A decade after his 1989 debut, Garth Brooks introduced his other persona. Initially, the character was created around a film called The Lamb, which starred Brooks in the leading role as a rock star chronicling different periods throughout his life.
The film never came together, but Brooks still released the music around it on Garth Brooks in…The Life of Chris Gaines. Produced by Don Was, Garth Brooks in…the Life of Chris Gaines peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 for Brooks.
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Car Crashes and Sex
Along with the album, Brooks also took on the character of Gaines, whose storyline was very detailed. Born in Brisbane, Australia to a mother who was an Olympic swimmer, and his father, who was her coach, the striking, raven-haired Australian rocker survived a tragic car crash in the early1990s, which altered his appearance. But his looks were the least of his worries. He was more concerned with whether he could still have sex.
His full, tragic, and debaucherous story was told in a mockumentary on VH1’s Behind the Music series. The 40-minute feature featured a cameo by Billy Joel and revealed the more salacious details of Gaines’ life: “He was a rocker who liked fast cars and even faster women.”
When Brooks hosted Saturday Night Live for the second time in 1999, he also served as the musical guest, as Gaines, and performed “Way of the Girl.”
[RELATED: 6 Songs You Didn’t Know Garth Brooks Wrote for Other Artists]
Under Covers
Following the release of The Life of Chris Gaines, Brooks continued releasing music under his real name, including a holiday album later in 1999 (Garth Brooks & the Magic of Christmas) and his eighth album Scarecrow in 2001. Years after its release, the Gaines album was mostly out of print and was barely available on YouTube and through streaming until some artists began plucking Gaines’ songs from obscurity.
Throughout the years, Gaines’ songs were covered by everyone from Don Henley to Childish Gambino. In 2005, Rose Thomas covered Gaines’ song “If Don’t Matter to the Sun.” The song was later covered as a duet by Don Henley and Stevie Nicks on a Target-exclusive version of Henley’s 2015 album Cass County. Gambino also took a stab at Gaines’ hit “Lost In You” in 2019.
Written by Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick, and Tommy Sims, “Lost in You” was the biggest hit off the Gaines album and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
More Gaines
In 2023, Brooks revealed that he had five albums worth of previously unreleased music by Chris Gaines. “You’re going to have it in every format you can possibly imagine,” said Brooks. “It’s coming. You’re going to have Chris Gaines stuff nobody’s ever heard before either. I love that project, so I’m excited.”
In another interview, Brooks said he always loved the Gaines album and he did it for himself. “The Gaines project was a lot of time put in because it’s not natural, you’re acting on a record, but I want to do it simply for people who love the Gaines project,” said Brooks. “And selfishly, I love the Chris Gaines record, so I want to do it for me. It challenged me as a vocalist. So I don’t know when we’re going to get to it, but it’s on the list.”
Brooks added, “The five albums have to come out. I don’t know if it’s because I’m 114 years old, but now everything takes three hours more than it took time to do before.”
Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images
