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Garth Brooks: 30 Songs That Merit His Superstardom
Garth Brooks is a country superstar that can command a stadium full of people in any city he plays, even though his last stadium tour is one that he says was his last. Now with his sites set on a Las Vegas “Garth Brooks / Plus One” at the Coliseum at Caesars Palace residency for the foreseeable future, Garth is celebrating his 61st birthday today (2/7).
Brooks chatted with fans on his weekly Studio G recently (1/9). He said, “I’ll tell you right now, this will be the busiest year of our career.” It’s a big statement coming from a guy who’s filled many years of his life on the road and in the studio. He added, “There are going to be so many things happening this year.”
Later in the year, he and Trisha Yearwood are committed to a Habitat for Humanity building project on behalf of former President and First Lady Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. But what else does he have on tap? He does have his new downtown Nashville entertainment venue, Friends in Low Places. Brooks laughs, “This year, we get to open up, I hope.”
Garth is also expecting to return to the recording studio this year. He offered, “The studio is going to be wide open this year. We’re going to go in and just do a lot of things that probably never will see the light of day. But, to be honest with you, those are my favorite sessions.” He added, “This’ll probably be one of the heaviest years we’ve ever had ’cause everything’s just coming around to an end or a beginning, which is cool.”
We look at 30 songs that solidified his place in music history and made him one of the biggest stars to ever emerge from Nashville.
A song Garth himself co-wrote from the 'Ropin’ The Wind' album. It was released in December of 1991.
From 'In the Life of Chris Gaines' (as Chris Gaines) Album. Yeah, people make fun of the project, but so many of the songs on it were solid.
Released in 2003 from Brooks’ 'Scarecrow' album.The song peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Country Singles chart.
Garth is so good at songs that bring people together and this is one of them from his 2014 'Man Against Machine album.'
A romantic song from Brooks’ 1995 'Fresh Horses' album. It went to number one and is another one Garth co-wrote, this time with Victoria Shaw.
A song released in January of 2000 from his 'Sevens' album. It was a remake of a song recorded by New Grass Revival for their 1989 album 'Friday Night in America.'
Another Chris Gaines classic and one I personally played over and over again. 'The Life of Chris Gaines' was released in 1999.
A single released from Garh’s 'Scarecrow' album in 2001. Another great love song.
Call me crazy but this is another song from Garth’s 1999 'Chis Gaines' album and it’s just good no matter who he was pretending to be.
This is just a classic from Brooks’ debut album, released in 1989.
The perfect song from the 'Ropin’ The Wind' album and a tribute to the rodeo riders including Garth’s good friend Chris LeDoux who passed away in March of 2005.
Aren’t we all members of this association? Just a great fun single from Garth. It was released on his 'In Pieces' album in 1993.
A two stepper perfect for dancing released from Brooks’ 1989 self-titled debut album.
A powerful song that tells a story from Garth’s 'Ropin' The Wind' album. The song was released as a single and went straight to the top in late 1992.
A perfect stadium song and so much fun. This was a huge hit for Brooks in the summer of 1993.
A solid hit written by Lee Brice, Billy Montana and Kyle Jaobs. It made history becoming the only country single to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Songs chart.
A great song and collaboration between Garth and Blake Shelton. The underwater video was also a big hit. This song inspired a tour of dive bars for Brooks in 2019.
The song’s video is quite dramatic showing Garth singing in the rain. The song’s subject matter is as strong and powerful as the song itself. Little known fact: The song was originally recorded by Tanya Tucker but she never released it.
An upbeat song about love from Garth’s 'No Fences' album.
A remake of a Billy Joel classic that Brooks definitely made his own.
Found on the soundtrack of the 1998 movie 'Hope Floats.' Written by Bob Dylan, Dylan gave it to Billy Joel to record for his 'Greatest Hits Vol. III." Dylan later recorded it himself, as did Garth. Trisha Yearwood did her own version (also on 'Hope Floats') and years later, Adele covered it as well.
A song well known to be a Garth classic from his debut album. The number one song was only his second single.
A timeless song about standing up for social justice.
A song released in 1994 and a thriller in concert. From the 'In Pieces' album, it charted number one on Billboard’s Hot CountrySingles and Songs chart.
Call me dark, but this is one of my favorite murder songs about a truck driver not able to handle his cheating wife. It only went top five in 1992.
Garth and Trisha did a great version of the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga hit from their film 'A Star Is Born.'
A tender ballad released in October of 1990. Yeah, it went straight to number one.
Probably my favorite song of Garth’s again bringing people together in what should be a fair and loving world.
Arguably Garth’s biggest hit and definitely the song that made him a superstar. Everyone loves this one from 'No Fences.'
One of the greatest songs of all time was right there on Brooks’ debut album released in 1989. The song’s video shows several American icons and examples of people who died for a dream.