Garth Brooks is an icon in country music. His career is defined by extraordinary talent and showmanship, along with record sales and attendance at concerts. As the best-selling solo artist of all time he holds nine RIAA Diamond Awards as well as being honored seven times as CMA Entertainer of the Year by CMA and many other accolades – his incredible rise to prominence beginning at college bars in Oklahoma before moving to Nashville in 1987 is nothing short of legendary.
Wooley took a chance by writing about Brooks at a nightclub show in Tulsa and published a feature story in August 1989 for The Tulsa World newspaper, proclaiming him an emerging talent with unique talent, athletic stage presence and all-or-nothing approach to performing that could become country music’s next big thing – and he was proved correct by his subsequent career success.
Garth Brooks quickly rose to stardom following the release of his debut album. No Fences went on to sell over 16 million copies worldwide and earned him numerous industry honors such as Album of the Year from both CMA and ACM; its song and video “The Dance” received Song/Music Video of the Year honors from both bodies.
Brooks also launched an energetic arena tour, selling out stadiums like London’s Wembley Arena – something never before accomplished by any country music act during this era. While balancing his musical career with family life, Brooks quickly become a global phenomenon.
In 1998, Brooks released his multi-genre opus The River. Featuring both the title track and Creed’s Human Clay as covers, this album became a huge success – reaching No. 2 on Billboard 200 while inspiring an emotional music video featuring a high school athlete with Down syndrome running track and refusing to quit despite repeated injuries.
Brooks released his 17th studio album this month: Time Traveler; this Limited Series release can only be purchased from Bass Pro Shops.
“Garth Brooks: Man Against Machine” is a two-part documentary special that chronicles his rise from humble beginnings to global stardom. Featuring interviews with Brooks himself, Trisha Yearwood, Tony Arata (his co-writer in former bandmates and original collaborator Ty England) as well as close friends he counts among them Tony England who played a pivotal role during this journey, it offers insight into his story that few others can offer.
This documentary chronicles the turbulent events of the late 1990s when he was struggling with personal and professional crises as well as trying to balance his record-breaking world tour with family life – providing an intimate portrait of an American icon.