The Oddest Moments You Forgot About Garth Brooks' Career

The most successful solo artist in American musical history isn't Elvis Presley, Madonna, or another legendary rock or pop singer: It's country icon Garth Brooks, who, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, has sold a whopping 157 million albums. For the span of the 1990s, Brooks was an unstoppable hit machine, and fans couldn't get enough — he topped the country chart 18 times with memorable and catchy songs that blurred the lines between traditional country and more pop-oriented newfangled country, all the while selling out countless venues with a massive, eye-popping stage show that rivaled those of arena rock bands in the '80s.

Garth Brooks was an unrivaled superstar, and as such, he got to indulge most every professional whim that crossed his mind. Combine that with legions of loyal fans who followed his every thoroughly covered and scrutinized move, and that led to some bad choices, career missteps, and just plain strange periods in the life of the singer. Here then are the oddest things that Garth Brooks ever did (or had done to him).

In 1991, Garth Brooks released "The Thunder Rolls," a bombastic, rock-inflected single from his second album, "No Fences." It would take the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot Country Songs list, his fifth straight chart-topper, but that popularity and success would come without the support of a widely aired video, a vital part of a major musician's marketing plan in the early 1990s.

Now, Brooks did make a music video for "The Thunder Rolls," an almost literal dramatic interpretation of the song's lyrics about a woman who, when her partner comes home too late on a stormy night, realizes he's cheating on her. The clip for the song raises the stakes and the action by dramatizing the fourth verse left out of the single cut. In this version, the wife grabs a gun and, it's heavily implied, shoots her man to death. The doomed two-timer is portrayed by Brooks himself, barely recognizable under a wig, glasses, and artificial beard.

According to Entertainment Weekly, "The Thunder Rolls" earned a nomination for Video of the Year at the CMA Awards, but country music-oriented TV channel The Nashville Network refused to air it, citing the violent content. Country Music Television then joined in on the ban, pulling the clip from heavy rotation, per The Oklahoman. VH1 added "The Thunder Rolls" to its playlist, making it the rare country video on its slate of soft rock.

Apart from his music videos, Garth Brooks never did much acting; unlike musical predecessors Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, or Cher, he didn't get into moviemaking. However, it wasn't for a lack of trying on Hollywood's part. In 2013, according to Billboard, Lisa Sanderson, who partnered with Brooks in a production company called Red Strokes, filed a lawsuit against the country superstar alleging various professional offenses and seeking financial recompense. Tasked with finding Brooks acting work in movies and TV shows, Sanderson alleged that Brooks squandered multiple opportunities to do so, thus losing her money. According to Sanderson, Brooks turned down a chance to star in "Twister" because the CGI tornado would be the focus of the movie, not him. She also said he rejected a part in "Saving Private Ryan" because other members of the cast would garner more attention.

These were just a few of the claims made by Sanderson in the suit, but they're easily the strangest. In a statement to E! News, Brooks denied all of the allegations. He also issued a countersuit regarding a loan and, as The Tennessean reported, he ultimately won that battle. 

Most, if not all celebrities frequently and publicly give thanks to their fans. Without them, they correctly argue, their fabulous lives of wealth and creativity would not be possible. Other than some platitudes on Instagram, it's rare that a famous musician really does show their appreciation for their followers and the people who bought their albums. In the 1990s, right in the middle of his decade of dominance of the music world, Garth Brooks went through a grueling ordeal to show his fans that he loved them back — more than once.

According to Rolling Stone, Country Music Fan Fair, now branded as CMA Fest, is an annual event in Nashville, sort of a country music trade convention where superstars put themselves on display to interact with fans. In 1992, so many Fan Fair attendees stood in line to get an autograph from Brooks that he dutifully stayed put and signed something for everybody, a task that took 12 hours. He skipped the 1994 Fan Fair and in 1995 granted access only to successful bidders in a charity auction. In 1996, he seemingly made up for lost time. From the morning of June 11 through to the morning of June 12, Rolling Stone wrote he "stayed put for the next 23 hours and 10 minutes, signing autographs and posing for photos with fans until every last one was satisfied."

Garth Brooks attended Oklahoma State University on a track and field scholarship, and he also played baseball in high school. It's the latter sport that he pursued professionally, although he did so in the late '90s and early 2000s, well after he'd established himself as a country music superstar and when he was around 40 years old — the age by which most pro athletes have retired.

According to Baseball Reference, Brooks' late-in-life sports journey began in Seattle in 1998, when he took a few hours away from preparing for a string of concerts in the city by taking batting practice with the Seattle Mariners. He liked it so much, and apparently showed off enough raw talent, that in 1999, the San Diego Padres signed Brooks to play in spring training games, per the AP. Used primarily as a pinch-hitter and left-fielder, Brooks got one hit in 22 at-bats, making for a dismal average of .045.

Nevertheless, Brooks kept trying to make baseball happen for himself. The New York Mets gave him a shot in 2000, and he performed even worse, going 17 at-bats in spring training games without a single hit. Still not yet ready to hang up the cleats, Brooks took one final swing at pro ball four years later. In 2004, per the AP, he joined the Kansas City Royals' spring training team. He landed a hit in a game against the Mets. "I was even more surprised than the pitcher," Brooks quipped.

Garth Brooks sold 100 million albums in the 1990s, according to AARP, and a sizable part of that tally came from his first three blockbuster records, "Garth Brooks," "No Fences," and "Ropin' the Wind." By 1993, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (via the Deseret News), he was already heralded as the top-selling artist of the decade, which is when he decided that he didn't care for the secondary CD market. That year, Brooks proclaimed that independent stores or large retail chains that also sold used CDs, including his CDs, would no longer be allowed to sell his new product. The movie came after Wherehouse Records announced its intention to sell used items. While this would naturally lead consumers to purchase higher-priced new copies of things they could otherwise get pre-owned, Brooks argued that it wasn't about his bank account. He reasoned that other, lesser-selling artists would financially suffer, because no royalties get paid to writers, artists, or labels when a used CD was sold.

Brooks certainly didn't make any friends in the retail music industry. According to Willamette Week, the large Portland, Oregon indie record store Music Millennium offered to buy Brooks CDs and cassettes from the public, and then threw them onto a big bonfire.

Over the last three decades, Garth Brooks has staged hundreds of elaborately produced and bombastic concerts, every moment carefully choreographed. But every now and then, he'll abruptly and surprisingly stop the singing and guitar playing on a whim, should something going on in the crowd catch his attention. In June 2014, Teresa Shaw trekked from Iowa to Minneapolis for a Brooks concert, according to USA Today, a present to herself after completing a round of chemotherapy treatment for cancer. During Brooks' performance of his hit "The Dance," Shaw held up a homemade sign reading, "Chemo this morning, Garth tonight. Enjoy the dance." "I was just hoping he would see it and maybe if I could get him to get it signed," Shaw told the outlet. Instead, Brooks noticed the sign, stopped the show, and had an usher help Shaw move to just next to the stage. He finished singing "The Dance," right to Shaw, then gave her his guitar.

Brooks played Oklahoma City in 2017, and when he started up "Unanswered Prayers," an attendee named Drew Bargsley took the opportunity to propose to girlfriend Chelsea Townsend, according to Country Rebel. From the stage, Brooks saw the proposal happen and shut down the concert. The singer also offered to foot the bill if the couple chose to honeymoon in Hawaii.