59 Fun Facts About Garth Brooks

In which Oklahoma city was Garth Brooks born in 1962?

His mother, Colleen Carroll, had been a 1950s country singer on Capitol Records; his father was a draftsman for an oil company.

His mother, a 1950s country singer, appeared on which television show?

Colleen Carroll sang on Red Foley's Ozark Jubilee, broadcast by ABC from Springfield, Missouri, in the 1950s, and recorded for Capitol, her son's later label.

The family hosted weekly talent nights at their home in which small Oklahoma town?

The Brooks family moved to Yukon, a small town west of Oklahoma City, when Garth was four; its weekly talent nights had every child sing or perform a skit.

In which track event did Brooks compete on his college athletic scholarship?

Brooks threw the javelin on a track scholarship, worked nights as a bouncer at a local bar, and graduated in 1984 with an advertising degree.

Which university did he attend, later returning to finish an MBA in 2011?

Brooks earned an advertising degree at Oklahoma State in 1984 and later completed an MBA there, walking in the Stillwater commencement on 6 May 2011.

What was the name of the band Brooks formed in college, playing whatever the crowd wanted?

Santa Fe, the bar band Brooks fronted in college, moved with him to Nashville in 1987 and soon broke up; roommate Ty England later played guitar in his road band until 1995.

Whose 1981 debut single 'Unwound' convinced Brooks to play country instead of rock?

Hearing George Strait's 'Unwound' on the radio in 1981 turned Brooks toward country; before that he leaned toward 1970s singer-songwriters and rock rather than country radio.

How long did Brooks's first trip to Nashville, in 1985, last before he went home to Oklahoma?

Attorney Rod Phelps had lent him contacts and credit cards; Phelps kept nagging until Brooks and his wife moved there for good in 1987.

What was Brooks's debut single, released in March 1989?

'Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)', co-written with Randy Taylor about a worn-out rodeo rider, reached number 8 on the country chart in 1989 and launched his career.

What was his first number-one on the Hot Country Songs chart?

'If Tomorrow Never Comes', written with Kent Blazy, topped the Hot Country Songs chart in December 1989 as the second single from his self-titled debut album.

Which Irish singer topped the UK chart in 2002 with a cover of Brooks's first country number one?

Ronan Keating, the former Boyzone frontman, took his cover to number one in the UK in May 2002, his third solo chart-topper there.

Which song does Brooks say is his favorite of everything he has recorded?

'The Dance', written by Tony Arata, closed his debut album and went to number one in 1990; its video won ACM Video of the Year and Brooks has called it his favorite.

Which champion bull rider appears in the video for the ballad closing his debut album?

Lane Frost, the 1987 world champion bull rider, died at Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1989 after completing his ride; the montage also shows Keith Whitley, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Challenger crew.

Whose opening act was Brooks on his first major tour in 1989?

Brooks's first major tour in 1989 was as Kenny Rogers's opening act; by October 1990 he had been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.

Which song from No Fences became his signature blue-collar anthem?

'Friends in Low Places' spent four weeks at number one in 1990 and won Single of the Year at both the ACM Awards and the 1991 CMA Awards.

Which pair wrote his signature drinking anthem after a lunch at Nashville's Tavern on the Row?

Dewayne Blackwell and Earl Bud Lee hatched the title when Lee, short of cash at Tavern on the Row, joked about who would cover lunch; Brooks sang their demo.

What did the video for 'The Thunder Rolls', banned by TNN in 1991, depict?

The video showed a cheating husband beating his wife, who then shoots him; TNN and CMT pulled it over the domestic violence, with Brooks himself playing the husband.

Which singer recorded "The Thunder Rolls" first, in 1988, only to shelve it?

Tanya Tucker cut 'The Thunder Rolls' in 1988 but left it unreleased until her 1995 box set; Brooks, who co-wrote it with Pat Alger, took it to number one in 1991.

Which 1991 album was the first by a country artist to enter the Billboard 200 at number one?

Ropin' the Wind debuted atop the Billboard 200 in September 1991 on advance orders of 4 million, the first country album ever to enter that chart at number one.

Which Billy Joel song did Brooks cover as a single from his third album?

'Shameless', from Billy Joel's 1989 album Storm Front, gave Brooks a number one in 1991; Joel joined him on stage at the 1997 Central Park concert.

Written after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, "We Shall Be Free" won Brooks an award from which organization?

GLAAD gave Brooks a Media Award for 'We Shall Be Free', whose line about being 'free to love anyone we choose' was read as support for gay relationships; the single peaked at number 12.

Before singing the 1993 Super Bowl anthem, Brooks walked out until NBC agreed to do what?

The network caved; the video, dedicated 'to the human spirit', had premiered on CMT that January.

In 1993 Brooks persuaded Capitol not to ship In Pieces to stores that did what?

He argued the practice cost songwriters royalties; antitrust lawsuits followed and the label backed down.

Brooks's 'Plus One' residency opened in 2023 at which Las Vegas resort?

Garth Brooks/Plus ONE opened at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in May 2023, a run of stripped-down shows with a small band, years after his earlier Encore Theater run.

On a 1994 tribute album, Brooks teamed with which band to record "Hard Luck Woman"?

Brooks recorded 'Hard Luck Woman' with Kiss themselves as his backing band for the 1994 tribute album Kiss My Ass, and the pairing performed it on The Tonight Show.

The video for "Standing Outside the Fire" follows a student with Down syndrome who signs up for what?

In the video a boy with Down syndrome insists on entering the regular track meet instead of Special Olympics, falls, then gets up to finish as his father cheers him on.

His 2022 performance of which song at LSU's Tiger Stadium registered on the university's seismograph?

'Callin' Baton Rouge', played before LSU home games, shook the stadium hard enough on 30 April 2022 to register on campus seismographs, like the 1988 'Earthquake Game' touchdown.

'The Fever', a 1995 single from Fresh Horses, was a cover of which rock band?

'The Fever' was written by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry for their 1993 album Get a Grip; Brooks's rodeo-themed rewrite stalled at number 23 in 1995.

The free 1997 Central Park concert dubbed 'Garthstock' was broadcast live on which network?

HBO carried the 7 August 1997 concert live, with Billy Joel and Don McLean as guests; the city estimated the crowd at about 980,000.

"To Make You Feel My Love", a number one for Brooks in 1998, was written by whom?

Bob Dylan wrote 'Make You Feel My Love' for his 1997 album Time Out of Mind; Brooks's version, on the Hope Floats soundtrack, topped the country chart in 1998.

Which 1998 release, recorded on his second world tour, became the best-selling concert album of all time?

Double Live, released in November 1998, is RIAA-certified 21 times platinum, the best-selling live album in US history, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

With Steve Wariner, Brooks took which Sevens single to number one?

'Longneck Bottle', written by Steve Wariner and Rick Carnes, featured Wariner's guitar and vocals and was the first single from Sevens, reaching number one in late 1997.

In 1999 Brooks adopted the alter ego Chris Gaines, a rock star from which country?

Gaines's fictional biography had him born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1967; the soul-patch-and-wig persona was meant to set up a film and bewildered most of the public.

The Chris Gaines album was meant as the soundtrack to which never-made film?

The Lamb, a Paramount project, never got made; Brooks nevertheless played Gaines in a VH1 Behind the Music special and on Saturday Night Live in 1999.

Which Chris Gaines song reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999?

'Lost in You', the first Chris Gaines single, peaked at number 5 on the Hot 100 in late 1999, higher than any Garth Brooks country hit had reached on the pop chart.

When he announced his retirement in 2000, Brooks said he would stay away at least until what happened?

Brooks said in 2000 he would not return until his youngest daughter finished high school; Allie graduated in 2014, and his comeback tour began that September.

In 2005 Brooks leased his entire catalog exclusively to which retailer?

Brooks signed an exclusive distribution deal with Walmart in August 2005; The Limited Series box set sold more than 500,000 copies through the chain on its first day.

What perk did Steve Wynn give Brooks to make the 2009-2014 Las Vegas residency work around family life?

Steve Wynn offered Brooks use of a private jet so he could fly home to Oklahoma between the weekend-only, solo acoustic shows at the Encore Theater from 2009 to 2014.

At which Dublin stadium were five 2014 Brooks concerts cancelled after a licensing row?

Dublin City Council licensed only three of the five Croke Park dates in July 2014; Brooks refused to play 'five or none', and about 400,000 tickets were refunded.

What was GhostTunes, launched in 2014?

GhostTunes was Brooks's own digital music store, launched in 2014 so he could sell his catalog online while bypassing iTunes; it closed in March 2017, moving customers to Amazon Music.

What was the title of his 2014 comeback album?

Man Against Machine, released in November 2014 on his own Pearl Records with RCA, was his first studio album since 2001's Scarecrow; 'People Loving People' was its lead single.

With which team did Brooks first sign up for spring training, in 1998?

Brooks first trained with the San Diego Padres in the spring of 1998, went back with them in 1999, and later joined the Mets, Royals and Pirates camps to promote his charity.

What was his batting record during spring training with the New York Mets?

With the New York Mets in spring 2000, Brooks went 0 for 17 at the plate, appearing in exhibition games to raise money for his children's foundation.

Which children's charity did Garth Brooks found in 1999 with baseball, hockey and football arms?

Teammates for Kids began in 1999 as the Touch 'Em All Foundation, with pro athletes pledging donations per hit, goal or touchdown; Brooks joined the Pirates' 2019 camp to promote it.

Brooks named his first daughter after which singer-songwriter he idolized?

Taylor Mayne Pearl Brooks, born in July 1992, was named for James Taylor, whose records Brooks grew up on, and for Grand Ole Opry comedian Minnie Pearl.

Who was Brooks's first wife, a songwriter he married in 1986?

Sandy Mahl, whom Brooks met while working as a bouncer, shares a writing credit on his 1993 hit 'That Summer'; they separated in 1999 and divorced in December 2001.

Yearwood's Emmy-winning Food Network cooking series is called what?

Trisha's Southern Kitchen won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Culinary Program in 2013, its second season on Food Network; her cookbooks include Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen.

Which 1991 debut single made Trisha Yearwood a star?

'She's in Love with the Boy', written by Jon Ims, was Yearwood's 1991 debut single and topped the country chart; her debut album went on to sell two million copies.

Brooks broke whose record of six RIAA Diamond-certified albums?

The Beatles had held the record with six Diamond albums, each certified for 10 million units, before Brooks surpassed them; his self-titled debut and No Fences are both among his Diamond albums.

In 2020 Brooks became the youngest recipient to that date of which Library of Congress honor?

The Gershwin Prize for Popular Song went to Brooks at a March 2020 tribute concert in Washington; Cher presented him the Billboard Icon Award that October, and the Kennedy Center Honors followed in 2021.

What did Brooks sing at Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021?

Brooks sang 'Amazing Grace' a cappella and asked the crowd to join the last verse; at Obama's 2009 inaugural concert he had sung 'American Pie' and 'Shout'.

Which John Lennon song did Brooks and Yearwood perform at Jimmy Carter's state funeral in January 2025?

Brooks and Yearwood sang 'Imagine' at the 9 January 2025 service in Washington National Cathedral, as they had at Rosalynn Carter's memorial in 2023; Carter was a longtime friend.

His largest ticketed concert, 90,000 people in August 2021, was at a stadium in which state?

Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, drew about 90,000 on 14 August 2021 as part of the Stadium Tour, which had opened at Notre Dame in October 2018.

Brooks says the energy of his stage persona is directly inspired by which rodeo rider-turned-singer?

He recorded "Good Ride Cowboy" as a tribute after LeDoux's death in 2005, and had name-checked him in his very first single.

"Dive Bar", his 2019 single that spawned a seven-bar promotional tour, is a duet with whom?

Blake Shelton shares vocals on 'Dive Bar', written by Brooks, Mitch Rossell and Bryan Kennedy; Brooks then played seven dive bars across the country in 2019 to promote it.

What nickname is given to the studio band that has played on almost all of his records?

The G-Men, the Nashville session band of guitarist Chris Leuzinger, drummer Milton Sledge, bassist Mike Chapman and others, were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame with Brooks in 2016.

What was the title of his first Christmas album, released in 1992?

Beyond the Season, released in August 1992, mixed 'White Christmas' and 'Silent Night' with the original 'The Old Man's Back in Town' and was certified multi-platinum.

What did Garth Brooks rename his main Nashville recording studio, formerly Jack's Tracks?

Allentown Studios honours producer Allen Reynolds, who bought Jack's Tracks, the studio Jack Clement opened in 1971; Brooks renamed it for Reynolds, his longtime producer.

In which year was Garth Brooks inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame?

Brooks was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on 21 October 2012 alongside Connie Smith and Hargus 'Pig' Robbins, a year after entering the Songwriters Hall of Fame.