Garth Brooks

[Karen]

Garth Brooks to Join Songwriters Hall of Fame

Country musician Garth Brooks will be inducted by Billy Joel

May 17, 2011

Country music superstar Garth Brooks will be one of this year's inductees to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The Oklahoma native will be recognized for his contributions to the country music canon, including such timeless hits as If Tomorrow Never Comes, The Thunder Rolls and Friends In Low Places.

The Boot reports that Brooks' good friend and fellow songwriter Billy Joel will make the official induction.

Brooks and Joel have remained friends ever since the cowboy-hat topped crooner covered Joel's song Shameless and turned it into a country smash. The pair have performed the song together numerous times, including at Brooks' historic 1997 concert in Central Park.

Other songwriters to be inducted this year include rock and roll legend Leon Russell, R&B hitmaker Allen Toussaint, lyricist John Bettis and the songwriting team of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame 2011 ceremony will take place in New York City, June 16.

(Photo by PR Photos)

Story provided by the Dish Information Corporation

[Kim]

Garth Brooks Plans to Tour Again Eventually


Garth Brooks is currently playing a string of dates at the Las Vegas’ Wynn Casino, which run through February, but don’t expect him to take his show on the road for a full tour just yet. The 49-year-old country music icon won’t be coming out of retirement, at least until his youngest daughter graduates from college in 2014.

“I don’t think you ever stop being a parent, but when we become emptynesters … well, my youngest graduates in May of 2014. So, we become emptynesters right around then, and who knows,” Brooks says when asked about his future career plans. “Our business, as you know, this business is very fickle, so there might not be a hole for us. But if there is, I would love to tour again for the first time ever without guilt from being away from either your spouse or your children. Now my children are off doing their own thing, and my spouse is with me. You know we’re together on tour, so I think that would be all the fun things.”

Since his retirement from music in 2000, Brooks has played scattered shows here and there, but if he and wife Trisha Yearwood were to hit the road in 2014, it would still be almost a decade and a half since his last official tour.

Brooks assures, however, that he does want to get back into music in some form. “There’s always hunger to create because I believe that’s what I do. I believe that’s what I’m supposed to be doing. With that said, I’ll try because, you know, I’ll try not to get too far ahead of myself. The situation that music retail is in right now does not excite me. I love to create. At the same time, you want what you’ve created to be viewed as a success, and right now I don’t see many successes out there — simply because the way the system is set up, not because the music isn’t any good.”

Compilations aside, the country music legend has not released an album with all new material since his 2001 delivery, ‘Scarecrow,’ which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard, topped the country charts and churned a handful of successful singles, like the fan favorite ‘Wrapped Up in You.’ If and when he returns to the game — should country music welcome him back with open arms — Brooks says he doesn’t know if releasing his tunes digitally, i.e. on iTunes, would be as significant as he’s hoping to be in his comeback.

“I’m not sure. I don’t think the system right now is set up for extraordinary significance. And I think the system does have something to do with that. People will misconstrue that statement as commercialism or marketing, but the truth is I don’t think we view music right now as something that is extraordinary, and I think a lot of that — the reason why we don’t — is it’s become too disposable,” Brooks explains.

He adds, “I think we owe it to music to take a break, to try and figure out how it’s treated after it’s released, and hopefully it will be more favorable by the time we are going back on tour — if we do.”

[Kim]

Garth Brooks Considers a Career in Politics


Garth Brooks is keeping his options open for when his youngest daughter graduates in 2014. While the singer has said he won’t hit the road or record new music until then, he could be considering a different sort of career during his later years.

In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Brooks admits he’s considered politics. “Yeah, sure! Everyone who’s ever been an employer or a boss is basically leading people. So the thought of leading people doesn’t scare me,” he tells Robin Leach, who spoke with him for the publication. “What scares me is that our system is 200 years old, one of the youngest systems on the planet, and our system is the best system out there.”

The country legend quickly reassures people that just because he feels he’s fit to lead doesn’t mean he thinks his opinions on this country are always right. Fans who’ve seen his show at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas know he’s still as humble as the day he first set foot on the Grand Old Opry stage.

“My dad had a saying and always said, ‘Son, just because you’re the best of what’s out there doesn’t mean you’re worth a s—t,’ the 49-year-old says, talking again about the American government. “You’ve got to look in your own mirror and say, ‘Can our system be better? It might be the best one that’s out there, but can our system be better?’ The answer is yes! If we cannot stop voting on what’s Democratic and what’s Republican instead of what’s right or wrong, we are doomed. Maybe it’ll be up to people like me to make it better.”

Brooks’ youngest daughter, Allie is 15-years-old. In 2000, he said he was retiring until she graduated high school, but has since resurfaced with multiple box set packages and at occasional charity shows. The speculation is that he’ll return to making music and touring once he and wife Trisha Yearwood are empty-nesters.

[grg_straitfan]

Garth Brooks turning 50


Garth Brooks will be partying with friends in low places today -- the country superstar turns 50.

Since his debut in 1989, Oklahoma-born Troyal Garth Brooks has won a haul of trophies including two Grammys and 24 Billboard Music Awards, wooed and wed country star Trisha Yearwood, and been named one of the top selling solo artists of the 20th century -- second only to Elvis Presley.

Credited with helping turn country music into a worldwide phenomenon, Brooks shows no signs of slowing down as he continues to draw thousands of fans to the Las Vegas strip every week for his sold-out Sin City shows.

10 fascinating facts

- After graduating from Oklahoma State University with a degree in advertising, Brooks worked a series of odd jobs -- he was a shoe salesman and a bouncer before landing his big break.

- Brooks' music video for his 1991 track The Thunder Rolls, in which he portrayed a philandering husband, was banned from U.S. TV channel The Nashville Network due to its domestic violence theme. It was later voted Video of the Year at the Country Music Awards.

- His love of music took root at an early age when he learned to play guitar and the banjo for his family's weekly talent shows.

- Yearwood bakes a German chocolate cake with coconut frosting every year for Brooks' birthday. She shared her recipe for the sweet treat in her cookbook, Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen.

- Playing in a band called Santa Fe, Brooks once opened for country icon Dwight Yoakam.

- He is dad to three daughters - Allie Colleen, August Anna and Taylor Mayne Pearl, who was named after James Taylor.

- Brooks is known for his generosity - he once gave a lift to a family whose car had broken down, and later turned up at their house with the keys to a 1986 Chevrolet Caprice Classic.

- He's heavily involved with Habitat for Humanity, and even skipped the Country Music Association Awards in November because he was busy building homes in earthquake-ravaged Haiti for the organization.

- After announcing he was coming out of retirement to stage a residency, his first 20 shows at the Wynn Las Vegas sold out in less than five hours.

- He shares his birthday with actor Ashton Kutcher, novelist Charles Dickens and funnyman Chris Rock.

[Kim]

Garth Brooks Interview: Superstar Entertainer Remembers a Special Friend


Dan Chadwick


Garth Brooks traveled to Nashville from his home in Oklahoma last month for a joyous occasion, the announcement that he was being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Last week, he returned to the Hall of Fame's Ford Theater to attend a memorial service, a celebration of the life of the late Patsi Bale Cox, one of Nashville's most respected music journalists and authors, who died last November after battling emphysema.

Patsi, whose last completed work was a best-selling biography called 'The Garth Factor,' was an integral part of the superstar's entire career. She wrote bios and press releases for him as each new Garth album was unleashed on voracious music fans worldwide. While she had, in fact, compiled so much biographical material on him that a book was the next natural step, Patsi's role in Garth's life was more significant than merely chronicling his meteoric, unprecedented career path. She was a close friend, a trusted confidant and someone on whom he could count not to sugar-coat any situation.

Garth spoke exclusively to The Boot just days after the memorial, in a conversation that also turned to the state of music business -- and what needs to happen before we can expect to buy new Garth Brooks music. He also shared his own experience with one thing everyone's been talking about lately, the MegaMillions lottery.

Why was it important for you to attend Patsi's memorial service?

She died a thousand deaths for me. I've always said I have three women in my life I could turn loose on any nation and I could win any world war. It would be Miss Patsi, Virginia [Team, noted Nashville album-art designer] and [music journalist/CMT personality] Hazel Smith. I could put those three on anybody and win anything. They absolutely have shown their love for me and their allegiance to me. If I've done my job, hopefully they feel it back.

What was your first impression of Patsi?

My first impression of her came in the [Jimmy] Bowen [then-head of Capitol Nashville, the label that first signed Garth] years, where anybody around him, no offense to Jimmy, they just didn't speak up. And Patsi, she could not not speak up. This gal just says what's on her mind and she says what she believes is the truth, which is all you can ask of somebody. So, I wanted to hang with her because knowing where you stand anywhere, especially in an entertainment industry, that's rare to see people declaring sides, instead of just sitting on the fence waiting to see which side things fall on. Patsi declared sides always, and stuck with it.

When you found out she was writing your biography, did you feel like your life was in good hands?

Whatever she prints, she believes to be true. She's all heart, all love and no nonsense. So if she put something in there that I disagree with, I first go, "Hey, this is Patsi; read it twice and see. She's not trying to win points with anybody, so you need to look into this." Even though Patsi recorded what went on in the music business, she created so much of what went on in the music business by her strengths, her beliefs and her influence on people.

Patsi had said at one time that you told her you were getting sick of seeing yourself on magazine covers and that if you were getting sick of it, others must be, too.

If we see too much of one person, even though we like that person we start to kind of pull for other people. I found myself pulling for other people. I remember in the '80s, Randy Travis was my guy. He's the reason I moved to Nashville, and I just loved him. But at some point when he was winning everything, you find yourself pulling for other people. I remember talking to Patsi about that. I found myself pulling for other people against me. As much as I've enjoyed what we've gone through ... I heard a term at the memorial service, "the Garth era." My greatest pride and my greatest joy is just being a part of it. I love being a part of country music. I love going out and ... doing things for the first time for country music. I always enjoy that. And Patsi got that.

What do you remember about the last time you saw her?

She stayed out here at the house. She was doing a book signing in Tulsa. The thing with Patsi is the first time you meet her and the last time you see her, they're the same conversation. Whatever was wrong right now, Patsi knew how to fix it, and I never knew her to be wrong. She gave you reason with an attitude. She gave you reason with drive. You felt like you could go out and slay a nation after talking with her because she laid it down. The great thing was the readiness of the conversation. When an artist is in full gear, your life runs very fast and your windows are very few. All of a sudden, something will pop up and your whole world will change. You immediately get to the people that mean something to you and start talking about what you're facing. With Patsi, I could always call her and if she didn't answer herself, she would call back within two minutes. She would clear her schedule and we would be talking about what I need to do to keep my career from dying at this very moment, what I need to do make the right decision -- because there are heads that are rolling. With the biggest struggles of my career in the '90s, that was the phone call I would make. Patsi was very knowledgeable, I would put her knowledge of country music history and what was going on with country music at the time against anybody. There's a difference between knowing what's on the page in a history book and actually feeling that page have curves and valleys. She knew people very, very well. So she could breathe life into people ... and thought about how they thought. She was great at that.

Do you have one special memory of her that will always stay with you?

Patsi and my mom got along fantastically, because my mom was one of those people that could put up with people's bulls--- but she wouldn't very long. Patsi just never tried to B.S. my mom. Whenever they were together in the same room, they would end up being together all night. They both smoked. And as long as my mom was with Patsi, I didn't worry about my mom. I've got to tell you, that statement just hit me because my mom was everything to me but if Patsi was with her I knew she was OK.

Your Las Vegas shows are continuing and obviously you're still sticking to staying off the road until all your daughters graduate from high school, but is there anything else you're working on these days?

Our youngest is a sophomore, so we've got two more years here. I spend all my time right now trying to combat music retail and copyright. Because if I'm going to enter back into this race when the girls go off to college, right now there's no reason to make new music other than the fact that you want to make new music. The way the system is set up, it's impossible. I unfortunately have been working on that. I can't wait to get that behind me. Hopefully, between digital spaces like iTunes and YouTube, we'll get our end figured out, because they're not going to do it for us. No offense to anybody. We just need to get our collective stuff together and if we do that, I can enjoy a possible shot at a second half of a run. But until that happens, I've got nothing planned.

Does that mean you've got people working on these issues for you?

Unfortunately, it's out of my hands, so what I'm doing is a lot of crawling on my hands and knees, begging, pleading, crying to our government, to all of music, to band together. Because if this continues, I don't know how many fewer labels we can get to. If we're not waking up yet, then I'm not sure we ever will.

On the subject of government, do you talk to your daughters about politics and the presidential race?

They're very aware. They're very sharp on those kinds of things. In our house, everyone's opinion is welcome. I grew up in a house where everything wasn't when it came to politics or religion.

One last question: Did you buy a MegaMillions lottery ticket?

[laughs] No, but the only reason was I didn't know how! I was so busy but when it was going, I was wondering, "Damn, I wonder how I can get hold of one of those!"

[Kim]

Garth Brooks Extends His Las Vegas Residency


Just as we thought Garth Brooks‘ Wynn Las Vegas Encore Theater residency was coming to an end, the iconic entertainer has released a string of new dates for the stage show, which will take place between September and November of 2012.

According to The Boot, tickets for just-announced block of shows will go on-sale on June 9 at 10AM PT. Unfortunately, it wont be cheap to see this iconic country star play in Vegas. Tickets are $225 (not including taxes and service charges). Fans looking to splurge in Sin City can purchase the ’Garth Weekend Package,’ which includes three nights in a Wynn or Encore Tower hotel room, two great concert tickets, Garth merchandise worth $100, dinner at Switch, your choice of spa treatments for two people and Sunday Jazz Brunch at the Country Club. Packages start at $839.

In addition to rave reviews for his Las Vegas performances, 2012 has been a pretty great year for the “retired” superstar. In January, Brooks was named the top-selling artist of the past 20 years, totaling $68.5 million in sales. Brooks also achieved another major career milestone after being chosen a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee in March. The official induction will take place this fall.

New Garth Brooks Concert Dates:

Sept. 21, 22
Oct. 5, 6
Oct. 26, 27
Nov. 16, 17

[Kim]

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood Planning Album, Tour Together

By Billy Dukes
tasteofcountry.com
August 23, 2013


Trisha Yearwood says she and Garth Brooks have plans to begin work on an album that’s been talked about for almost as long as they’ve been married. In addition to that, the singer and her husband have plans for a joint tour.

The 48-year-old Yearwood was on ‘CBS This Morning‘ this week. The interview focused mostly on her cooking and how she changed her diet to drop 35 pounds earlier this year.

Additionally, Yearwood says she’s working on a solo album and is collaborating with Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson on a song for an upcoming Clarkson project.

Brooks had previously vowed to stay off the road until his youngest daughter graduated high school. That’s planned for next spring. Yearwood says she and her husband are going to tour together, but gave no details about when or where.

“This will be our third go-around,” she spills. “But it’ll be a whole different ball game, you know, as man and wife to go do this together. So I’m looking forward to it.”

The Oklahoman is one of several outlets reporting that interviewer Jeff Glor followed up, asking if she also meant they’d record an album together. “That is part of the plan,” Yearwood says. That clip is not in the video or transcript currently on CBS’ website.

In July, Yearwood and Brooks shared a stage at the Oklahoma Twister Relief concert in Norman, Okla.

[Deleted]

It's about time that they did a duet...it would be awesome!

[Deleted]

Just sayin...

Garth did 7 shows less than 90 miles from here and I didn't even know about it.

The electrifying return of America's most powerful concert force, Garth Brooks, is set to make his first Oklahoma appearance at BOK Center on the World Tour and his first time in Tulsa in over 17 years! Brooks, with support of Trisha Yearwood, will stop at BOK Center January 9-11 and 15-17.

[Deleted]

I got his new album at the used book store a couple of weeks ago but I haven't had time to listen to it yet.

Here's Garth singing "People Loving People"