Garth Brooks made one of the most talked-about TV appearances of his career when he hosted Saturday Night Live and brought along his alter-ego, pop-rocker Chris Gaines.
By the time the show aired on Nov. 13, 1999, most of America had finished scratching their collective heads in curious amazement at this ill-fated side project. Some enjoyed the music on Garth Brooks … In the Life of Chris Gaines, but most country fans were just confused by an idea that began as a proposed movie role.
One skit between Tracy Morgan and Brooks finds the comedian taking the singer to task for letting the mascara wearing alt-rocker be his musical guest. He questions Gaines’ sexuality (“That dude is … sweet like bear meat”) and says if Brooks were to get into a fight, Gaines would split before the first punch was thrown.
“The dude is chicken, and he’s fat too,” Morgan says, before adding, “If you were that big, they be calling you Girth Brooks.”
Brooks plays along — he was always a brilliant host of the sketch comedy show — signifying that yeah, maybe even he recognized he overstepped this time. The album did sell more than two million copies, and landed Brooks his first pop hit with “Lost in You.”
Garth Brooks has been filling the biggest arenas in the U.S. and the world since he launched his country career in 1989. There are 20 songs that have emerged as fan favorites, and Brooks has played some of them hundreds of times over the years.
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Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
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Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
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