Back Story:
This is my favorite back story to share on behalf of an artist. If you are an Oklahoma State University student, chances are you know who Garth Brooks is! The musician was born and raised in Oklahoma to a family of musical passion and talent (McCall, accessed 2021). He began attending college for track at OSU (pbs.org). He got his start at Willie’s on The Strip, where he first started performing to a public audience (visitstillwaterok.org). I have a hefty collection of Garth Brooks’ vinyl records, I love him as an individual and artist!
In the 1990s:
I have chosen to highlight Garth Brooks through his career in the 1990s because I feel as if this was when he began to achieve major success and awareness as a country artist following the release of his self-titled album in 1989.
Just within the first year of the decade, Brooks released his second album No Fences (which features “Friends in Low Places'', “The Thunder Rolls”, “Wild Horses” and more), earned his first two Country Music Awards and joined the Grand Ole Opry as a member (Masley, 2015). “The Thunder Rolls' ' brought traffic and hints of controversy to Brooks’ name as the music video was released. The song itself is about an affair within a romantic relationship, and the music video depicted domestic violence. This raised a cause of concern for many, debating the goodwill of Brooks and his message. However, the consensus of the debate generally ended in Brooks’ favor, concluding that his video was shedding light on a serious topic (Norona, 2020).
Brooks didn’t slow down anytime soon following the first big breaks he received, he then released his third album by 1991, which broke a record by charting the Billboard Top 200 as the first-ever country album (McCall, accessed 2021). Brooks is an entertainer at heart, his energy radiates through his storytelling and performance, as seen in his documentary
The Road I’m On (2019).
Brooks released many more albums just within the 1990s, reaching record breaking sales numbers. To this day, he remains the second highest selling musician in the United States, right below The Beatles (Clark, 2021). Brooks was married to his first wife for the duration of the 90s to his first wife Sandy Mahl (Hall, 2021) and then went on to marry famous country artist Trisha Yearwood in 2001 following his divorce (McCall, accessed 2021).
Trisha and Garth remain married today and are both still active celebrities. Where do you think Garth would be without his small and simple start in Stillwater?
*No playlist is provided as Brooks is not on Spotify. His music can be streamed through Amazon Music!
References
A&E. (2019). Garth Brooks: The Road I'm On. Retrieved 2021, from https://www.netflix.com/title/81283911.
Clark, T. (2021, September 22). The 50 best-selling music artists of All time. Business Insider. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/best-selling-music-artists-of-all-time-2016-9.
Eames, T. (2021, January 20). Garth Brooks facts: Country singer's age, wife, children, net worth and more revealed. Smooth. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.smoothradio.com/news/country/garth-brooks-facts-age-wife-children-net-worth-songs/.
Garth Brooks: Artist bio. Country Music Hall of Fame. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://countrymusichalloffame.org/artist/garth-brooks/.
Hall, A. (2021, July 17). The truth about Garth Brooks' divorce from his first wife Sandy Mahl. TheList.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.thelist.com/463908/the-truth-about-garth-brooks-divorce-from-his-first-wife-sandy-mahl/.
Masley, E. (2015, October 15). Rise of country's biggest star: A Garth brooks timeline. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/10/15/garth-brooks-timeline-countrys-biggest-superstar/73891036/.
Noronha, R. (2020, February 12). 'The thunder rolls': How Garth Brooks' controversial domestic abuse music video started a much-needed conversation. MEAWW. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://meaww.com/garth-brooks-the-road-im-on-ae-the-thunder-rolls-music-video-controversy-domestic-abuse.
Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). Country music. PBS. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music/garth-brooks-biography/.
Staff, T. T. (2019, November 18). Garth Brooks over the years. The Tennessean: Nashville and Tennessee news, Titans sports and entertainment. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.tennessean.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/people/2014/07/10/garth-brooks-over-the-years/5444163/.
Willie's Saloon: Visit stillwater. Visit Stillwater, Oklahoma. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.visitstillwater.org/listing/willies-saloon/38/.
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