Fan favorite: Garth Brooks hasn’t forgotten who put him at the top by buying those 62 million albums

STORY AND PHOTOS BY EILEEN BRADY
THE DAILY NEWS OF JACKSONVILLE, N.C.

Young upstart musicians — especially the alternative, anti-establishment, I-don’t-really-want-to-be-famous Fiona Apples or Eddie Vedders should take note. Garth Brooks, the top-selling album artist in U.S. history, is an obvious fan of his fans.
His free Aug. 7 concert in New York’s Central Park drew hundreds of thousands of people. He spent 23 consecutive hours signing autographs at Nashville’s Fan Fair in 1996. He acknowledges fans’ gifts at concerts, carefully scooping up their flowers and stuffed animals, taking them off-stage with him after the show. And he allows a true
front row of fans at the stage, admirers who can touch him or maybe get a kiss.
Rather than maintaining his nice-guy image in spite of his success, Brooks’ awareness of what it’s like to be a music fan has likely contributed

to his success, including the sales of more than 62 million albums.

A longtime fan of James Taylor, Brooks says he was all the more impressed when he met Taylor, who knew the names of Brooks’ wife, daughters and even the nanny. A lifelong Pittsburgh Pirates fan, Brooks says he’s now also a San Diego Padres fan because the players were “so sweet” to him during a recent stint at their spring training.
Brooks knows that nice guys sometimes finish first, at the top of a heap of 62 million albums. 
The media have made much of Garth Brooks referring to himself in the third person, but he only seems to do so rarely, when referring to Garth the Stage Show or Garth the Sales Phenomenon. He usually refers to himself as “I.” It’s his fans who call him Garth, as if he’s an old friend.
“Garth’s a good guy and it shows,” said Jeffrey Armstrong, who stood in line for hours one morning last month at the Jacksonville Mall to get tickets for the April 4 show at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill. “He puts on a good act if he isn’t. It seems like he cares.”
The fact is, it doesn’t matter whether Brooks is just one heck of an actor or whether he just truly wears a white hat. Fans find it refreshing to know that their collections of CDs and the cash they shell out for concert tickets are acknowledged by the artist.
At his concerts, Brooks says up front that he won’t disappoint his fans — he plans to play his old stuff. He has said that he remembers going to concerts wanting to hear songs to which he could sing along, only for the act to push numerous songs from the newest album.
On Friday night, Brooks was 11 songs into the show before he played a release from his latest album, “Sevens.” Opening act Trisha Yearwood then came out to sing the pair’s song, “In Another’s Eyes,” also from “Sevens.” Brooks ended up playing four songs from the new album, all of which have already been released to radio, all to which everyone already knew the words.
The nosebleed seats didn’t seem so awful because of the huge, open stage without a backdrop blocking the back of the audience. The lights and the large speakers are suspended high enough not to impede the view from anywhere. Brooks’ lighting is strong, so he is visible from far away. And he and his band play to all sides of the arena, including the back.
On stage, Brooks acts as if he is honored by the turnout of so many people. “I know y’all have been working all week, but WE haven’t been working all week,” he says then facetiously apologizes for wanting to “go all night.”
Just an act? Who cares? Any stage persona is usually just that — as most people’s work personalities are different from their home personalities.
Garth Brooks at least puts his money where his mouth is. At a time when the Rolling Stones are charging $75 a ticket, Brooks keeps his prices to $20, plus TicketMaster fees. He says he realizes that taking a date or a family to a concert, buying souvenirs and paying for parking and food can add up to an expensive night on the town. Even at $20 a pop, he’s still making a lot of money, often selling out six shows in one location.“Trisha and myself, her band and crew, and my band and crew are making a helluva living at $20,” Brooks says. “I just want people to leave the show and say, ‘Holy cow! I just saw the CMA female vocalist of the year and Garth Brooks for $20!’ ”
Two and a half hours of a high-energy show from one of the world’s most famous musicians — all for $20 — does feel like quite a bargain.