He had three other hit singles — the number one "If Tomorrow Never Comes," the number two "Not Counting You," and the number one "The Dance" — but it was his second album, No Fences, that established him as a superstar. No Fences was released in the fall of , preceded by the massive hit single "Friends in Low Places. Not only did his record sales break all the accepted country conventions, but so did Garth Brooks' concerts.
By the end of , he was selling out stadiums within minutes and was putting on stadium-sized shows, patterned after '70s rock extravaganzas.
Brooks used a cordless headset microphone so he could run around his large stage. He had an elaborate light show, explosions, and even a harness so he could swing out above the crowd and sing to them.
Ropin' the Wind, Brooks' third album, was released in September of and became the first country record to debut at the top of the pop charts. Ropin' the Wind matched the success of No Fences, selling over ten million copies within its first two years of release and spawning the number one hit singles "Shameless," "What She's Doing Now," and "The River.
Naturally, a backlash began to develop in the fall of , beginning with the release of "We Shall Be Free," the first single from his fourth album. Featuring a strong gospel underpinning, the single stalled at number 12 and many radio stations refused to play it.
It was indicative of the eclectic nature of his forthcoming album, The Chase, which pushed the boundaries of contemporary country. The Chase debuted at number one upon its October release and by the end of the year, it sold over five million copies.
Nevertheless, that number was half the size of the figures for his two previous albums and there was speculation in the media that Brooks' career had already peaked. Sensing that he was in danger of losing his core audience, Brooks returned to straight country with 's In Pieces. The album was critically acclaimed and sold several million copies, though it was clear that Brooks would not reach the stratospheric commercial heights of No Fences and Ropin' the Wind again. Even so, he remained one of the most successful artists in popular music, one of the few guaranteed to sell millions of records with each new album, as well as sell out concerts around the world.
The Hits, which was only available for a year, was released in the fall of and would eventually sell over eight million albums.
Brooks released Fresh Horses, his first album of new material in two years, in November ; within six months of its release, it had sold over three million copies.
Despite its promising start, Fresh Horses plateaued quickly, topping out at quadruple platinum — a healthy number for any artist, but a little disappointing considering Brooks' superstar status. He decided to push his seventh album, appropriately titled Sevens, very hard to confirm his superstar status. Originally, it was scheduled to be released in August , when he would promote it with a huge concert in Central Park.
Plans went awry when Capitol experienced a huge management shake-up, leaving many of his contacts at the label out in the cold. Upset at the new management, Brooks held back the release of Sevens until he received commitment for a major marketing push for the album.
He went ahead and performed the Central Park concert, which received major coverage in the media. On the strength of the concert, Capitol acquiesced to Brooks' demands, and Sevens was released in November Sevens catapulted to number one upon its release and quickly went multi-platinum over the holiday season. The following spring, Brooks pulled his first six albums out of print and issued The Limited Series, a box set that contained all six records plus bonus tracks. Once all two million copies of The Limited Series were sold, the individual albums would remain out of print until their tenth anniversary, when they would be released only on DVD audio.
The Double Live set followed in late , and its sales were brisk but not quite as heavy as projected. In the spring of , Brooks unsuccessfully tried out for the San Diego Padres pro baseball team, a major indication of his growing desire to expand his success beyond country music.
Once it became clear that professional baseball wasn't in his future, he became fascinated with film, specifically starring in The Lamb, a supposed thriller about a conflicted, tortured rock star called Chris Gaines.
He was determined to win the role, and he did after extensive lobbying. What a Wonderful World. Armstrong, Louis. River Flows in You.
Piano Solo. Cohen, Leonard. Easy on Me. You Raise Me Up. Groban, Josh. Thanksgiving Medley [intermediate]. Eklund, Jennifer. Je te laisserai des mots. D'aversa, Dario.
Don't Stop Believin'. When I Fall In Love. Cole, Nat King. My New Philosophy. Big Spender. Bassey, Shirley. The Kite. You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. McLachlan, Sarah. Unchained Melody. Thursday 27 May Friday 28 May Saturday 29 May Sunday 30 May Monday 31 May Tuesday 1 June Wednesday 2 June Thursday 3 June Friday 4 June Saturday 5 June Sunday 6 June Monday 7 June Tuesday 8 June Wednesday 9 June Thursday 10 June Friday 11 June Saturday 12 June Sunday 13 June Monday 14 June Tuesday 15 June Wednesday 16 June Thursday 17 June Friday 18 June Saturday 19 June Sunday 20 June Monday 21 June Tuesday 22 June Wednesday 23 June Thursday 24 June Friday 25 June Saturday 26 June Sunday 27 June Monday 28 June Tuesday 29 June Wednesday 30 June Thursday 1 July Friday 2 July Saturday 3 July Sunday 4 July Monday 5 July Tuesday 6 July Wednesday 7 July Thursday 8 July Friday 9 July Saturday 10 July Sunday 11 July Monday 12 July Tuesday 13 July Wednesday 14 July Thursday 15 July Friday 16 July Saturday 17 July Sunday 18 July Monday 19 July Tuesday 20 July Wednesday 21 July Thursday 22 July Friday 23 July Saturday 24 July Sunday 25 July Monday 26 July Tuesday 27 July Wednesday 28 July Thursday 29 July Friday 30 July Saturday 31 July Sunday 1 August Monday 2 August Tuesday 3 August Wednesday 4 August Thursday 5 August Friday 6 August Saturday 7 August Sunday 8 August
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