In the early nineties when Garth Brooks was on fire, I received a couple of phone calls from him (as did several publishers on Music Row) when he was beginning the search for material for new projects.
One of those conversations sticks in my mind. As we talked a few minutes about what he was looking for in a song, his bottom-line was, “Keith, bring me the songs that knock you out.”
There’s been much talk over Garth’s business savvy and how much he’s put that college marketing degree to work during his career. No matter your opinion, you’ve got to give credit to an artist that in the end asks you to bring material that you find personally appealing.
I never landed a cut on any Garth projects, but I did gain respect for him during those conversations.
So is his #1 on this comeback a “knock-out” song? You be the judge.
As usual, here’s my markup of the lyric
* Each week I measure the #1 song of the week in “Measuring a Hit” for you to readily see common threads in today’s biggest hits. A posting called “A Closer Look” follows in a few days that brings a few craft issues of the song to your attention.
