Culture news and discussion on TalkFuse.
On This Day in 1990, Garth Brooks Released His Signature Hit That Almost Went to Another 90s Country Star
On this day in 1990, Garth Brooks released "Friends in Low Places" as the lead single from his second album, No Fences. The song went on to spend four weeks at number one on the country chart, becoming his second consecutive chart-topper and one of the defining hits of his career, but it very nearly ended up belonging to a rival singer instead.
Brooks first encountered the song while working as a shoe salesman and part-time demo singer in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, where he met co-writers Bud Lee and Dewayne Blackwell and recorded its demo. He was so taken with it that he asked to hold it for his still-unreleased next album, and the writers agreed. He was actually the third artist to record it, after David Chamberlain's 1989 original and a version by Mark Chesnutt, whose label wanted to issue it as the lead single from his 1990 album Too Cold at Home; Brooks's camp instead honoured its earlier hold, allowing Chesnutt to keep the song for a potential single while Brooks himself went ahead and recorded it for No Fences.
In short
- Garth Brooks released "Friends in Low Places" on 6 August 1990.
- It hit No. 1 for four weeks, becoming a signature hit.
- Mark Chesnutt had recorded it first and nearly released it as his single.
Explained simply
Garth Brooks is an American country singer who rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. “Friends in Low Places” was written by Bud Lee and Dewayne Blackwell, and Brooks first heard it while working in Tennessee and singing demo recordings.
The song was also recorded by David Chamberlain and Mark Chesnutt, another country singer whose label considered releasing it as a single. Brooks had asked the writers to reserve it for his next album, and the writers agreed, so both singers’ versions were in the picture. The story illustrates how songs can pass between artists before one recording becomes closely associated with a particular singer.
Art Celebrity Culture Entertainment Music