Troyal Garth Brooks is an American country
music singer and songwriter. His eponymous
first album was released in 1989 and peaked
at number 2 in the US country album chart
while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard
200 album chart. Brooks' integration of rock
elements into his recordings and live performances
earned him immense popularity. This progressive
approach allowed him to dominate the country
single and album charts while crossing over
into the mainstream pop arena.
Brooks broke records for both sales and concert
attendance throughout the 1990s. As of 2013,
his recordings continue to sell well and,
according to Nielsen Soundscan, his albums
sales up to May 2013 are 68,630,000, which
makes him the best-selling albums artist in
the United States in the SoundScan era, a
title held since 1991, well over 5 million
ahead of his nearest rival, The Beatles. According
to RIAA he is the second best-selling solo
albums artist in the United States of all
time behind Elvis Presley with 128 million
units sold. Brooks is also one of the world's
best-selling artists of all time, having sold
more than 190 million records.
Brooks has released six albums that achieved
diamond status in the United States, those
being: Garth Brooks, No Fences, Ropin' the
Wind, The Hits, Sevens and Double Live. Since
1989, Brooks has released 19 records in all,
which include; 10 studio albums, 1 live album,
3 compilation albums, 3 Christmas albums and
3 box sets, along with 77 singles. He won
several important awards in his career, including
2 Grammy Awards, 17 American Music Awards
and the RIAA Award as Best selling solo albums
artist of the Century in the United States.
Troubled by conflicts between career and family,
Brooks officially retired from recording and
performing from 2001 until 2009. During this
time, he sold millions of albums through an
exclusive distribution deal with Walmart and
sporadically released new singles. 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 five-year concert deal with the
Encore Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
In 2014 his contract with Encore ended. On
July 10, 2014, he announced his signing with
Sony Music Nashville, as well as confirming
plans for an upcoming album, world tour, and
the release of his music in a digital format.
Brooks was inducted into the Country Music
Hall of Fame on October 21, 2012.
Early life and education
Troyal Garth Brooks was born February 7, 1962,
in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was the youngest child
of Troyal Raymond Brooks,Jr 1931–2010, a
draftsman for an oil company, and Colleen
McElroy Carroll,1929–1999 a 1950s-era country
singer who recorded on the Capitol Records
label and appeared on Ozark Jubilee. This
was the second marriage for each of his parents,
giving Garth four older half-siblings. The
couple had two children together, Kelly and
Garth. At their home in Yukon, Oklahoma, the
family hosted weekly talent nights. All of
the children were required to participate,
either by singing or doing skits. Brooks learned
to play both the guitar and banjo. Colleen
died of throat cancer on Aug 6th 1999.
As a child, Garth often sang in casual family
settings but his primary focus was athletics.
In high school, he played football and baseball
and ran track and field. He received a track
scholarship to Oklahoma State University in
Stillwater, where he competed in the javelin.
Brooks graduated in 1984 with a degree in
advertising. His roommate, Ty England, later
played guitar in his road band until going
solo in 1995.
Later that year, Brooks began his professional
music career, singing and playing guitar in
Oklahoma clubs and bars, most notably the
Tumbleweed in Stillwater. Through his elder
siblings, Brooks was exposed to a wide range
of music. Although he listened to some country
music, especially that of George Jones, Brooks
was most fond of rock music, citing James
Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, and Townes Van Zandt
as major influences. After hearing Unwound,
George Strait's debut single, in 1981, Brooks
decided that he was more interested in playing
country music.
In 1985, entertainment attorney Rod Phelps
drove from Dallas to listen to Brooks. Phelps
liked what he heard and offered to produce
Garth's first demo. With Phelps's encouragement,
including a list of Phelps' contacts in Nashville
and some of his credit cards, Brooks traveled
to Nashville to pursue a recording contract;
he returned to Oklahoma within 24 hours. Phelps
continued to urge Brooks to return to Nashville,
which he did. 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(1992), August Anna(May
1994), and Allie Colleen(1996) The couple
divorced in 2000. Garth Brooks remarried on
December 10, 2005, to country singer Trisha
Yearwood. In July 2013 Brooks became a grandfather
when August had daughter Karalyn with her
boyfriend Chance Michael Russell.
Brooks and fellow band member Jim Garver later
reminisced of their times traveling with small
shows at local bars. They would go so far
as to set up local shows under the stage name
"Yukon Jack" to re-live those days.
Career
1989–1990: Breakthrough success
Garth Brooks' eponymous first album was released
in 1989 and was a critical and chart success.
It peaked at number 2 in the US country album
chart and reached number 13 on the Billboard
200 pop album chart. Most of the album was
traditionalist country, influenced in part
by George Strait. The first single, "Much
Too Young", was a country top 10 success.
It was followed by his first country number-one,
"If Tomorrow Never Comes". "Not Counting You"
reached number 2, and then "The Dance" put
him at number-one again; this song's theme
of people dying while doing something they
believe in resonated strongly and, together
with a popular music video, directed by John
Lloyd Miller, gave Brooks his first push towards
a broader audience. Brooks has claimed that
out of all the songs he has recorded, "The
Dance" is his favorite.
His follow-up album, No Fences, was released
in 1990 and spent 23 weeks as number-one on
the Billboard country music chart. The album
also reached number 3 on the pop chart, and
eventually became Brooks's highest-selling
album, with domestic shipments of 17 million.
It contained what would become Brooks's signature
song, the blue collar anthem "Friends in Low
Places", as well as two other Brooks classics,
the dramatic and controversial "The Thunder
Rolls" and the philosophically ironic "Unanswered
Prayers".
Each of these songs, as well as the affectionate
"Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House",
reached number-one on the country chart.
While Brooks's musical style placed him squarely
within the boundaries of country music, he
was strongly influenced by the 1970s singer-songwriter
movement, especially the works of James Taylor
and Dan Fogelberg. Similarly, Brooks was influenced
by 1970s-era rock of Billy Joel, and Bruce
Springsteen and the operatic rock of Queen
with Freddie Mercury. In his highly successful
live shows, Brooks used a wireless headset
microphone to free himself to run about the
stage, adding energy and arena rock theatrics
to spice up the normally staid country music
approach to concerts. The hard rock band KISS
was also one of his earliest grade school
musical influences and his shows often reflected
this. Brooks said that the style of his show
was inspired mostly by Chris LeDoux.
Brooks has been a member of the Grand Ole
Opry since 1990.
1991–93: Ropin' the Wind and The Chase
Brooks's third album, Ropin' the Wind, released
in September 1991, had advance orders of 4
million copies and entered the pop album charts
at number-one, a first for a country act.
Ropin' the Wind's music was a melange of pop
country and honky tonk; hits included Billy
Joel's "Shameless", "What She's Doing Now",
and "The River". All told, it became his second-best
selling album after No Fences. The success
of this album further propelled the sales
of his first two albums, enabling Brooks to
become the first country artist with three
albums listed in the pop top 20 in one week.
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
number 12 on the country chart, his first
song in three years to fail to make the top
ten. Nevertheless, the song often received
standing ovations when performed in concert,
went to number 22 in the Christian charts
through a marketing deal with Rick Hendrix
Company, and earned Brooks a 1993 GLAAD Media
Award. Following "We Shall Be Free", the next
single released in would be "Somewhere Other
Than the Night", which peaked at number 1
in late 1992, "Learning to Live Again", a
number 2 hit in 1993. The final single off
of The Chase would be 1993's "That Summer",
which would go on to be the most successful
single from the album, reaching number 1 in
July 1993, it is also one of Brooks' most
recognizable songs.
1993–94: 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
after all.
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's 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's 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's overall popularity in the country
was evident, with a top disc jockey, Nick
Barraclough, referring to Brooks as Garth
Vader for his "invasion" of the charts and
his success in 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 regions 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 tribute
compilation Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved,
a collection of Kiss songs performed by popular
artists from various 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, making it the only song on the
album to bear a musical contribution from
Kiss. 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's version did appear on the
country charts.
Pop crossover success
1995–1998: Success in the mid-to-late 1990s
In November 1995 Brooks released Fresh Horses,
his first album of new material in two years;
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 number-one
on the Billboard Country Chart, however its
follow-up single, "The Fever" only peaked
at number 23, becoming Brooks's 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 number one.
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 number-one 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's
first duet, "In Another's Eyes" with friend
and popular country singer, Trisha Yearwood.
The song peaked at number 2 on the Country
Charts. The album spawned three additional
Top 10 Country hits, including two number-one
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 and was released on the soundtrack
to the movie Hope Floats.
1998 saw the release of the first installment
of The Limited Series, a six-disc box set
containing reissues of the first six studio
releases in the Garth Brooks catalog. Each
of the reissued compact discs included a bonus
track not available on the original release.
Brooks's first live album, Double Live was
also released in 1998. Recorded at various
shows over the course of his 1998 world tour,
as opposed to being a document of one show,
the album contained material released up to
the Limited Series box set, as well as new
material not previously released elsewhere,
"Tearin' It Up" and "Wild As The Wind," featuring
Trisha Yearwood.
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's 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. 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 number 2 on the pop album chart, expectations
had been higher and retail stores began heavily
discounting their oversupply. Less-than-expected
sales of the album and no further developments
in the production of the film as a result
brought the project to an indefinite hiatus
in February 2001 and Gaines quickly faded
into obscurity.
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
and 1995, but each time returned to touring.
In 1999 Brooks appeared on The Nashville Network's
Crook & Chase program and again mentioned
retirement.
On October 26, 2000, Brooks officially announced
his retirement from recording and performing.
Later that evening, Capitol Records saluted
his achievement of selling 100 million albums
in the US with a lavish party at Nashville's
Gaylord Entertainment Center.
Brooks's final album, Scarecrow, was released
on November 13, 2001. The album did not match
the sales levels of Brooks's heyday, but still
sold comfortably well, reaching number-one
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 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. Three months later, Brooks
and Wal-Mart issued The Limited Series, a
six-CD box set containing re-issues of Garth's
full length albums released subsequent to
Fresh Horses, including Double Live and a
Lost Sessions disc with eleven previously
unreleased recordings. This set marked the
first time in history that a musician had
signed an exclusive music distribution deal
with a single retailer. The set sold more
than 500,000 physical copies on its issue
date, proving that Brooks still had a large
fan base. By the first week in December 2005,
it had sold over 1 million physical copies.
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. He also released a new single, "Good
Ride Cowboy", as a tribute to his late friend,
rodeo star and country singer, Chris LeDoux.
In early 2006 Wal-Mart re-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.
"More Than a Memory" debuted at number one
on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart,
becoming the highest-debuting single in the
chart's history. The previous record had been
set only one week earlier, when Kenny Chesney's
"Don't Blink" debuted at number 16.
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 selling out in under two
hours. The shows took place from November
5 to November 12, with the final show on November
14 – the final show was simulcast to more
than 300 movie theaters across the U.S.
Brooks performed five sold out concerts over
two days at the Staples Center in Los Angeles,
California on January 25 and 26, 2008. These
concerts were staged to raise money for firefighting
efforts in California which had recently been
ravaged by several wildfires. Tickets were
priced at $40 each and all five shows sold
out in 58 minutes. CBS broadcast the first
concert live as a telethon for additional
fundraising.
2009–present: return to performing
On October 15, 2009, Brooks announced that
he was coming out of retirement to do weekend
performances at Encore Las Vegas on the Las
Vegas Strip. This arrangement continued into
late 2012. This schedule allowed Brooks both
to have the family life for which he had retired
during the week and to continue to perform
on the weekend. On October 28, 2010, Garth
announced he would do his first "arena" concert
in Nashville since 1998. All proceeds benefits
the Community Foundation in Middle Tennessee
in support of all those Tennessee residents
affected by the disastrous flooding that occurred
the weekend of May 2, 2010.
The financial terms of the agreement have
not been announced, but Wynn did disclose
that he gave Brooks access to a private jet
to quickly transport him between Las Vegas
and his home in Oklahoma.
Brooks's first weekend on 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.
The shows feature Brooks performing solo with
his own guitar accompaniment, and include
his own hits as well as songs that have influenced
him. Artists covered in the show include Simon
and Garfunkel, Bob Seger, Billy Joel, and
Don McLean. His first performances at Encore
Las Vegas coincided with his wedding anniversary,
and his wife Trisha Yearwood joined him for
two songs.
During a performance on August 19, 2011, Brooks
told his audience that once his youngest daughter
is in college he will be "firing the tour
back up."
On July 12, 2012, for one night only, Brooks
performed in front of a sold out audience
at Scotiabank Saddledome to help the Calgary
Stampede celebrate its centennial anniversary.
In October 2012, it was noted that Brooks
was nearing the end of his residency at the
Wynn in Las Vegas. During an interview, he
mentioned that he would still do 'one-offs'
and would like to record the show for possible
DVD release. When asked about a comeback in
2014, he said, "We'll see..you know what's
in my heart and what I wanna do, but we just
can't say anything."
In April 2013, Brooks and George Strait performed
together at the 48th annual ACMAs in a tribute
to former ACMA producer Dick Clark, in the
first such performance by two ACMA Artists
of the Decade.
On July 6, 2013, Garth Brooks joined with
Toby Keith to put on a benefit concert for
victims of the 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes. The
sold out concert featured artists Mel Tillis,
John Anderson, Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood,
Sammy Hagar, Kellie Coffey, Ronnie Dunn, Carrie
Underwood and Krystal Keith. It was held at
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and
all tickets were only $25. Brooks told Tulsa
World, "Once we got the news that the tornado
had hit Toby's hometown, Miss Yearwood and
I told Toby we were at his service for whatever
he chose to do ... I am amazed at the human
spirit the tornado victims have shown. I am
humbled by the giving of the volunteers. It
is an honor to get to be a part of this healing
process." This was the first time Brooks performed
in his home state of Oklahoma since his tour
in 1997.
In December 2013, Brooks announced on Good
Morning America that he and his band are going
on a world tour in 2014.
On February 6, 2014, Brooks performed The
Dance on the final episode of The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno and later closed the show
with a performance of Friends in Low Places.
On July 10, 2014, Brooks held a press conference
where he announced his signing with Sony Music
Nashville, as well as confirming plans for
an upcoming album, a world tour, and the release
of his music in a digital format.
Ireland concerts controversy 2014
To kick off his new tour Brooks announced
two dates at Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland for
July 25 and 26, 2014. After going on sale
the tickets sold out in 20 minutes. A third
date was soon added for July 27 and this sold
out in 15 minutes. There was anger among fans
as some people were purchasing tickets to
profit by reselling at higher prices. A few
days after saying that there would be no extra
shows added, Brooks announced a fourth date
for July 28. Tickets for this date went on
sale February 6 at 9am and sold out in 25
minutes. After selling out the fourth date,
Brooks announced he would play a further fifth
date, and tickets for this show sold out in
approximately 50 minutes. In total, 400,000
tickets were sold for approximately €28,600,000.
However, some local residents expressed opposition
to the concerts taking place and notified
the event's organisers, Aiken Promotions and
Croke Park management, of potential legal
action should a license be granted for the
concerts by Dublin City Council. Residents
pointed out that an agreement signed in 2009
between the GAA/Croke Park and local residents'
groups - the Croke Park Area Residents Alliance,
was being broken. Under this agreement, undertaken
to allow the redevelopment of the stadium
to go ahead without objection, a maximum of
three non-sporting events would be staged
annually. Croke Park was to host three consecutive
nights of sold out One Direction concerts
on May 23 to 25, 2014.
On July 3, 2014, Dublin City Council refused
permission for two of the five nights - July
28 and July 29. Garth Brooks responded by
issuing a statement saying "For us, it is
five shows or none at all", and a number of
area residents came out in support of all
5 concerts, asserting that the concert benefits
outweighed the disruption.
Peter Aiken from Aiken Promotions reportedly
flew to the United States on July 8, 2014,
in an attempt to persuade Garth Brooks to
continue with the three nights. However, Brooks
retained his position, and later on July 8,
it was announced that all five concerts were
to be cancelled. Ticketmaster.ie said it was
"facing an 'unprecedented' operation to refund
Garth Brooks tickets for the 400,000 people
who bought them, However the scale of this
operation is unprecedented in the Irish entertainment
industry and therefore ask customers to continue
to be patient while we finalize refund plans".
The promoters' full statement read:
"It is with great regret that Aiken Promotions
today announce that the 5 concert Garth Brooks
Comeback Special Event at Croke Park has been
cancelled. No concerts will take place. The
ticket return process will be outlined tomorrow.
Aiken Promotions have exhausted all avenues
regarding the staging of this event. We are
very disappointed for the 400,000 fans who
purchased tickets for The Garth Brooks Comeback
Special Event."
There followed some behind-the-scenes negotiations
between interested parties and arrangements
to make refunds were suspended but on 14 July
it was announced that the concerts were not
going to happen after all.
Personal life
Brooks graduated from Oklahoma State University
in Stillwater, as a brother of Alpha Gamma
Rho Fraternity, where he starred on the track
team. He later completed his MBA from Oklahoma
State and participated in the commencement
ceremony on May 6, 2011.
Brooks married his college sweetheart, songwriter
Sandy Mahl, on May 24, 1986. They met when
Garth was a bouncer at a bar. Brooks and Mahl
separated in March 1999, announcing their
plans to divorce on October 9, 2000, and filing
for divorce on November 6, 2000. The divorce
became final on December 17, 2001. Brooks
and singer Trisha Yearwood began dating after
Brooks's divorce, and married on December
10, 2005, at their home in Oklahoma, marking
the second marriage for Brooks and the third
for Yearwood. They own homes in Goodlettsville,
Tennessee; Malibu, California; and Port St.
Lucie, Florida, but primarily live on their
ranch in Owasso, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa.
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 received
another donated liver, but died in March 2005
due to complications from liver cancer.
Professional baseball
Brooks set out on a short and unsuccessful
career in baseball, when he signed with the
San Diego Padres for spring training in 1998
and 1999. Some in the media mocked the decision
of the Padres to sign a country music star
in his late thirties whose baseball experience
ended in high school. Brooks' performance
on the field did not warrant management placing
him on the regular season roster; Brooks was
offered a non-roster spot but declined it.
The following season, Brooks signed with the
New York Mets. This time, his team embraced
the entertainment value of having a country
and western star on the diamond. This spring-training
stint was also a poor performance for Brooks,
however, resulting in a zero-for-seventeen
batting record.
Brooks returned to baseball, one last time,
for an encore performance with the Kansas
City Royals in 2004. In baseball, Brooks never
matched the amount of hits he was able to
achieve on the music charts, but was able
to get a hit off Mike Myers during his final
spring-training season with the Royals.
Setting records
The Recording Industry Association of America
announced that Garth Brooks was the best-selling
solo artist of the 20th century in America.
This conclusion drew criticism from the press
and many music fans who were convinced that
Elvis Presley had sold more records, but had
been short-changed in the rankings due to
faulty RIAA certification methods during his
lifetime. Brooks, while proud of his sales
accomplishments, stated that he too believed
that Presley must have sold more.
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's 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.
In December 2010, several more of Presley's
albums received certifications from the RIAA.
As a result, Elvis again surpassed Brooks.
As of June 2012, the RIAA lists Presley's
total sales at 134.5 million and Brooks's
at 128 million.
As of January 2012, Brooks officially passed
the Beatles as the top-selling act of the
past 20 years, moving 68.5 million units worldwide,
almost 5 million more than the Beatles.
As of May 2014, Brooks' total album sales
have reached 69,544,000 copies, which makes
him the best-selling album artist in the United
States, ahead of the Beatles, Metallica, Mariah
Carey and Celine Dion.
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 live,
giving viewers a chance to donate to the Firefighters
Relief efforts.
In December 2010, Garth played 9 shows in
less than a week in Nashville at Bridgestone
Arena to benefit victims from the May 2010
Nashville flood. Over 140,000 tickets were
sold and $5 million raised.
A $500,000 donation Brooks made to Integris
Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon,
Oklahoma, in 2005, led to a widely publicized
lawsuit. According to Brooks, the hospital
promised to name a new women's health center
after his mother, Colleen Brooks, who died
of cancer in 1999; the hospital later decided
not to build the new facility, took the position
that its naming commitment was non-binding,
and refused to return the donation. On January
24, 2012, an Oklahoma state court jury in
Claremore found in favor of Brooks, ordering
the hospital to pay $500,000 for the original
donation and an additional $500,000 in punitive
damages.
Brooks, along with Trisha Yearwood, has supported
Habitat for Humanity's work over the years,
including the annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter
Work Project. They have worked alongside the
Carters in the United States and in Haiti,
lending their time and voices to help build
safe, decent and affordable homes. Brooks'
Teammates for Kids Foundation provided more
than $1 million in funding to Habitat to help
build homes in Thailand following the Asian
tsunami.
Support for gay rights
In the lyrics to his song "We Shall Be Free",
Brooks sings "When we're free to love anyone
we choose," which has been interpreted as
a reference to gay relationships. Brooks won
a 1993 GLAAD Media Award for the song. In
a 1999 interview with George, Brooks said,
"[...]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."
In 2000, Brooks appeared at the Equality Rocks
benefit concert for gay rights. He sang a
duet with openly gay singer George Michael.
Brooks' half-sister Betsy Smittle, who died
in 2013, was a well-known musician and part
of Brooks' band for some years; she also worked
with the late country star Gus Hardin and
other musicians in Tulsa. Smittle was also
a lesbian, and Brooks has credited her with
some of the inspiration for his tolerant attitude.
Awards
2 Grammy Awards
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
Academy of Country Music Awards, Artist of
the Decade
Recording Industry Association of America,
Artist of the Century
1 Radio Music Award
2 Primetime Emmy Award nominations
1 Golden Globe nomination
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
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.
2 American Music Awards Nominations(2008):
Country Music – Favorite Male Artist Country
Music – Favorite Album for "The Ultimate
Hits"
Discography
See also
List of best-selling music artists
List of best-selling music artists in the
United States
References
Sources
Cox, Patsi Bale, The Garth Factor: The Career
Behind Country's Big Boom, New York: Center
Street, ISBN 978-1-59995-099-0 
Further reading
Feiler, Bruce S., Dreaming Out Loud: Garth
Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes, and the
Changing Face of Nashville, HarperCollins,
ISBN 978-0-380-97578-5 
McCall, Michael, Garth Brooks: A Biography,
Bantam Books, ISBN 978-0-553-29823-9 
Mitchell, Rick, Garth Brooks:One of a Kind,
Workin' on a Full House, Simon & Schuster,
ISBN 978-0-671-79688-4 
Morris, Ed, Garth Brooks: Platinum Cowboy,
St. Martin's Press, ISBN 978-0-312-08788-3 
O'Meilia, Matt, Garth Brooks: The Road Out
of Santa Fe, University of Oklahoma Press,
ISBN 978-0-585-14880-9 
Sgammato, Jo, American Thunder: The Garth
Brooks Story, Random House Publishing Group,
ISBN 978-0-345-43950-5 
Smedley, Jenny, Souls Don't Lie, O Books Publishing,
ISBN 978-1-905047-83-3 
External links
Official website
Teammates for Kids Foundation official website
Garth Brooks at the Internet Movie Database
