History Trivia / GarthBrooks

** His rendition of Music/EltonJohn's "Your Song" was released to radio in two forms: the live recording from ''Double Live'', and an alternate studio version which is now very hard to find. (And people want to find it, since he [[{{Corpsing}} corpses]] during the live version.) Also unique to ''Double Live'' are "Tearin' It Up and Burnin' It Down" and "Wild as the Wind", the latter a duet with Music/TrishaYearwood.

** His rendition of Creator/EltonJohn's "Your Song" was released to radio in two forms: the live recording from ''Double Live'', and an alternate studio version which is now very hard to find. (And people want to find it, since he [[{{Corpsing}} corpses]] during the live version.) Also unique to ''Double Live'' are "Tearin' It Up and Burnin' It Down" and "Wild as the Wind", the latter a duet with Music/TrishaYearwood.

* {{Corpsing}}: Does it a couple of times on ''Double Live''. The first time basically made "Unanswered Prayers" a full AudienceParticipationSong, and the second is right at the end of the Double Live exclusive "It's Your Song".

** "It's Your Song" was released to radio in two forms: the live recording from ''Double Live'', and an alternate studio version which is now very hard to find. (And people want to find it, since he [[{{Corpsing}} corpses]] during the live version.) Also unique to ''Double Live'' are "Tearin' It Up and Burnin' It Down" and "Wild as the Wind", the latter a duet with Music/TrishaYearwood.

* PromotedFanboy: Used his popularity to fulfill his livelong dream of guest-starring on The Muppet Show (or at least [[Series/MuppetsTonight ''a'' Muppet show]]) as well as perform on a tribute album for the band he claims inspired his entire career: Music/{{KISS}}.

* ThrowItIn: "Friends in Low Places" has an audible click near the end when someone opens a beer can, which was initially mistaken for a mastering error. Garth also screams "Push, Marie!" a few seconds later, in reference to his guitarist's wife, who was in the hospital at the time.

* NamesTheSame: His sound engineer (and, from ''Man Against Machine'' onward, producer) Mark Miller is not the same person as the lead singer of Sawyer Brown.

* ApprovalOfGod: He posted a reaction video for metal band STATE of MINE's cover of The Thunder Rolls gushing praise for their rendition, saying they sang it the way he wished he'd had the balls to sing it.

** On the country charts, his two longest-lasting #1 hits at four weeks each are "Friends in Low Places"... and "What She's Doing Now", which had considerably less staying power. Notably, the latter appears on virtually none of his Greatest Hits projects and considerably fewer '90s setlists. "Somewhere Other Than the Night" and "She's Every Woman" also hit #1, but aren't as remembered in the long run as "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" (#9), "Rodeo" (#3), "We Shall Be Free" (#12; justified in that some stations balked at its progressive lyrics), "Papa Loved Mama" (#3), "Callin' Baton Rouge" (#2), and "Good Ride Cowboy" (#3, although it did top the ''Mediabase'' country charts).

** Because Garth rarely released his songs as physical singles, and because the Hot 100 barely factored in country music until late in the decade, his only Top 40 pop hit is "Lost in You" from the abortive ''Music/InTheLifeOfChrisGaines'' project. His highest Hot 100 entry by himself is the #46 peak of the long-forgotten "Wrapped Up in You" from late 2001-early 2002. A cover of Music/{{KISS}}' "Hard Luck Woman" from the tribute album ''KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved'' got to #45 on Hot 100 Airplay (being ineligible for the main chart for the reasons listed above), but it didn't have any staying power either.

* DenialOfDigitalDistribution: Garth is notorious for not putting his music on most streaming services for two reasons: he dislikes the payment structures of most digital platforms, and he believes that offering the option to buy songs individually distracts from the integrity of the album. To get around this, he briefly created his own digital platform called [=GhostTunes=], but it never took off. However, he did put some of his later albums on Amazon Music.
* DevelopmentHell: His album ''Fun'' has been delayed multiple times due to the singles faltering. It was finally released in November 2020.

** "It's Your Song" was released to radio in two forms: the live recording from ''Double Live'', and an alternate studio version which is now very hard to find. (And people want to find it, since he [[{{Corpsing}} corpses]] during the live version.)

** He has used many of the same session musicians from day one (again barring the Chris Gaines album), a group known collectively as the "G-Men": Bruce Bouton (steel guitar; also a member of his road band), Mark Casstevens (acoustic guitar), Mike Chapman (bass guitar), Rob Hajacos (fiddle), Chris Leuzinger (lead guitar), Milton Sledge (drums), and Bobby Wood (keyboards). Most of his backing vocals are provided by Robert Bailey and Vicki Hampton (who also serve this capacity in his road band), as well as Music/TrishaYearwood even before he married her. The "G-Men" also played on many albums produced by Allen Reynolds in TheNineties, including those by Music/KathyMattea and Hal Ketchum; they also played on Ty England's ''Highways and Dance Halls'', which Garth produced.

** Every album except ''No Fences'', ''In the Life of Chris Gaines'', and ''Man Against Machine'' has had at least one song written by Kent Blazy. Other frequent writing partners include Kim Williams[[note]]"Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance" was the first single off of ''Gunslinger'' in tribute to Williams, who passed away shortly after co-writing it[[/note]], Victoria Shaw, Stephanie Davis, and Tony Arata.

** His only Top 40 pop hit is "Lost in You" from the abortive ''Music/InTheLifeOfChrisGaines'' project. This is because Garth rarely issued physical singles, thus causing many of his songs during his peak period to be ineligible for the Hot 100 entirely, and country radio airplay wasn't a major component of the Hot 100 until the late '90s. The highest he ever got on the Hot 100 as himself was the #46 peak of the largely forgotten "Wrapped Up in You" (which hit #5 country) in 2001, well after his career had peaked. A cover of Music/{{KISS}}' "Hard Luck Woman" from the tribute album ''KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved'' got to #45 on Hot 100 Airplay (being ineligible for the main chart for the reasons listed above), but it didn't have the staying power either.
** His longest-lasting Hot Country Songs #1 hits are "Friends in Low Places" and... "What She's Doing Now", which had nowhere near the staying power, appearing on very few of his 90s setlists and none of his greatest hits albums. His total of twenty chart-toppers also includes the now obscure "Somewhere Other Than the Night" and "She's Every Woman", the latter of which at least has the justification of being a lead single that got snuffed out by follow-ups. Famous songs of his that didn't top the charts include "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" (#9), "Rodeo" (#3), "We Shall Be Free" (#12; justified in that some stations balked at its progressive lyrics), "Papa Loved Mama" (#3), "Callin' Baton Rouge" (#2), and "Good Ride Cowboy" (#3, although it did top the ''Mediabase'' country charts).
** "The Red Strokes" wasn't even a single, but remained popular long after the fact due to its ambitious video.
* CreatorCouple: He married fellow country singer Music/TrishaYearwood.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: For the longest time, the "third verse" version of "Friends in Low Places" was never commercially available. The third verse has proven extremely popular, as the crowd sings it ''by itself'' on the ''Double Live'' album.

* DevelopmentHell: His album ''Fun'' has been delayed multiple times due to the singles faltering.

** Garth name drops two of Chris' songs in his tribute to him, "Good Ride Cowboy": And from "Bareback Jack" to "This Cowboy's Hat"...as well as mentioning the fact that Chris covered "Life is a Highway". He also name drops one of his own songs, "Much Too Young (to Feel This Damn Old)", which itself name-drops Chris.

** His only Top 40 pop hit is "Lost in You" from the abortive ''Music/InTheLifeOfChrisGaines'' project. This is because Garth rarely issued physical singles, thus causing many of his songs during his peak period to be ineligible for the Hot 100, and country radio airplay wasn't a major component of the Hot 100 until the late '90s. The highest he ever got on the Hot 100 as himself was the #46 peak of the long-forgotten "Wrapped Up in You" (which hit #5 country) in 2001, well after his career had peaked. A cover of Music/{{KISS}}' "Hard Luck Woman" from the tribute album ''KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved'' got to #45 on Hot 100 Airplay (being ineligible for the main chart for the reasons listed above), but it didn't have the staying power either.
** His longest-lasting Hot Country Songs #1 hits are "Friends in Low Places" and... "What She's Doing Now", which had nowhere near the staying power, appearing on very few of his 90s setlists and none of his greatest hits albums. His total of twenty chart-toppers also includes the now very obscure "Somewhere Other Than the Night" and "She's Every Woman", the latter of which at least has the justification of being a lead single that got snuffed out by follow-ups. Famous songs of his that didn't top the charts include "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" (#9), "Rodeo" (#3), "We Shall Be Free" (#12; justified in that some stations balked at its progressive lyrics), "Papa Loved Mama" (#3), "Callin' Baton Rouge" (#2), and "Good Ride Cowboy" (#3, although it did top the ''Mediabase'' country charts).

* ActorAllusion: In his duet with Chris [=LeDoux=], "Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy", one line finishes "You'd be better off trying to rope the wind," sung by Chris in reference to Garth's third album.

** Garth name drops two of Chris' songs in his tribute to him, "Good Ride Cowboy": And from "Bareback Jack" to "This Cowboy's Hat"...as well as mentioning the fact that Chris covered "Life is a Highway". He also name drops one of his own songs, "Much Too Young (to Feel This Damn Old)", which itself name-drops Chris.

** Over the years, many members of his road band have played on his albums, including Bouton, Mike Palmer (drums), Mark Greenwood (bass guitar), Jimmy Mattingly (fiddle), Dave Gant (keyboards), Ty England (acoustic guitar), Steve [=McClure=] (steel guitar), Gordon Kennedy (lead guitar) along with former member James Garver (lead guitar) and Garth's late half-sister Betsy Smittle (bass guitar).

* StillbornFranchise: The Chris Gaines stuff.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The entire face of 1990s country music could've been changed if Music/MarkChesnutt had released his (considerably more downbeat) version of "Friends in Low Places" instead of Garth.
** Garth did do the demo for the song (the last demo he'd ever have to do), and he claims that Capitol was holding the song for him, anyway.

* [[BreakawayPopHit Breakaway Country Hit]]: Garth had two: "To Make You Feel My Love" was attached to ''Film/HopeFloats'', and "When You Come Back To Me Again" was done for ''Film/{{Frequency}}''.

** Over the years, many members of his road band have played on his albums, including Bouton, Mike Palmer (drums), Mark Greenwood (bass guitar), Jimmy Mattingly (fiddle), Dave Gant (keyboards), Ty England (guitar), along with former member James Garver (guitar) and Garth's late half-sister Betsy Smittle (bass guitar).

** Over the years, many members of his road band have played on his albums, including Bouton, Mike Palmer (drums), Mark Greenwood (bass), Jimmy Mattingly (fiddle), Dave Gant (keyboards), Ty England (guitar), along with former member James Garver (guitar) and Garth's late sister Betsy Smittle (bass).

** Over the years, many members of his road band have played on his albums, including Bouton, Mike Palmer (drums), Mark Greenwood (bass), Jimmy Mattingly (fiddle), Dave Gant (keyboards), Ty England (guitar), along with former member James Garver (guitar).

** His only Top 40 pop hit is "Lost in You" from the abortive ''Music/InTheLifeOfChrisGaines'' project. This is because Garth rarely issued physical singles, thus causing many of his songs during his peak period to be ineligible for the Hot 100, and country radio airplay wasn't a major component of the Hot 100 until the late '90s. The highest he ever got on the Hot 100 as himself was the #46 peak of the long-forgotten "Wrapped Up in You" (which hit #5 country) in 2001, well after his career had peaked.
** His only song to receive pop radio airplay during his peak was his 1994 cover of Music/{{Kiss}}' "Hard Luck Woman", which he performed in a folk-pop style (and featured KISS themselves as his backing band!) that allowed it to squeak onto some Top 40 playlists (with its airplay chart peak of #26, it would have been his first Top 40 hit, but - you guessed it - it was ineligible for the Hot 100 since it wasn't issued as a physical single). The cover is considerably less known to audiences nowadays than "Friends in Low Places" or "The Thunder Rolls" or [[FirstAndForemost KISS' original version]].
** Meanwhile on the country charts, he sent twenty songs to the penthouse, but no one would guess that this total includes the seldom-remembered "What She's Doing Now" (especially baffling, since it's tied with his SignatureSong "Friends in Low Places" for his longest-lasting #1 at four weeks), "Somewhere Other Than the Night", and "She's Every Woman" (which zoomed to the top only because it was a lead single, then quickly fell from public consciousness). It's especially notable in that these are the only #1 hits not present on his 1998 ''Double Live'' album, and the latter two were absent from his 2007 ''The Ultimate Hits'', which were otherwise solid representations of his biggest hits. Meanwhile his total of #1 hits does ''not'' include such famous cuts as "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)", "Rodeo", "Papa Loved Mama", his cover of New Grass Revival's "Callin' Baton Rouge" (all of which ''can'' be found on ''Double Live'' and ''The Ultimate Hits''), or his 2005 comeback hit "Good Ride Cowboy". In addition, two of his twenty #1 hits came long after his peak period -- "More Than a Memory" (the only song ever to ''debut'' at #1 on the country airplay charts) was in 2008, and "Ask Me How I Know" from fall 2017.
** The hugely popular inspirational ballad "We Shall Be Free" is the only one of Garth's first 23 singles to not make the Top 10 on the country chart (peaking at #12), largely due to angst from Christian MoralGuardians over some of the lyrics (specifically "When we're free to love anyone we choose" being a de facto endorsement of gay marriage).

* OneHitWonder: In universe, Chris Gaines' band Crush was this (their one hit is the final song of the Chris Gaines album, where Chris is ''not'' the lead singer).
** Garth is this...in relation to the pop charts. His only hit on the Hot 100...was "Lost in You" from the Chris Gaines album.

** He has used many of the same session musicians from day one (again barring the Chris Gaines album), a group known collectively as the "G-Men": Bruce Bouton (steel guitar; also a member of his road band), Mark Casstevens (acoustic guitar), Mike Chapman (bass guitar), Rob Hajacos (fiddle), Chris Leuzinger (lead guitar), Milton Sledge (drums), and Bobby Wood (keyboards). Most of his backing vocals are provided by Robert Bailey and Vicki Hampton (who also serve this capacity in his road band), as well as Music/TrishaYearwood even before he married her. The "G-Men" also played on many albums produced by Allen Reynolds in TheNineties, including those by Music/KathyMattea and Hal Ketchum; they also played on Ty England's ''Highways and Dance Halls'', which Garth produced. (Ty is a guitarist in Garth's road band.)

** He has used many of the same session musicians from day one (again barring the Chris Gaines album), a group known collectively as the "G-Men": Bruce Bouton (steel guitar; also a member of his road band), Mark Casstevens (acoustic guitar), Mike Chapman (bass guitar), Rob Hajacos (fiddle), Chris Leuzinger (lead guitar), Milton Sledge (drums), and Bobby Wood (keyboards). Most of his backing vocals are provided by Robert Bailey and Vicki Hampton (who also serve this capacity in his road band), as well as Music/TrishaYearwood even before he married her. The "G-Men" also played on many albums produced by Allen Reynolds in TheNineties, including those by Music/KathyMattea and Hal Ketchum; they also played on Ty England's ''Highways and Dance Halls'', which Garth produced. (Ty was formerly a guitarist in Garth's road band.)
** Over the years, many members of his road band have played on his albums, including Bouton, Mike Palmer (drums), Mark Greenwood (bass), Jimmy Mattingly (fiddle), Dave Gant (keyboards), along with former members Ty England and James Garver (both guitarists).

* CreatorBreakdown: A few fictional examples from ''In The Life Of Chris Gaines'': Chris performed "Maybe" for his ''Straight Jacket'' album after one of his fellow band members from Crush died in an airplane accident. Then Chris created the ''Fornucopia'' album after his father passed away from cancer. The ''Apostle'' album came a few years after Chris was involved in an automobile accident and had to go through reconstructive surgery.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The entire face of 1990s country music could've been changed if Mark Chesnutt had released his (considerably more downbeat) version of "Friends in Low Places" instead of Garth.

** He has used many of the same session musicians from day one (again barring the Chris Gaines album), a group known collectively as the "G-Men": Bruce Bouton (steel guitar; also a member of his road band), Mark Casstevens (acoustic guitar), Mike Chapman (bass guitar), Rob Hajacos (fiddle), Chris Leuzinger (lead guitar), Milton Sledge (drums), and Bobby Wood (keyboards). Most of his backing vocals are provided by Robert Bailey and Vicki Hampton (who also serve this capacity in his road band), as well as Music/TrishaYearwood even before he married her. The "G-Men" also played on many albums produced by Allen Reynolds in TheNineties, including those by Kathy Mattea and Hal Ketchum; they also played on Ty England's ''Highways and Dance Halls'', which Garth produced. (Ty was formerly a guitarist in Garth's road band.)

* BreakthroughHit: "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)".