Garth Brooks is an American singer and songwriter. His idea of fusing rock and roll along with country music has helped him gain immense fame in the United States. Having sold over 170 million records, he is one of the world’s highest record selling artist. He has won 2 Grammy Awards, 17 American Music Awards, and RIAA Award for best-selling solo albums artist of the century in the U.S.
Brook has been inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame, and also in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Garth Brooks was born Troyal Garth Brooks, on February 7, 1962, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was the youngest son of Troyal Raymond Brooks, Jr. and Colleen McElroy Caroll. He is of American nationality and his ethnicity is white.
Since a young age, Garth Brooks learned how to play the guitar and banjo. As a child, he often sang in casual family settings, but his primary goal was to excel in athletics. In high school, he played many games, namely football, baseball, and races.
Brooks was awarded a track scholarship to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, wherein he competed in Javelin throwing. He graduated with a degree in advertising. His roommate, Ty England, played in his road band as a guitarist until Garth went solo with his career in 1995.
Brooks began his professional music career in 1985, singing and playing in clubs and bars of Oklahoma, especially in Wild Willie’s Saloon in Stillwater. In the same year, entertainment attorney Rod Phelps drove from Dallas to listen to Brooks. In 1987, Brooks and his wife Sandy Mahl moved to Nashville and began making contacts in the music industry.
Garth’s first album released in 1989 was a huge chart success. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was mostly around the country genre. Almost every song from this album went on to become hit singles.
Brooks’ second album No Fences was released in 1990. It stayed at No 1 in the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart for 23 weeks, and also features singer Keith Urban. and Jason Aldean.
His third album hit the stores in September 1991. The album already had advance orders of 4 million. It was the first country album to enter the Billboard 200 and acquire a No. 1 position. It was Garth Brooks's second best selling after No Fences. The release of this album also triggered the sales of his previous two albums ultimately making him the only artist with three albums listed on the Billboard 200.
In 1992, he released his first Christmas album, Beyond The Season on August 25. The album focused on Christmas songs. It went up to No. 2 on the Billboards.
Garth Brooks came up with another album in 1993. ”In Pieces” sold 10 million copies, and peaked at No. 1 on both the Billboard and The Top Country Album Charts. That same year, he started his first world tour. He also performed at London’s Wembley Arena, a feat never achieved by an American country music artist.
In November 1995, Brooks released Fresh Horses as his sixth album, which features singer Steven Tyler. The album's hit singles went on to top the charts again. After its release, he went on a second tour around the world. It is estimated that a total of 5.5 million people attended his concerts, and grossed over $105 million making it the highest-grossing tour in the 1990s.
In 1997, Garth Brooks released his seventh studio album titled Sevens. The concert for the promotion of the album was planned in Central Park. The concert was attended by 980,000 fans, making it the largest concert in park history. This album also peaked at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums charts and sold 10 million copies.
Garth Brooks' first live album, Double Live, was released in 1998. It also went on to peak at No. 1 on the Billboard.
In 1999, he took on an alter ego of Chris Gaines, a fictitious rock and roll musician, character for his upcoming movie, The Lamb. The lamb was released but met many criticisms. Maximum of the American citizens were bewildered by his idea of changing himself into a rock icon.
Before Brooks’ retirement, he went on to produce one last album. The album was named Scarecrow and was released on November 13, 2001. The album did reach No. 1 but did not match the levels of his previous sales.
He resurfaced again in 2014 with his new album Man Against Machine.
Garth's love life with his first wife had an unusual beginning. He’s a professional baseball player and was signed to the San Diego Padres for spring training in 1998 and 1999. He didn’t really make it as a regular-season roster but was offered a non-roster spot, which he declined.
He later got back to baseball in 2004, where he got his first and only hit-off against Mike Myers with the Royals. Brooks married his college girlfriend on May 24, 1986. The couple later had three daughters: Taylor Mayne Pearl (born 1992), August Anna (born 1994), and Allie Colleen Brooks (born 1996). The duo later parted ways in 2000 after filing a divorce.
Brooks is now engaged to his second wife Trisha Yearwood, a country singer. They were married on December 10, 2005. In 2013, He became a grandfather when his daughter August had a daughter with Michael Russell.
His nationality is American, and he is of white ethnicity. He has an average height of 1.82 m. He has his own youtube channel where he is followed by 11k followers.
Garth has a net worth of $280 million. Garth has been involved in a lot of charitable acts, especially selling concert tickets as a fundraiser. He has his own record label, Pearl Records which was established in 2005 and is a good source of his income. There have been no records of him receiving any amounts of money as salary.
