Did Garth Ruin Country Music?

Written by: Todd
On 06-03-2009
at 3:49 pm

We all accepted him with open arms. We watched him become an Opry member. Didn’t we all get giddy when we heard the guitar intro to “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places.” But let’s pause right there. I had given up on country music. I was an 80’s kid. Sure, I listened to what my parents were playing on the radio. Before I reached the age of ten, I had become familiar with Larry Gatlin, The Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, etc. Then, I “grew” up. I settled for Madonna, Billy Idol, and unfortunately, WHAM. Figuratively speaking, I left my true love for Roseanne Barr. But let’s face it 80’s country was cursed with the same excess just as much as it’s pop counterpart. So I think my infidelity was  justified. However, this would all change in the summer of 1990.

I was 14 years old and I was riding with my parents to Brookhaven, MS. We had the radio tuned to MISS 103 out of Jackson. About the third song into an 8 song set, I heard that famous guitar intro. I was completely mesmerized. It was quite possibly the funnest song I had ever heard. I would be lying if this song made me fall back in love with country music. Frankly, this is the only country song I could stomach. Every time we were in the car, I wanted them to channel surf until they found that song. It wasn’t hard. It was always on heavy rotation. You can probably guess what cassette I received for Christmas that year. Yep, Garth Brooks’ No Fences. This album was the catalyst for my renewed love of country music. Because of this record, I started to pay attention to country radio again.

I began to eat and breathe country music. The next album that I picked up was Garth’s freshman self-titled album. I fell in love with it from track one. “Not Counting You” sounded like it came out of the George Strait songbook. Who can forget the great roadside bar tune “I’m Much Too Young(To Feel This Damn Old).” Everyone knows of the great ballads that are on this record, so I am not going to oblige anyone by mentioning them.  This finally prepared me to embrace country music as a whole. I began to memorize every song that was on country radio. I thought that Alan Jackson was the second coming of George Jones with great ballads, such as, “Wanted” and “Here in the Real World.” Vince Gill’s I Still Believe in You was the perfect album. There was not a throwaway track on that record. Aren’t teenagers suppose to rebel through rock and roll, and complain how their parents just don’t understand? But during high school I was just content with Doug Stone and Diamond Rio. Now, don’t get me wrong I listened to pop and rock as well. I loved the Seattle scene. I, by all means, am a music nerd. I am just explaining to you that Garth Brooks is the reason for my appreciation of country music. So, for me personally, Garth didn’t ruin country music.

So I ask, how did he get branded as country music’s saboteur. I think it all comes down to one album, Ropin’ The Wind. This record has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. His growled vocals were impressive on “Shameless.” This song led me to believe that he could sing any style.  Unfortunately, it was the perfect pop song.  There is only two tried and true country songs on this album, “What She’s Doing Now” and “Papa Loved Mama.” From a marketing standpoint, this was a flawless record. Garth simply took all of the subtle pop aspects of his previous two albums and produced a project that had massive cross-over potential. And it did, selling over 16 million copies. This album would solidify Garth’s style.  His future albums would further diverge from country pop into something a little more abstract. Singles, such as, “We Shall Be Free,” “Standing Outside The Fire,” and “The Red Strokes” were inspirational anthems, not country. If Garth would have monopolized this sound, country music might have maintained its integrity, however,  record executives didn’t see it that way. They thought if one country artist can do it, why not over-saturate the market with it? Thus a whole new brand of country pop was born.

Distorted lead guitars replaced pedal steel. Performances resembled 1970’s arena rock. Production was increased on albums. Drum Machines were being substituted for the real thing. However, Garth didn’t change his style*. Everyone was copying Garth. Artists like, Tim McGraw and Shania Twain, were following the Garth Brooks concert handbook step by step. Reba actually had dancers(I guess she wanted to be Barbara Mandrell?). After Brooks sold over 100 million records, he retired in 2000. This did not slow new country. Every year for the past 9 years they have redefined country music. Their demographic has changed from the working class to soccer moms and metro-sexuals. Collectively, more records have been sold since the height of Brooks’ career.

My question to you is does country music need another change? Waylon’s song was fitting for it’s day, but would we see a digression in popularity. Jamie Johnson and Miranda Lambert have proven that real country still exists, but record executives might see them as novelty artists. They will not gamble on a complete change. However, the outlaw movement didn’t necessarily change country music. Country pop existed along side the outlaw movement. The problem is that today’s country music is cursed by complacency. For the last 15 years we have been recycling the same sound and using the same writers. I am getting tired of seeing Jeffrey Steele’s name. Country Music needs variety, not copy-cats.

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