Garth Brooks, left, Connie Smith, center, and Hargus “Pig” Robbins pose for a photo at the Country Music Hall of Fame Inductions on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012 in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
Garth Brooks and wife Trisha Yearwood attend the Country Music Hall of Fame Inductions on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012 in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
Garth Brooks, left, stands with George Strait after being inducted into he Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012 in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Oklahoma music megastar Garth Brooks let his emotions flow as he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame Sunday.
Reflecting on personal heroes George Strait, Bob Seger and James Taylor, who were on hand to salute him Sunday night, the Owasso resident teared up as he spoke with reporters on the red carpet. He only got more emotional as the night went along, according to the Associated Press.
“I moved to this town for one reason and that was to get ‘Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)’ cut by George Strait,” Brooks said before the ceremony as his eyes began to redden. “That’s what George is singing tonight. It’s gonna be so cool. I’m a fan. So I get to be a fan tonight.”
Instead of Strait cutting the song, “Much Too Young” became Brooks’ debut single and a top 10 hit in 1989.
“There’s a room that the best days in your career stand in,” Brooks said in an email in to The Oklahoman through his publicist back in spring when his hall of fame selection was announced. “This honor will stand beside being inducted into the (Grand Ole) Opry, playing the 100th anniversary of Cheyenne (Frontier Days) with Chris LeDoux and getting to be part of Oklahoma’s Centennial celebration.”
The hall’s 2012 class also includes celebrated female vocalist Connie Smith, who will be inducted in the “Veterans Era Artist” category, and respected session musician Hargus “Pig” Robbins, who will join in the “Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980” group.
It was the third time since last year that Brooks, who was raised in Yukon, has joined a hall of fame. In 2011, the Owasso resident was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
To date, Brooks has sold more than 128 million albums, and the Recording Industry Association of America declared him the “Male Solo Artist of the 20th Century.” After retiring in 2000, he emerged in 2009 and began performing a limited series of solo acoustic shows at the Encore Theater at the Wynn Las Vegas. He will wrap his Las Vegas stand next month.
He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and ushered fellow Oklahoma native Underwood into the famed institution, was the first country artist to host “Saturday Night Live,” received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and performed during President Obama’s inaugural festivities.
Along with his hall of fame recognition, Brooks has won 11 Country Music Association Awards, 17 American Music Awards (including being named “Artist of the Decade for the ’90s”), two Grammy Awards, 12 People’s Choice Awards, and five World Music Awards, among many other honors. ASCAP has presented him with several of their most prestigious honors, including the Voice of Music Award (presented to artists whose music gives voice to the spirit of a generation), Founders Award (given to songwriters and composers who have made pioneering contributions to music by inspiring and influencing their fellow music creators), and the Golden Note Award (for his outstanding contributions to American music as a performer and songwriter).
An Oklahoma State University graduate, Brooks released his self-titled debut album in 1989, becoming a standout of country music’s soon-to-be fabled “Class of ’89.” He and fellow newcomers Clint Black, Travis Tritt and Alan Jackson not only scored their first hits that year, they also went on to dominate the format in the early 1990s, increasing country music’s popularity and visibility like never before.
Brooks becomes the 10th Oklahoman to join the Country Music Hall of Fame, following Bob Wills (1968), Gene Autry (1969), Floyd Tillman (1984), Roger Miller (1995), Johnny Bond (1999), Vince Gill (2007), Roy Clark (2009), Reba McEntire and Jean Shepard (both 2011).
To read more about the induction ceremony, click here. And check out these Associated Press photos from Brooks’ induction:
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood attend the Country Music Hall of Fame Inductions on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012 in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
James Taylor performs in honor of Garth Brooks at the Country Music Hall of Fame Inductions on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012 in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
Bob Seger performs in honor of Garth Brooks at the Country Music Hall of Fame Inductions on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012 in Nashville, Tenn.
Connie Smith leads members of the Country Music Hall of Fame in singing “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” at the induction ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012 in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
-BAM
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[...] NewsOK.com (blog) [...]
congradulations garth its well deserved and we miss you .hope to hear something from you very soon.love ya my friend.hope
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