The Music of GARTH BROOKS

Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Successfully integrating rock elements into his recordings and live performances, Brooks soon began to dominate the country singles and country album charts and quickly crossed over into the mainstream pop arena, exposing country music to a larger audience than previously thought possible.

Brooks has enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, with over 70 hit singles and 15 charted albums to his credit and over 123 million albums sold in the United States alone. Throughout the 1990s he broke records for both sales and concert attendance. In 1999, looking to expand his career boundaries, Brooks began an artistically ambitious multimedia project involving a fictitious alter ego known as Chris Gaines.

Troubled by the conflicts between career and family, in 2001 Brooks officially retired from recording and performing. During this time he has sold millions of albums through an exclusive distribution deal with Wal-Mart and has sporadically released new singles.

On November 6th, 2007, The Ultimate Hits was released. He will be playing nine consecutive nights at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri in November.

Early life and career
Garth Brooks was born February 7, 1962 the youngest of six children in Yukon, Oklahoma. His father Troyal Brooks worked as a draftsman for an oil company, while his mother Colleen Carroll was a country music singer on the Capitol Records label in the 1950s and also a regular on the Red Foley Show. Even as a child, Brooks was interested in music, often singing in casual family settings, but his primary interest was athletics. In high school he played football and baseball and ran track. After graduation from high school, he attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater on a track scholarship as a javelin thrower & defensive end. While at OSU, he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. Despite discontinuing his participation in the sport, he still graduated in 1984 with a degree in advertising.

Later that year, Brooks began his professional music career, singing and playing guitar in Oklahoma clubs and bars, particularly the Tumbleweed in Stillwater. After a failed 1985 24-hour trip to Nashville to gain a record contract, Brooks returned to Oklahoma and in 1986, married Sandy Mahl of Owasso, Oklahoma, whom he had met while working as a bouncer. The couple had three daughters: Taylor Mayne Pearl (b. 1992), August Anna (b. 1994) and Allie Colleen (b. 1996). The following year, the couple moved to Nashville, and Brooks was able to begin making contacts in the music industry.

While struggling to be noticed by industry executives, Brooks frequently recorded demo records for songwriter Kent Blazy. Blazy introduced Brooks to Trisha Yearwood, another aspiring country singer, in October 1987. The pair became friends and pledged to help each other in their careers. Brooks achieved success first, signing a recording contract with Capitol Records in 1988. Keeping his promise, in 1991, he invited Yearwood to be the opening act on his tour.

Listen to his songs.