In 2009, he began Garth at Wynn, a periodic weekend concert residency at Las Vegas's Encore Theatre from December 2009 to January 2014.

[20][24] At nights, he worked as a bouncer at a local bar and formed his own band, Santa Fe, learning to play whatever the college audience wanted.

[26] In 1985, Brooks began his professional music career, singing and playing guitar in Oklahoma clubs and bars, most notably Wild Willie's Saloon in Stillwater.

[30] It contained what would become Brooks' signature song, the blue collar anthem "Friends in Low Places", as well as other popular singles, "The Thunder Rolls" and "Unanswered Prayers".

In his live shows, Brooks used a wireless headset microphone to free himself to run about the stage, adding energy and arena rock theatrics to spice up the normally staid country music approach to concerts.

[18] The album's musical content was a melange of country pop and honky-tonk; singles included "The River", "What She's Doing Now", and a cover of Billy Joel's "Shameless".

[36] After spending time in Los Angeles during the 1992 riots, Brooks co-wrote a gospel-country-rock hybrid single, "We Shall Be Free", to express his desire for tolerance.

22 on the Billboard Christian Songs charts through a marketing deal with Rick Hendrix Company, and earned Brooks a 1993 GLAAD Media Award.

Brooks sold-out venues such as Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre and London's Wembley Arena, a feat never accomplished by an American country music artist.

The album was originally scheduled to be released in August 1997, allowing for promotion during Brooks' Central Park concert; however, plans went awry after a dispute within Capitol Records.

The album spawned two additional number-one singles, "Two Pina Coladas" and "To Make You Feel My Love" (a Bob Dylan cover), which also was a top 10 hit on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and was released on the soundtrack to the film, Hope Floats.

Recorded at various shows over the course of his second world tour, the album contained new material not previously released, such as "Tearin' It Up (and Burnin' It Down)" and "Wild as the Wind," featuring Trisha Yearwood.

[56] Later that evening, Capitol Records noted Brooks' achievement of selling 100 million albums in the US, celebrating at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center.

He also released a new single, "Good Ride Cowboy", as a tribute to his late friend and country singer, Chris LeDoux, via Walmart.

In January 2008, Brooks embarked on another incredible feat performing five sold-out shows (in less than 48 hours) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for a fundraiser towards the 2007 wildfires season that impacted much of Southern California's cities and counties.

The first concert (of the five) titled Garth Brooks: Live in LA was taped and broadcast repeatedly on CBS with all donations going to all of the victims and families in state of California who were impacted by the fires.

In January 2009, Brooks made another one of few public appearances since his retirement, performing at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial concert in Washington, D.C..

In his three-song set, Brooks performed "We Shall Be Free", along with covers of Don McLean's "American Pie" and the Isley Brothers' "Shout".

The financial terms of the agreement were not announced, but Steve Wynn did disclose that he gave Brooks access to a private jet to quickly transport him between Las Vegas and his home in Oklahoma.

In a December 2013 appearance on Good Morning America to promote the album, Brooks also surprisingly announced plans for a world tour, beginning in 2014.

The release would include a new version of "Friends in Low Places", featuring George Strait, Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line, and Keith Urban singing along with Brooks.

As a result of this, Brooks and Yearwood performed a concert in the same format the following week, broadcast live on CBS, along with a donation of $1 million to relief efforts.

[89] On July 7, Brooks and Yearwood performed a "part 2" to their previous online concert, taking song requests and again broadcast on Facebook Live.

[103] Brooks' performance on the field did not warrant management placing him on the regular season roster; however, he was offered a non-roster spot, but declined it.

The store, contracted with "the big three" record labels, allows for autonomous pricing and distribution format, resulting in the most proper royalty payments for artists and songwriters.

With wife Trisha Yearwood, Brooks sang Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Who'll Stop the Rain" on the Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast nationwide telethon for Hurricane Katrina relief.

[122] He performed the Garth Brooks: Live in LA benefit concerts, five sold-out concerts over a two-day period at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on January 25 and 26, 2008 (setting numerous records at the high-profile venue in the process and accomplished a feat done by no other artist in music history to perform all 5 shows in a 48-hour time frame).

The sold-out show featured artists Mel Tillis, John Anderson, Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood, Sammy Hagar, Kellie Coffey, Ronnie Dunn, Carrie Underwood and Krystal Keith.

[139] This conclusion drew criticism from the press and many music fans who were convinced that Elvis Presley had sold more records, but had been short-changed in the rankings due to faulty RIAA certification methods during his lifetime.

[147] In September 2016, Brooks became the first and only artist in music history to achieve seven career Diamond Award albums, according to the RIAA (surpassing the previous tied record of six next to The Beatles).