On This Day in 1989, Garth Brooks Released the Highly Misunderstood Song That Changed His Life Forever

On this day (August 21) in 1989, Garth Brooks released “If Tomorrow Never Comes” as the second single from his self-titled debut album. Later that year, it became his first No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Nearly 40 years later, it remains one of his most popular songs and a staple of his concerts. More importantly, this song launched his career long before he recorded it.

“If Tomorrow Never Comes” is one of the most important songs in Brooks’ discography. It’s also one of the most misinterpreted. The music video makes it appear that the lyrics are about a father’s love for his daughter. However, that’s not the case. In The Anthology Part 1: The First Five Years, he sets the record straight. “It’s about this guy who wants to make sure his wife knows that if something happens to him, that he did love her. She didn’t have to wonder.”

In a way, Brooks and this song have some things in common. For instance, he ran the idea by several potential co-writers during his early days in Nashville. Then, he met Kent Blazy, who understood where he was coming from. They co-wrote the song quickly. Then, they pitched it to several artists. No one wanted to record it. At the same time, Brooks had been turned down by every label in Music City. Then, with a little luck and a great song, he finally landed a record deal.

How “If Tomorrow Never Comes” Helped Launch Garth Brooks’ Career

“We pitched it around town for about a year, and nobody was interested,” Kent Blazy recalled. He and Garth Brooks were talking about getting together to rewrite the song to see if they could improve it. Then, about a week before they were going to take the song back to the drawing board, fate stepped in. Brooks was asked to play at the Bluebird Cafe. Someone was sick, and they needed a fill-in. He had time to play one song. He played “If Tomorrow Never Comes.”

“Linda Schultz from Capitol Records, who passed on him for the third time that week, heard something in the song. She said, ‘Why don’t you come back? Maybe we missed something.’ He came in and got a record deal,” Blazy recalled.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1989, the Undisputed Best-Selling Country Artist of the 90s Dropped His Self-Titled Debut Album]

Brooks played the right song to the right audience at the right time. Within a few years, he went from being an unknown songwriter playing at open mic nights to being one of the biggest stars in country music history.

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