Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is a country singer and songwriter from the United States. His incorporation of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him enormous popularity, especially in the United States, with success on country music single and album charts, multi-platinum recordings, and record-breaking live performances, while also crossing into the mainstream pop arena.
Brooks is the only artist in music history to have nine albums certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (beating the Beatles’ previous record of six); these albums are Garth Brooks (diamond), No Fences (17 platinum), Ropin’ the Wind (14 platinum), The Chase (diamond), In Pieces (diamond), The Hits (diamond), Sevens (diamond), Double Live (21 platinum), and The Ultimate Hits (diamond).
Are Garth Brooks and Billy Joel friends?
Although they appear to be an unusual pairing, Garth Brooks and Billy Joel have been friends and musical collaborators for over 20 years. Joel appears regularly in the A&E documentary about Brooks, titled “The Road I’m On,” discussing their musical collaborations.
Their friendship began with Joel’s 1989 song “Shameless,” which appeared on the singer/songwriter’s album Storm Front. Brooks recorded it on his third studio album, Ropin’ the Wind, and it peaked at number one on the Billboard Country charts.
In a 1995 Q&A at a show in Germany, Joel said that when he wrote it, he was visualizing an artist like Jimi Hendrix, not a country performer – but he loved what Brooks did with it.
