Garth Brooks

Subsequently, in July 2014, he signed with Sony Music Nashville and in September of the same year began his comeback tour, The Garth Brooks World Tour, along with his wife and also musician, Trisha Yearwood. His most recent album, Man Against Machine, was released on November 11, 2014, exclusively in his online music store, GhostTunes.Garth Brooks is the youngest son of Troyal Raymond Brooks, Jr., who worked as a designer in an oil company, and Colleen Carroll McElroy, a country singer with Irish roots. Both had been married previously, so Garth has four older half-brothers: Jim, Jerry, Mike and Betsy. The couple had two children together, Kelly and Garth.

In their home in Yukon, Oklahoma, the family organized weekly talent nights, where all the children participated singing or doing parodies. Garth learned to play the guitar and the banjo. His mother died of throat cancer on August 6, 1999.From a young age, Garth Brooks sang at family gatherings, although his main interest was athletics. During high school, he played football, baseball and track, and received a sports scholarship to the University of Oklahoma in Stillwater, where he competed in javelin throwing. He graduated in 1984 with a degree in advertising.In 1985, Garth Brooks began his professional career performing in clubs and bars in Oklahoma, especially in the hall Wild Willie in Stillwater.

Thanks to his older brothers, he had access to a wide variety of music. Although he enjoyed country, especially George Jones, his preferences leaned more towards rock, citing James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg and Townes Van Zandt as main influences. In 1981, upon hearing «Unwound», the debut single of George Strait, his interest in country intensified.