Garth Brooks is the country icon that helped the entire genre climb out of relative obscurity outside of the South and Southwest and into the pop charts. Brooks was born on February 7, 1962 and followed a normal path for a young man in Oklahoma. He sang a little, but mostly concentrated on sports. He played football, baseball, and track and field, excelling in the javelin. His skill with a javelin earned him an athletic scholarship to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Again, he had inklings of selling Garth Brooks tickets as a world wide sensation, but mostly he focused on graduating with a degree in advertising.

After graduating in 1984 Brooks began to seriously consider following his dream of becoming a professional musician. He played at clubs and bars throughout the state of Oklahoma hoping to develop a fan base or catch somebody’s ear that mattered. That person ended up being entertainment attorney Rod Phelps. In 1985, with Phelps encouragement Garth Brooks headed to Nashville to become a star and 24 hours after arriving in the country capital of the world he returned to Oklahoma.

The return would be short lived. He married Sandy Mahl in 1986 and headed out to Nashville a year later. By 1989 that moved proved to have paid dividends. Brooks had earned a record contract and released his self-titled debut album in 1989. Critics from multiple genres heard and applauded the album. Garth Brooks would reach number two on the U.S. Country Billboard charts and number 13 on the U.S. Charts. The fan reception was so great that the album went platinum, thanks in large part to heavy radio play of “Much Too Young,” “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “Not Counting You,” and “The Dance”.

Brooks proved to be as much as a draw in person as on the shelves. He began an impressive tour that sold out of Garth Brooks tickets wherever he went. His shows broke sharply from the traditionally mellow country concerts. He liked to move around stage and approach the very edge of the stage, much like a rock musician trying to rile the crowd up.

This stage style, which he attributed to his close friend Chris LeDoux, was appropriate given his, at the time, unique country sound. Brooks grew up loving country music, the folk singer-songwriters from the 1970s like James Taylor, and the operatic rock bands of that decade like KISS and Queen. This made his sound, though obviously country, far more digestible for the mainstream American audience.

His sophomore album, No Fences, became his greatest accomplishment, as he embraced his musical influences and his adoration for the working man. He became the Bruce Springsteen of country and would soon after eclipse Springsteen’s album sales. In fact, Garth Brooks is the second best selling American musician as of 2007. He is behind only the Beatles, having surpassed Elvis Presley on November 5, 2007.

This fact is incredible because though Garth Brooks recorded and released seven albums in the 1990s, he only recorded and released a single full studio album in the 21st century. The pressures of his career had eroded the bonds of his first marriage. Divorce followed in 1999 and he retired in 2002 for the sake of saving his relationship with his family. No matter how many more Garth Brooks tickets or albums he could sell, he desperately wanted to keep his three children close.

Later on, in 2005, he married Tricia Yearwood, his longtime friend that tabloids had long linked to him romantically during his first marriage. Both deny the allegations, but admit that after Brooks divorce the two grew even closer.

In retirement, Garth Brooks albums still sold and eventually he signed a deal with Wal-Mart to occasionally release unreleased singles and compilation albums. In 2005 he emerged from retirement and performed at a number of charity concerts to aid causes such as the victims of California wild fires, charities for children, and to promote famine relief. Even years after recording any new material the response to live events has been dramatic. He recently added two more shows to his charity concert series at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to help Firefighter Relief because Garth Brooks tickets sold out so quickly for the first three.

The thrill of performing must have got the best of him because he recently announced that he would be performing for 16 weeks at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Country Club at the Encore Theater. The news is sure to bring thousands of fans to the struggling Sin City in search of Garth Brooks tickets to see the musical residency that allows the singer to remain in one location, perform, and avoid putting stress on his family.