Troyal Garth Brooks is a songwriter and country singer who is based in America. He has gained popularity for mixing rock and pop music into country music in America. To describe him more, he is the only artist throughout the history of the music industry to publishing a total of nine albums that have been certified in the Diamond category as per the record of Recording Industry Association of America, surpassing ‘The Beatles, which held a record of six Diamond album for a long time.
Troyal Garth Brooks was born, on 7th February 1962, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was born to Troyal Raymond Brooks Jr. and Collen McElroy Carroll. His mother, Collen, was a country singer too, who had ancestry from Ireland. During his high school years, Brooks played sports like baseball and football and also ran track and field.
Later due to his interest in sports, he received a scholarship from Oklahoma State University, which was situated in Stillwater. There in his college time, he used to work as a bouncer around a local bar, which led to his forming his own band in the name of ‘Santa Fe’. In the year 1984, he graduated from the college.
He began his career in music in the year 1985; he played guitar and sang songs in bars and clubs around Oklahoma. But his favorite spot among all was Wild Willie’s Saloon which was situated in Stillwater. He started listening to country music through his elder siblings; he mostly used to listen to George Jones.
Garth’s first debut eponymous first album was a success which made it to the No. 2 spot on the chart of Billboard Top Country Albums and made the No. 13 spot on the chart of Billboard 200, which was released in the year 1989. Again, in the same year, he released his debut single, which was ‘Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old), which was again a hit on the chart.
Garth released his second album ‘No Fences, in 1990, which held at No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top Country Album Chart and stayed at No. 1 for 23 weeks, eventually making the album as Brooks’ best and highest-selling album, selling over 17 million copies. Garth Brooks, the beloved country icon, had made it to headlines for being the center of controversy. This time, it’s because of his comments and intentions regarding including Bud Light at his upcoming Nashville bar, “The Friends in Low Places”.
Garth Brooks Stands Firm Amidst Controversy Over Bud Light:
Billboard reported that during their recent interview, Brooks talked about his plans for the upcoming bar, where he stated that he intends his bar to be inclusive and plans to serve every brand of beer to create a welcoming environment for his customers. However, his plans and comments did not reach the fans well. While a few of them supported his decision, others shared their disapproval through social media, specifically, the inclusion of Bud Light.
Some of the fans even went overboard, and the backlash on social media grew even more when some fans declared a boycott of Brooks’ bar and his music. However, not all fans share the same opinion. Some of them think that inclusive diversity would be a good strategy for popularizing the bar.
Brooks has faced controversies throughout his career, spanning a few decades. His music video for “The Thunder Rolls” was banned by The Nashville Network and CMT in 1991 due to its violent content. Despite all the negativity surrounding the sons, it won the CMA music video of the Year award.
Brooks’ hit song “We Shall Be Free” was released in 1992 and had powerful content showcasing political and social issues like riots and burnings. In 1993, Garth Brooks was scheduled to sing the national anthem for Super Bowl. Before the performance, Brooks requested NBC to play his controversial song “We Shall Be Free.” At first, NBC denied his request, for which he decided to walk out of the stadium. However, surprisingly, the NFL delayed the kickoff to accommodate the airing of the video, and Brooks returned to perform the national anthem alongside Marlee Matlin.
