Garth Brooks

Troyal Garth Brooks, better known as Garth Brooks, is an American country singer and songwriter known for blending pop and rock elements into country music. His unique style has made him immensely popular, especially in the United States, resulting in success on country music charts, multi-platinum album sales, record-breaking live performances, and crossover appeal in mainstream pop.

He achieved recognition in the late 1980s with his self-titled debut album (1989), which included hits like "If Tomorrow Never Comes" and "The Dance. He achieved massive success in the 1990s with albums such as No Fences (1990), Ropin' the Wind (1991), and The Chase (1992), producing iconic songs like “Friends in Low Places" and "The Thunder Rolls.”

Brooks is the best-selling solo artist in U.S. history, surpassing Elvis Presley in domestic sales, with over 170 million records sold worldwide. He has won multiple Grammy Awards, CMA Awards, and ACM Awards. He briefly retired in 2001 to focus on his family, but he returned in 2009 with a Las Vegas residency. His full-scale comeback began in 2014 with new music and extensive touring.

Beyond music, Brooks has ventured into television, philanthropy, and business. He is married to fellow country singer Trisha Yearwood and actively supports disaster relief, hunger relief, and education initiatives, making a lasting impact through his charitable efforts. His influence on country music remains unparalleled, solidifying his status as one of the most significant figures in the industry.

Brooks grew up in Yukon, a small town west of Oklahoma City.

• Garth Brooks was born on February 7, 1962, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• In their home in Yukon, Oklahoma, the Brooks family held weekly talent nights, where all the children were expected to take part by singing or performing skits.
• These gatherings fostered in Brooks a love for music and entertainment, and he learned to play both the guitar and banjo during his childhood.
• As a child, Brooks sang casually in family settings, but his main focus was athletics.
• In high school, he played football, baseball and competed in track and field.
• He earned a track scholarship to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where he competed in the javelin.
• He later completed his MBA at Oklahoma State and participated in the commencement ceremony on May 6, 2011.
• While in college, Brooks worked nights as a bouncer at a local bar and formed his own band, Santa Fe.
• He graduated in 1984 with a degree in advertising.
• His college roommate, Ty England, later became a guitarist in Brooks’s road band before launching a solo career in 1995.
• In 1985, after college, Brooks began playing guitar and singing in local bars and clubs.
• His talent caught the attention of an entertainment attorney, Rod Phelps, who traveled from Dallas to Stillwater, Oklahoma, just to hear him perform.
• Impressed by his talent, the attorney offered to produce Brooks’s first demo.
• Encouraged by this opportunity, Brooks headed to Nashville in search of a record deal.
• However, within 24 hours, he returned to Oklahoma, discouraged by the challenges of breaking into the industry.
• The attorney persuaded Brooks to try again. In 1987, Brooks and his then-wife, Sandy Mahl, moved to Nashville, setting the stage for his future success.

Brooks comes from a close-knit family.

• Brooks's father, Troyal Raymond Brooks Jr. (1931–2010), worked as a draftsman for an oil company.
• Brooks’s mother, Colleen McElroy Carroll (1929–1999), was a country singer of Irish ancestry who recorded for Capitol Records in the 1950s.
• She was also featured on Ozark Jubilee, a popular country music television program of that era.
• He was the youngest of six children in the family.
• Both of Brooks’s parents had been previously married, making their union the second marriage for each. As a result, Brooks had four older half-siblings: Jim, Jerry, Mike, and Betsy.
• Together, his parents had two children, Kelly and Garth.
• Brooks married songwriter Sandy Mahl on May 24, 1986.
• They had three daughters together: Taylor Mayne Pearl (born 1992), August Anna (born 1994), and Allie Colleen Brooks (born 1996).
• Brooks and Mahl separated in March 1999 and announced their plans to divorce on October 9, 2000.
• They officially filed for divorce on November 6, 2000, and it was finalized on December 17, 2001.
• On December 10, 2005, Brooks married Trisha Yearwood, a country singer and cookbook author.
• In July 2013, Garth Brooks became a grandfather when his daughter August and her partner, Chance Michael Russell, welcomed their daughter, Karalynn.