  Garth Brooks was born on
February 7, 1962, in Oklahoma. Garth started
making big waves in the country world just as
country music was beginning to have a
resurgence in the music industry (largely in
part to him). Garth contributed to the
popularity of country music with his
combination of post-folk rock and sensitive
country sounds and lyrics. Garth showed the
music industry that a country artist could
release a multi-million selling LP and by the
late 90s, Garth sold more LPs than any other
solo artist in music history and country
music had become a multi-million dollar
selling tool. He is the only male artist to
have 2 LPs sell over 10 million copies each.
In Garth's youth, country music was present
in his home (his mom was a country singer),
but his focus was more on athletics. Garth
made it to Oklahoma State University on a
javelin throwing scholarship but eventually
turned to music instead.
In 1985, Garth moved to
Nashville with a degree in advertising to
pursue a country music career. Even though
his quickly found it was an unsuccessful
venture, and returned to Oklahoma, Garth
returned to Nashville again in 1987 and
signed with Capitol in 1988. Garth described
that time: "I was scared to death,"
Garth now says. "When we first started,
I had one thing in mind, and that was to make
folks back home proud. I really felt like I
was representing Yukon, Oklahoma, and more
than anything I wanted them to like what I
did. If I had to pick one word to describe
the recording process that first time, I
guess I'd say 'innocence'."
 Garth's first LP, Garth
Brooks, was released with the tracks
"Not Counting On You," and
"Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn
Old)" and the #1 Country hits, "The
Dance" and "If Tomorrow Never
Comes." The LP was a hit in the country
market, and was gradually showing some
popularity on the pop LP charts. With
continuing success, the LP eventually sold
over 9 million copies in the U.S.
 Garth's second LP, No
Fences, was released and has sold over
16 million copies in the U.S., a figure
usually unheard of for a country artist.
Garth topped the Country Singles chart with 4
hits from the LP: his trademark tune
"Friends In Low Places," the
controversial "The Thunder Rolls"
(which portrays spousal abuse),
"Unanswered Prayers," and "Two
Of A Kind (Workin' On A Full House)."
Garth had now obtained superstar status and
was able to sell out stadiums when on tour.
Garth also changed the face of country
touring with his performances by having a
large-scale shows full of energy and
entertainment.
Garth won 2 Country Music Awards
for Music Video of the Year and the Horizon
Award.
Garth
Brooks was certified gold.
Garth
Brooks was certified platinum.
No
Fences was certified 2x platinum.
Garth won an American Music
Award for Favorite Country Single ("If Tomorrow
Never Comes") and was nominated for Favorite Country Male Artist.
Garth was nominated for a Grammy
Award for Best Country Vocal
Performance - Male ("Friends In Low
Places").
Garth
Brooks was certified 2x platinum.
No
Fences was certified 3x platinum.
No
Fences was certified 4x platinum.
 Garth's third LP, Ropin'
The Wind, became the first country LP to
debut at #1 on the pop charts and when on to
spend 18 weeks at #1. Brooks continued to
wrack up millions in LP sales without
stepping foot in the pop singles world.
Country hits included "Rodeo,"
"Papa Loved Mama," and the #1 hits,
"Shameless" (penned by Billy
Joel) and "What She's Doing
Now." Sales for Ropin'
The Wind exceeded 14 million
copies in the U.S.
No
Fences was certified 5x platinum.
Ropin'
The Wind was certified 4x platinum.
Ropin'
The Wind was certified 5x platinum.
During the year, Garth won 6
Billboard Music Awards for Top Album Artist,
Top Country Artist, Top Country Album Artist,
Top Country Artist (combined LPs &
singles), Top Country Singles Artist, and Top
Pop Album Artist - Male and 6 Country Music
Awards for Album of the Year (No
Fences), Entertainer of the Year,
Single of the Year ("Friends In Low
Places"), Song of the Year ("The
Dance"), Top Male Vocalist of the Year,
and Video of the Year ("The
Dance").
Garth
Brooks was certified 3x platinum, No
Fences was certified 6x platinum, and Ropin'
The Wind was certified 6x platinum.
Garth won 3 American Music
Awards for Favorite Country Male Artist, Favorite Country Single ("The Thunder
Rolls"), and Favorite Country Album (No
Fences) and was also nominted in the
Favorite Country Album category for Ropin'
The Wind.
Garth won his first Grammy
Award for Best Country Vocal
Performance - Male (Ropin'
The Wind) and was nominated for Best Music Video, Short Form ("The Thunder
Rolls").
Garth topped the Billboard
Country Singles chart for 4 weeks with
"What She's Doing Now."
No
Fences was certified 7x platinum and Ropin'
The Wind was certified 7x platinum.
Garth won 3 more Country Music
Awards for Entertainer of the Year, Male
Vocalist of the Year, and a Special
Achievement Award.
No
Fences was certified 8x platinum.
Garth
Brooks was certified 4x platinum and Ropin'
The Wind was certified 8x platinum.
Garth topped the Billboard
Country Singles chart for 1 week with
"The River."
 Garth released a holiday LP, Beyond
The Season, which continued Garth's
amazing record selling abilities - selling
over 3 million copies in the U.S. Garth said
of making the LP: "Beyond
The Season hands down, without a doubt, is
the most fun record that I've ever made. You
always cut Christmas albums, it seems in the
middle of summer for some reason to have them
prepared in time for Christmas. And we did
this one in June and July of '92. I remember
Mark Miller the engineer, had strung
Christmas lights all through the studio, put
the fake snow and turned the air conditioning
down. It was a blast. This album I would make
every day of my life if I could. Totally no
pressure, you're singing about what counts
and that's the feeling of Christmas. Which in
my opinion should be shared everyday of the
year, instead of just one day of the
year."
 The release of The
Chase allowed Garth to change from
the typical country music formula with the
addition of gospel. Garth describes the LP as
his "most personal album... This is as
much me as anybody has ever seen." The
LP didn't sell as well as his previous LPs,
possibly due to change in style, yet the LP
still sold over 8 million copies. Critics
argued that Garth's popularity may have
peaked. The LP also contained a track
supporting gay rights called "We Shall
Be Free" and the hit "Somewhere
Other Than The Night."
Garth scored big with television
ratings with an NBC special.
No
Fences was certified 9x platinum.
The
Chase topped the Billboard Top
Country Albums chart for 16 weeks.
Garth topped the Billboard LP
chart for 7 weeks with The
Chase.
Beyond
The Season was certified 2x platinum and The
Chase was certified 5x platinum.
Ropin'
The Wind was certified 9x platinum.
Garth won an American Music
Award for Favorite Country Male Artist and was nominated for Favorite Country Single ("The
River").
Garth topped
the Billboard Top Country Singles chart for a
week with "Somewhere Other Than The
Night."
Garth was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for Best Country Vocal
Performance - Male (The
Chase) and Best
Country Vocal Collaboration ("Whatcha
Gonna Do With A Cowboy" with Chris
LeDoux).
No
Fences was certified 10x platinum.
Garth was named the World's
Best-selling Country Artist of the Year at
the World Music Awards.
Garth topped
the Billboard Top Country Singles chart for a
week with "That Summer."
 Garth released In
Pieces and showed that he had returned
to the country formula that worked well for
him in the past. The LP was critically
praised and sold well with sales surpassing 8
million copies in the U.S. Garth said of the
LP, "In
Pieces, was just time, to smile. It
was time to laugh, it was time to get loud.
It's definitely the most live album that
we've ever cut."
Garth
Brooks was certified 5x platinum.
Garth topped
the Billboard Top Country Singles chart for 2
weeks with "Ain't Going Down (Till The
Sun Comes Up)."
In
Pieces topped the Billboard 200 Pop
Albums chart for 5 weeks and Top Country
Albums chart for 7 weeks.
In
Pieces was certified 3x platinum.
Rolling
Stone: "The 100 Top Music Videos" included "The
Thunder Rolls" at # 87.
Garth topped the Billboard
Year-End Charts as the Top Pop Artist
(singles & albums), Top Pop Artist - Male
(singles & albums), Top Billboard 200
Album Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album Artist
- Male, Top Country Artist (singles &
albums), Top Country Artist - Male (singles
& albums), Top Country Album Artist, Top
Country Album Artist - Male, Top Hot Country
Singles & Tracks Artist, and the Top Hot
Country Singles & Tracks Artist - Male.
Garth topped
the Billboard Top Country Singles chart for a
week with "American Honky-Tonk Bar
Association."
Throughout the year Garth won an
ASCAP Award for Songwriter of the Year, a
People's Choice Award for Favorite Male
Musical Performance, and a World Music Award
for World's Best-Selling Country Artist of
the Year .
 # 131
Singles Artist of the Year
In
Pieces was certified 4x platinum.
Garth won a American Music
Award for Favorite Country Male Artist and was nominated for
Favorite Country Album (In
Pieces).
Garth was nominated for a Grammy
Award for Best Country Vocal
Performance - Male ("Ain't Going Down (Til
The Sun Comes Up)").
 Garth recorded a cover tune for
a Kiss tribute LP, Kiss
My Ass. The track, "Hard Luck Woman," became Garth's
first Top 40 pop hit.
A collection of 10 favorite
Garth singles could also be found at your
local McDonalds when The Garth Brooks
Collection was sold exclusively at the
fast food chain for charity late in the year.
Over 3 million dollars was made from Garth's
collection alone.
No
Fences was certified 11x platinum.
Garth
Brooks was certified 6x platinum , In
Pieces was certified 5x platinum, and Ropin'
The Wind was certified 10x platinum.
 A greatest hits compilation for
retail, The
Hits, was released and sold over 10
million copies.
Garth won an ASCAP Award for
Songwriter of the Year and 2 Country Music
Awards for Entertainer of the Year and Video
of the Year ("We Shall Be Free").
The
Hits topped the Billboard Country
Albums chart for 15 weeks.
Garth topped the Billboard
Year-End Charts as the Top Country
Artist (singles & albums), the Top
Country Artist - Male (singles & albums),
the Top Country Album Artist, and the Top
Country Album Artist - Male.
Garth won an American Music
Award for Favorite Country Male Artist and 2 Country Music
Awards for Video of the Year ("The Red
Strokes") and the Jim Reeves Memorial
Award.
The
Hits topped the Billboard Pop Albums
chart for 8 weeks.
No
Fences was certified 13x platinum, Ropin'
The Wind was certified 11x platinum, The
Chase was certified 6x platinum, and The
Hits was certified 5x platinum.
The
Hits was certified 6x platinum.
The
Hits was certified 7x platinum.
The
Hits was certified 8x platinum.
Garth topped the Billboard
Country Singles chart for a week with
"She's Every Woman."
 Garth released Fresh
Horses with Garth credited for
songwriting on 8 of the 10 tracks. The LP has
continued to sell in true Garth-like style,
selling over 6 million copies in the U.S.
Beyond
The Season was certified 3x platinum.
Fresh
Horses topped the Billboard Country
Albums chart for 7 weeks.
Garth topped the Billboard
Year-End Chart-Toppers as the Top Billboard
200 Album Artist - Male, Top Country Album (The
Hits), Top Country Album Artist, and
Top Country Album Artist - Male.
The
Hits was the 5th biggest
selling LP of the year with sales topping 3.8
million during 1995.
Garth won 3 American Music
Awards for Favorite Country Album (The
Hits), Favorite Country Male Artist, and Favorite Artist
of the Year.
Fresh
Horses was certified 3x platinum.
Garth
Brooks was certified 7x platinum.
Garth topped the Billboard Hot
Country Singles & Tracks chart for a week
with "The Beaches Of Cheyenne."
Fresh
Horses was certified 4x platinum.
The
Hits was certified 9x platinum.
Garth won an American Music
Award for Favorite Country Male Artist and was nominated for
Favorite Country Album (Fresh
Horses).
In
Pieces was certified 6x platinum.
Garth made news when he
performed for free in Central Park, NY, and
the concert was aired on HBO. The crowd was
the largest to ever attend a concert in the
park and included special appearances by Billy
Joel and Don McLean. The concert was HBO's
most watched and highest rated original
program.
Over 139,000 tickets were sold
for 8 Garth shows in Chicago. The ticket
sales, which only took 4 hours to sell, broke
a sales record previously held by Genesis.
Rapper Warren G
filed a lawsuit against Garth over the use of
the letter 'G'. The suit contends Brooks and
his company Blue Rose, Inc., and Home Box
Office, Inc. infringed on Warren G's
trademark of 'G' on such ventures as Brook's
Central Park concert and tour, and
merchandise materials on his web site. Warren
G claims that the letter is trademarked as
the logo for his production company, G Funk.
The suit is asking for an injunction that
would stop Brooks from using the trademark as
well as compensatory and punitive damages.
 Garth's next LP, Sevens, was released. Garth
said of the LP, "I'm proud, I'm excited,
I'm nervous, and it feels good to be back in
the game again. This is a very personal
album. I only wrote six of the songs, but
there are many that are so 'me' that people I
work with every day thought I wrote
them."
Sevens debuted at #1 on the
Billboard 200 LP chart and stayed there into
the new year.
SoundScan proclaimed Garth's Sevens the fourth
best-selling LP of 1997 - selling over 3.4
million copies in the U.S.
Sevens was certified 5x
platinum.
Garth topped the Billboard
Country Singles chart with "Longneck
Bottle" for 3 weeks.
Garth topped the Billboard 200
Albums chart for 5 weeks and the Country
Albums chart for 13 weeks with Sevens.
Garth won a Country Music Award
for Entertainer of the Year and a Billboard
Music Award for Artist Achievement.
 # 128
Singles Artist of the Year
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