Garth Brooks

Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and charity director who performs country music.

"Chris Gaines"

In 1999 Brooks launched upon a conceptually ambitious and unorthodox multi-media project. He wanted to star in a thriller film in development called The Lamb that was about an emotionally conflicted fictional pop/rock star named Chris Gaines. He got the role, with he and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds to co-produce it. To prepare for the film, Brooks then decided to become Chris Gaines, adopting an alter ego look and personality ? slimmer, black hair, soul patch, somewhat angst-ridden ? and constructing a large back story. Much of this back story had to be musical, so with altered style and voice Brooks wrote and recorded Gaines' "Greatest Hits" album, In the Life of Chris Gaines. This was announced to the world, and met with a confused reaction, in May 1999 http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,4744,00.html.

Related Topics:
1999 - Development - Chris Gaines - Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds - Alter ego - Soul patch - Angst - Back story

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In October 1999, this album, now titled Garth Brooks In ... The Life of Chris Gaines, was finally released. It can best be described as a collection of Brooks's experiments in other popular music genres, such as alternative rock and rhythm and blues. It received mixed reviews in the United States, although in Great Britain the magazine Country Music People referred to it as "a work of genius".

Related Topics:
Garth Brooks In ... The Life of Chris Gaines - Popular music - Alternative rock - Rhythm and blues - Great Britain - Country Music People

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A mockumentary, Garth Brooks ... In The Life of Chris Gaines was also made and shown on VH1 in that same year. Additionally, Brooks appeared once as guest host on Saturday Night Live with Gaines as special musical guest.

Related Topics:
Mockumentary - VH1 - Saturday Night Live

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The success of the Chris Gaines experiment was decidedly doubtful mere weeks after the album was released. Some critics admired Brooks for demonstrating his range as a musician and actor, but most of the American public was either totally bewildered, or completely unreceptive to the idea of Garth Brooks as anything but a pop-country singer. Many of his fans also felt that by supporting the Gaines project they would lose the real Garth Brooks. Sales of the album were unspectacular, and although it made it to #2 on the pop album chart, expectations had been higher and retail stores were heavily discounting their oversupply.

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The Lamb film project, which had been the genesis of the whole idea, was then cancelled and "Chris Gaines" quickly faded away into obscurity.

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