TULSA, Okla. — Oklahomans love country music, and with country music comes one famous Oklahoman, Garth Brooks.
Brooks, a famous singer and songwriter, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 7, 1962, according to Wikipedia.
As a child, Brooks and his family hosted weekly talent show nights where all the kids participated in skits or singing. However, his primary focus as a child was athletics.
Brooks played baseball, football, ran track and field which contributed to him receiving a scholarship to Oklahoma State University. In 1984, Brooks graduated with an advertising degree from OSU.
In the mid 1980s, Brooks began playing guitar and singing in bars and clubs in Stillwater. Although he listened to country artists, like George Jones, Brooks enjoyed rock music the most. Some of his favorite artist were Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor and Townes Van Zandt.
In 1989, Brooks' self-titled album reach number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart, with the first single "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" became a top 10 country success. Later that same year, Brooks embarked on his first concer tour, opening for Kenny Rogers.
In the early 1990s, Brooks experienced breakthrough success with the release of his second album, "No Fences," with his signature song, "Friends in Low Places."
As Brooks success lead to world tours and more number one albums, in 1999, Brooks took on the alter ego of "Chris Gaines." Gaines was a "fictitious rock-and-roll musician and character for an upcoming film titled The Lamb." The introduction of the film and its accompanied album was not received well by Brooks' audience.
Overall, Brooks has won 22 Academy of Country Music Awards, with a total of 47 nominations overall. He's won 2 Grammy Awards, with a total of 13 nominations and nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. Brooks was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In 2020, Brooks received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
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