Capitol Records and started his own label, Pearl Records.  He released the box set The Limited Series, which contained previous Brooks studio albums as well as Double Live and The Lost Sessions (which included previously unreleased songs).  It sold more than one million copies.

The next year, The Lost Sessions was released as a separate CD and included a duet with his new wife Trisha Yearwood, "Love Will Always Win".  Brooks and Yearwood were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals.

Brooks released another box set, The Ultimate Hits, in 2007.  He began to perform live again, selling out nine shows in Kansas City in less than two hours.  Garth was once again nominated for Favorite Country Male Artist at the American Music Awards and the album was nominated for Favorite Country Album.

In 2009, Brooks performed at the We Are One:  The Obama Inaugural Celebration to mark the first inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama.

Later that year, Garth signed a deal with Steve Wynn, owner of the Encore Las Vegas Hotel, to perform on weekends at the hotel.  This allowed Brooks to spend time with his family in Oklahoma during the week and fly to Las Vegas for shows on Wynn's private jet.

In 2013, Brooks released the box set Blame It All on My Roots:  Five Decades of Influences, which consisted of songs he performed in Las Vegas that influenced his career.  The compilation has been certified Platinum and earned an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Country Album.  Garth also captured the Centennial Award at the ASCAP Awards and Blame It All on My Roots was nominated for Top Country Album at the Billboard Music Awards and for World's Best Album at the World Music Awards.

Brooks announced a world tour and plans for another album in 2014.  He also released his entire catalog digitally, but rather than use traditional streaming sites, he launched his own online music store, GhostTunes.  Later in the year, Brooks released the album Man Against Machine.  

 

This wonderful song is about a conversation between an unborn child and God.  It is a different take on a familiar subject, but a great tribute to Moms.

Sales of that album put Garth ahead of Elvis Presley in U.S. album sales, as the two have jockeyed back and forth for the all-time most sales for a solo artist.  Presley, who died in 1976, has certified sales of 134.5 million.

In 2016, Brooks released the single "Baby, Let's Lay Down And Dance" from the album, Gunslinger.  He also announced plans to release a Christmas album with Yearwood entitled Christmas Together.

 

Mitch Rossell gave some songs to Garth for his Man Against Machine album, and, while none made it onto that project, Brooks reached out to Rossell for the Gunslinger album.  "Ask Me How I Know" is the one Garth recorded.

Brooks released the album Triple Live in 2018.  That year, Garth performed to 30 sold-out stadiums in North America.  In 2020, Brooks released the album Fun.

On January 20, 2021, Garth performed at the U.S. presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden.

Brooks has sold over 136 million records in the U.S., second only to the Beatles' 160 million.  He is the only artist in history to release seven albums that have each gone over 10 million in sales.  

He has won two Grammy Awards from 13 nominations, 12 American Music Awards from 21 nominations, 17 Billboard Music Awards from 23 nominations, five World Music Awards from six nominations, three ASCAP Awards, eight People's Choice Awards out of nine nominations and two Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.

Garth Brooks, The #53 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Two

 

(Continued from Part One)

 

As great as No Fences was, Brooks managed to top that with his third release, Ropin' the Wind.  He released the album in 1991 and with unprecedented advance orders of four million copies, it debuted at #1, the first time in history that a Country artist achieved that feat.  Brooks was truly going "Against The Grain".

 

Garth took this Billy Joel song and made it his own--"Shameless".

As Ropin the Wind attracted fans of all ages and musical tastes, it also dramatically increased interest in Brooks' previous albums, and sales of No Fences spiked.  Would it not have been for Ropin the Wind, No Fences wouldn't be the big-seller it is today.  Those two consecutive albums hold their own against two straight by nearly any other artist in history.  At one time, Brooks had all three of his albums listed in the Top 20 of the Album chart, another first for a Country artist.

 Brooks scored an American Music Award for Favorite Country Male Artist and was nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Country Album.  In the 1995 television special "The Garth Brooks Story", Brooks said that he tried to get others to record this one as well:

     I went all over this town trying to get it cut. The song 

     was called Miss Rodeo, and it was written for a 

     woman to sing, and no one would sing it. I crawled 

     on my knees to Trisha Yearwood, I said "please you

     got to hear this song." And she goes, "Garth, I'm sure

     it's perfect, I don't understand the song because I'm 

     not from that part of the country." She's from Georgia.

     Yearwood subsequently convinced Brooks that he was better fit to sing the song than she was, so he agreed

      to record it.  

All about the boots and the mud, the bulls and the blood:  "Rodeo".

 Brooks earned the Grammy, however, for his performance on the entire album in winning Best Male Country Vocal Performance.  Garth was also nominated for Favorite Country Single (for "The River").  He earned Songwriter of the Year honors at the ASCAP Awards and won Billboard Music Awards for Top Artist, Top Pop Artist, Album Artist of the Year, Top Country Artist and Top Country Album.  Brooks also won People's Choice Awards for Favorite Male Artist and Favorite Country Male Singer.  Garth also won the World's Best-Selling Country Artist at the World Music Awards.  This song was originally recorded by Crystal Gayle as "What He's Doing Now".

 

Garth was nominated for Best Music Video for "The Thunder Rolls" at the Grammy Awards and he won an American Music Award for Favorite Country Single (also for "The Thunder Rolls".   Brooks' catalog is a great mix of serious and intense songs that tell great stories as well as fun ones such as "We Bury The Hatchet".

(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 apologize for the extra trouble, but this is the only way we can share Garth's great music the way we do with the 99 other artists in this special.

Victoria Shaw, co-writer of another of Garth's gems, wrote it with Garth when he came over to her house.  They had difficulty coming up with something until Brooks hit upon the melody.  Shaw said in The American Songwriter what they composed in her living room that day is what you hear on "River".

     What I do remember debating is whether “vessel” 

     was the right word.  I thought it sounded weird.  

     Garth loved it and felt extremely strong about it 

     being “vessel.”  At the end of the day I decided to

     trust his instincts.  I found out years later that his 

     manager Bob Doyle also tried to talk him out of 

     that word.  Now “vessel” is my FAVORITE word. 

     It helped me pay for my kid’s education! 

 

Garth released the holiday album Beyond the Season, which contained an excellent version of "Silent Night".

Brooks was in Los Angeles during the time of the 1992 riots, and he was inspired to write the song "We Shall Be Free", which became the first single from his album The Chase.

 

The Chase was nominated for Favorite Country Album at the American Music Awards and for Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards, and Brooks won Billboard Music Awards for Top Artist, Top Pop Artist and Top Country Artist.  Brooks was named Favorite Male Artist at the People's Choice Awards for the second year in a row.  Garth also won the World's Best-Selling Country Artist at the World Music Awards. He just kept giving us one great song after another:  "Somewhere Other Than The Night".

 

"That Summer" is about a widowed woman and a young man who enjoyed a secret affair one glorious summer.

Brooks sings about making the most of a second chance on the beautiful "Learning To Live Again".

 

In 1993, Garth released the album In Pieces, which gave him another #1 album in the U.S.  Brooks fever was even beginning to spread worldwide, as the album got to #2 in the U.K.  Opening up this new market sparked success in No Fences, Ropin' the Wind and The Chase, which all simultaneously reached the Top 30 of the British Album chart.  In Pieces has now sold over 10 million copies. Another reason Brooks is so loved is that his lyrics connect with people.  One of several inspirational messages he portrays is "Standing Outside The Fire". 

 

Bryan Kennedy and Jim Rushing, writers of "American Honky-Tonk Bar Association", are long-time friends of Brooks since he moved to Nashville.

 

"Ain't Goin' Down ('Til The Sun Comes Up)" scored a Grammy nomination for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.  Brooks won an American Music Award for Favorite Country Male Artist and was nominated for Favorite Country Album for In Pieces.  Once again, he won Favorite Male Artist at the People's Choice Awards and World's Best-Selling Country Artist at the World Music Awards.

 

"One Night A Day" is another single from In Pieces.

Brooks worked hard for success in Europe, embarking on an extensive world tour in 1993.  He sold out his show at Wembley Arena in London, something previously unheard of for a Country artist.  Brooks performed throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East This song is a great lesson:  "The Night I Called The Old Man Out".

In 1994, Garth released the compilation album The Hits, which won an American Music Award for Favorite Country Album.  Brooks was also nominated for Top Billboard 200 Album at the Billboard Music Awards.  Once again, Garth captured Favorite Male Artist at the People's Choice Awards and World's Best-Selling Country Artist at the World Music Awards.

Join us for Part Three!