Garth Brooks 39; First Album

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Varinia Swicegood

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Aug 3, 2024, 3:16:02 PM8/3/24

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Garth Brooks is the debut studio album of American country music artist Garth Brooks, released on April 12, 1989, through Capitol Nashville. It was both a critical and chart success, peaking at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 2 on the Top Country Albums chart. The album has been certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments over ten million copies.

This album was released in April 1989, in the States. Definitely scared to death. I thought the album was very very innocent. And I gotta be truthful with you, every time I hear those songs off the radio or off the album itself, or even when we play them live. I really get that same kind of scared feeling, that I had, way back in 1988, and 1989. Whether you get the album or not, or whether you have the album or not. Thanks, for just, the interest. That first album is always a big one for any artist and I, without trying to sound egotistical, I'm very proud of my first one.[4]

This album contains Brooks' earliest hits, for instance his first ever single, "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)", which peaked at No. 8 on the Country Billboard Charts in 1989. It put the name of an independent cowboy singer, Chris LeDoux, into the mainstream due to the lyric "A worn out tape of Chris LeDoux" Two other strong starts include his first No. 1, "If Tomorrow Never Comes" and the Academy of Country Music's 1990 Song of the Year and Video of the Year, "The Dance" (another No. 1). It also features his first hit he wrote entirely in "Not Counting You", another top 10 success.

Punk rock cover artists Me First and the Gimme Gimmes released a version of "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" as the first track on their October 2006 album Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Love Their Country.

Garth Brooks peaked at No. 13 on the US Billboard 200, and peaked at No. 2 on the Top Country Albums. In November 2006, it was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over ten million copies in the United States. To date, the album has shipped ten million copies in the US.

Garth Brooks is the eponymous debut studio album of American country music artist Garth Brooks, released on April 12, 1989 through Capitol Nashville. It was both a critical and chart success, peaking at #13 on the Billboard 200. On the Top Country Albums chart the album peaked at #2 for eight weeks behind Clint Black's Killin' Time.[4] In 2006 Garth Brooks was certified Diamond by the RIAA for shipments of 10 million copies in the US.

This album contains Brooks' earliest hits, for instance his first ever single, "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)", which peaked at #8 on the Country Billboard Charts in 1989. It put the name of an independent cowboy singer, Chris LeDoux, into the mainstream due to the lyric "The worn out tape of Chris LeDoux" Two other strong starts include his first #1, "If Tomorrow Never Comes" and the Academy of Country Music's 1990 Song of the Year and Video of the Year, "The Dance" (another #1).

Punk rock cover artists Me First and the Gimme Gimmes released a version of 'Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)' as the first track on their October 2006 album Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Love Their Country.

Brooks released his self-titled debut album in 1989. It caught the attention of country music fans across the country and peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Country Albums chart, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The first single released from the album, "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)," found its way into country radio's Top 10, but couldn't quite make it all the way to the top.

That's when "If Tomorrow Never Comes" picked up. The sophomore single raced its way to the top of the chart, giving Brooks his first No. 1 hit on Dec. 9, 1989. Produced by Allen Reynolds and penned by Brooks and Kent Blazy, the song tells the story of a man who loves his woman deeply, and hopes she knows the extent of his affection.

"'If Tomorrow Never Comes' will probably always be my signature song. I ran the idea for this song by what seemed like a thousand writers and no one really seemed to understand what I was looking for," Brooks wrote in the liner notes of his second compilation album, The Hits. "On the day that Bob Doyle, my co-manager, introduced me to Kent Blazy, I passed this idea by Kent and he had the first verse down within fifteen seconds. I could tell he just felt it. Kent Blazy is a wonderful man, full of love and energy, and if we never write again, I hope that we are always friends first."

"If Tomorrow Never Comes" went on to win Brooks Song of the Year and Single of the Year at the 1989 ACM Awards, and nominations at the CMAs. The track is the first of many No. 1 hits for Brooks, including "The Dance" off of the same project. The success of both of those hits paved the way for the success of his sophomore album, No Fences, which spent 23 weeks at the top of Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.

The youngest of six children, Garth Brooks was born Troyal Garth Brooks on February 7, 1962, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was named for his father, Troyal, who taught him his first guitar chords and the value of hard work. Brooks followed in the musical footsteps of his mother, Colleen, who appeared on the Ozark Jubilee in the 1950s and recorded briefly for Capitol Records as Colleen Carroll. His sister Betsy could play a variety of stringed instruments and was another influence (and later a member of his band).

Brooks started performing while attending Oklahoma State University. His first trip to Nashville, in 1985, ended in disappointment, and he returned to Oklahoma. However, two years later, after marrying his first wife, Sandy Mahl, Brooks returned to Nashville and, in 1988, signed with Capitol Records.

In 2000, Brooks came to a crossroads. He and Sandy divorced, and three weeks later, he said he would retire to raise his daughters, Taylor, August, and Allie. After releasing his 2001 album, Scarecrow, Brooks settled down with his family in Oklahoma. He married fellow singer Trisha Yearwood in December 2005.

Even in retirement, Brooks continued to support several charities, a tradition he began with his Teammates for Kids Foundation, which he launched by participating in spring training with the San Diego Padres in 1998 and 1999. The foundation recruits professional athletes to make donations based on positive achievements in their fields. Aided by corporate sponsors, the foundation has raised more than $90 million in cash, gifts, and scholarships.

Brooks officially ended his retirement in July 2014, when he announced that he had signed with Sony Music Nashville and had plans for new music and a new tour. Since that time, Brooks has released three more solo albums and toured arenas, dive bars, and, for the first time in his career, stadiums.

This is an album for even people like me who don't like Garth Brooks. If you like acoustic versions of great, classic songs, this is chock-full of good stuff. Heck, you don't even have to be a country music fan. There are only two Brooks originals, and the vast majority of the covers are folk and rock - Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Bob Seger, etc...

It's unclear if this comes from one concert or several. What we do know is that Brooks was playing at small clubs in the town where he was going to college, and he probably was the one who made this recording, in order to show others his musical skills and possibly to give away or sell at his gigs. It basically sounds like a soundboard bootleg, although whether it is or not is kind of a moot point, since it literally sounds like the audience consisted of about a dozen people who were totally quiet during his songs. There's also almost no banter between songs. I'm guessing that was cut out in order to fit more songs on the tape.