The Profile of Garth Brooks
When considering artists who led country music to mainstream popularity, many names come to mind. Some may think of artists such as Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. Quite possibly the biggest icon of the 1990s and a pioneer in integrating country music with rock elements, Garth Brooks is one of the most recognizable names in the music industry. To this day fans of all genres easily recognize the name and accomplishments of Garth Brooks.
Troyal Garth Brooks was born on February 7, 1962 in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Oklahoma Historical Society). He is the son of Raymond and Colleen Carroll Brooks and the youngest of six siblings. His mother was a 1950s era country singer, and along with his siblings, Garth participated in family-hosted talent nights on a weekly basis (Oklahoma Historical Society). Garth focused on athletics growing up, playing football in high school as well as running track and field. He received a track scholarship to Oklahoma State University and graduated in 1984 with a degree in advertising and marketing (Seattle Times).
Brooks started his professional music career in 1984, singing and playing guitar in many clubs and bars (Seattle Times). Growing up in a large family, he was exposed to a number of diverse genres of music and he was fond of rock music. Brooks has mentioned that James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, and Townes Van Zandt as some of his major influences (Seattle Times). He credits George Strait’s debut single Unwound as the source of his inspiration to play country music (Planet Garth). In 1985, Brooks traveled to Nashville in pursuit of a recording contract. In 1986, Brooks met and married his first wife, Sandy Mahl.
Brooks found his breakthrough success in 1989 with his self-titled first album. The album peaked at number two on the U.S. country album charts and reached 13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart (Seattle Times). Four songs from the album made the top 10 on the country charts, with two of them pushing Brooks to number one on the chart. This was the start of Brooks’ domination of the country music charts.
Brooks’ follow-up album, No Fences, released in 1990, spent 23 weeks at number one on the Billboard country music chart, as well as reaching number three on the pop charts (Stephen Erlewine). This album ultimately became Garth’s highest-selling album, with domestic shipments of the album exceeding 17 million, including such popular number one songs as “Friends in Low Places,” “The Thunder Rolls,” and “Unanswered Prayers” (Erlewine). This allowed Brooks to dominate the country charts while crossing over into the mainstream pop arena.
By the mid-1990s, Brooks was a global superstar, continuing to dominate the country and Billboard 200 charts. He sold out tours in regions such as Brazil, Europe, the Far East, New Zealand, and Australia (Matt Rothman). In 1997, he released his seventh studio album, Sevens, which debuted at number one on the Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 charts; this was his fourth album to exceed sales of 10 million copies. The album also included his first duet “In Another’s Eyes” with his friend—and future wife—fellow country star Trisha Yearwood. In 1998, Brooks released his first live album, Double Live, which was a compilation of various shows over the course of his 1998 global tour.
In 1999, Brooks, through his production company, along with Paramount Pictures, began developing a movie in which Brooks would star. The film would center on Chris Gaines, a rock singer facing the perils of balancing his personal life with his professional life as a popular musician. Brooks took on the identity of Gaines in his October 1999 album, Garth Brooks in…The Life of Chris Gaines, which was envisioned as a “pre-soundtrack” to the film (Planet Garth). Sales and reception of the album were less than expectations held, and the film’s production was placed on indefinite hiatus in 2001 and the character of Chris Gaines quickly faded as well.
The turn of the millennium saw dramatic changes in Brooks’ life. He and Sandy Mahl, his wife at the time, filed for divorce in late 2000; the divorce was finalized in December 2001 (Seattle Times). He started dating Trisha Yearwood shortly after his divorce was finalized. The same time that he filed for divorce, he announced his retirement from recording and performing. His final album, Scarecrow, was released in November 2001, reaching number one on both the pop and country music charts. Brooks briefly came out of retirement in 2005 to perform for several charity causes with Trisha Yearwood (Planet Garth). In December 2005, Brooks and Yearwood got married (Planet Garth).
In October 2009, Brooks announced that he was coming out of retirement to do performances on the Las Vegas strip, which continued through 2012. Because he only performed weekend shows, he was able to balance his professional and personal life. His goal was to be with his family and see his children grow up. On one of his Vegas shows, he told the audience that once his youngest daughter is in college, he will be “firing the tour back up” (Planet Garth).
In 2013, Brooks teamed with Toby Keith to put on a benefit concert of tornado victims in Oklahoma (Planet Garth). Tickets for the show were only $25 and included artists such as Mel Tillis, John Anderson, Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood, Sammy Hagar, Kellie Coffey, Ronnie Dunn, Carrie Underwood, and Krystal Keith. Brooks stated that he was “amazed at the human spirit the tornado victims [had] shown…[Brooks] was humbled by the giving of the volunteers [and] it was an honor to get to be a part of this healing process” (Planet Garth). In December 2013, Brooks announced that he would be going on a world tour in 2014 (Katie Kindelan). According to the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA), Garth Brooks was the second-best-selling solo artist of the 20th century in the United States, behind Elvis Presley and ahead of the Beatles. As of January 2012, Garth Brooks officially surpassed the Beatles as the top-selling act of the past 20 years by more than 5 million units (Kenneth Partridge).
While many of his albums have reached diamond status, Brooks faced conflicts in trying to manage his life between career and family, which is one of the issues that led Brooks to his divorce from his first wife in 2001. His impressive career was forever memorialized when he was officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2012. An innovative spirit, Garth Brooks helped bring the spotlight of mainstream popular music to the country genre. As a result, we have seen many crossover performers, albums, and songs since Brooks’ first brought it to the scene back in the mid-1990s.
Troyal Garth Brooks was born on February 7, 1962 in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Oklahoma Historical Society). He is the son of Raymond and Colleen Carroll Brooks and the youngest of six siblings. His mother was a 1950s era country singer, and along with his siblings, Garth participated in family-hosted talent nights on a weekly basis (Oklahoma Historical Society). Garth focused on athletics growing up, playing football in high school as well as running track and field. He received a track scholarship to Oklahoma State University and graduated in 1984 with a degree in advertising and marketing (Seattle Times).
Brooks started his professional music career in 1984, singing and playing guitar in many clubs and bars (Seattle Times). Growing up in a large family, he was exposed to a number of diverse genres of music and he was fond of rock music. Brooks has mentioned that James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, and Townes Van Zandt as some of his major influences (Seattle Times). He credits George Strait’s debut single Unwound as the source of his inspiration to play country music (Planet Garth). In 1985, Brooks traveled to Nashville in pursuit of a recording contract. In 1986, Brooks met and married his first wife, Sandy Mahl.
Brooks found his breakthrough success in 1989 with his self-titled first album. The album peaked at number two on the U.S. country album charts and reached 13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart (Seattle Times). Four songs from the album made the top 10 on the country charts, with two of them pushing Brooks to number one on the chart. This was the start of Brooks’ domination of the country music charts.
Brooks’ follow-up album, No Fences, released in 1990, spent 23 weeks at number one on the Billboard country music chart, as well as reaching number three on the pop charts (Stephen Erlewine). This album ultimately became Garth’s highest-selling album, with domestic shipments of the album exceeding 17 million, including such popular number one songs as “Friends in Low Places,” “The Thunder Rolls,” and “Unanswered Prayers” (Erlewine). This allowed Brooks to dominate the country charts while crossing over into the mainstream pop arena.
By the mid-1990s, Brooks was a global superstar, continuing to dominate the country and Billboard 200 charts. He sold out tours in regions such as Brazil, Europe, the Far East, New Zealand, and Australia (Matt Rothman). In 1997, he released his seventh studio album, Sevens, which debuted at number one on the Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 charts; this was his fourth album to exceed sales of 10 million copies. The album also included his first duet “In Another’s Eyes” with his friend—and future wife—fellow country star Trisha Yearwood. In 1998, Brooks released his first live album, Double Live, which was a compilation of various shows over the course of his 1998 global tour.
In 1999, Brooks, through his production company, along with Paramount Pictures, began developing a movie in which Brooks would star. The film would center on Chris Gaines, a rock singer facing the perils of balancing his personal life with his professional life as a popular musician. Brooks took on the identity of Gaines in his October 1999 album, Garth Brooks in…The Life of Chris Gaines, which was envisioned as a “pre-soundtrack” to the film (Planet Garth). Sales and reception of the album were less than expectations held, and the film’s production was placed on indefinite hiatus in 2001 and the character of Chris Gaines quickly faded as well.
The turn of the millennium saw dramatic changes in Brooks’ life. He and Sandy Mahl, his wife at the time, filed for divorce in late 2000; the divorce was finalized in December 2001 (Seattle Times). He started dating Trisha Yearwood shortly after his divorce was finalized. The same time that he filed for divorce, he announced his retirement from recording and performing. His final album, Scarecrow, was released in November 2001, reaching number one on both the pop and country music charts. Brooks briefly came out of retirement in 2005 to perform for several charity causes with Trisha Yearwood (Planet Garth). In December 2005, Brooks and Yearwood got married (Planet Garth).
In October 2009, Brooks announced that he was coming out of retirement to do performances on the Las Vegas strip, which continued through 2012. Because he only performed weekend shows, he was able to balance his professional and personal life. His goal was to be with his family and see his children grow up. On one of his Vegas shows, he told the audience that once his youngest daughter is in college, he will be “firing the tour back up” (Planet Garth).
In 2013, Brooks teamed with Toby Keith to put on a benefit concert of tornado victims in Oklahoma (Planet Garth). Tickets for the show were only $25 and included artists such as Mel Tillis, John Anderson, Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood, Sammy Hagar, Kellie Coffey, Ronnie Dunn, Carrie Underwood, and Krystal Keith. Brooks stated that he was “amazed at the human spirit the tornado victims [had] shown…[Brooks] was humbled by the giving of the volunteers [and] it was an honor to get to be a part of this healing process” (Planet Garth). In December 2013, Brooks announced that he would be going on a world tour in 2014 (Katie Kindelan). According to the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA), Garth Brooks was the second-best-selling solo artist of the 20th century in the United States, behind Elvis Presley and ahead of the Beatles. As of January 2012, Garth Brooks officially surpassed the Beatles as the top-selling act of the past 20 years by more than 5 million units (Kenneth Partridge).
While many of his albums have reached diamond status, Brooks faced conflicts in trying to manage his life between career and family, which is one of the issues that led Brooks to his divorce from his first wife in 2001. His impressive career was forever memorialized when he was officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2012. An innovative spirit, Garth Brooks helped bring the spotlight of mainstream popular music to the country genre. As a result, we have seen many crossover performers, albums, and songs since Brooks’ first brought it to the scene back in the mid-1990s.