Garth Brooks Dubbed An Iconic Anthem One Of The Greatest Songs In Music History

Country singer Garth Brooks has won the Country Music Association (CMA) award for entertainer of the year so many times — seven to be exact — that he actually turned down the nomination in 2020 in order to allow other artists to experience the feeling of winning such an award. According to ABC News, Brooks also performed at President Joe Biden's inauguration as "not a political statement, a statement of unity" possibly in reference to the conservative nature of some country music fans. Brooks is also a devoted dad to his three daughters with his wife Trisha Yearwood, even taking a break from the music business for over a decade to be with his family in his native state of Oklahoma (per People).

Besides consistently topping the charts during his nearly 30-year career, it is his humbleness and kind nature for which he is known. He aims to support other country artists and those in his community. Brooks is also quick to give praise to other artists regardless of genre.

The year 2022 marks five decades since Don McLean released the song "American Pie." The title, however, does not reflect the song's subject matter. The song is about the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly in 1959. McLean was a fan of Holly and wrote the song as a tribute. McLean says that it is easy to connect aspects of the album on which "American Pie" was featured to Holly. Paramount released a documentary on the song titled "The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's 'American Pie'" in July of 2022.

Ready Steady Cut explains that the documentary features artists talking about the legacy of the song "American Pie." Garth Brooks speaks at the very beginning of the film, stating McClean's song "could quite possibly be the greatest song in music history." McLean spoke about Brooks' praise to Fox News Digital. He said of Brooks, "it's a very personal expression of his love for the song, going back to when he was a little boy. He feels the song in some way is a parallel to his career and his life in music that somehow the song brought him into that." 

Don McLean calls the "America Pie" lyrics "metaphorical." He equates music with spirit, stating "the day the music died, is a metaphor for death, of course, but for the death of the spirit, music is the equivalent to spiritual life ... if the music dies, the spirit dies." The song is eight minutes long, which made it a tall task to undertake for those involved and even for radios to play it. McLean is proud of the fact that it was so impactful and drew others to rock and folk music (per Fox News Digital).

McLean sang "America Pie" with Garth Brooks in Central Park, New York City in 1997 for a record-setting audience of over 900,000 fans. The concert was free and aired on live television. Billy Joel made an appearance on piano as well. The concert film "Garth Live From Central Park" was HBO's highest-rated show for the year (via ET). The fact that Brooks considered "American Pie" to be worthy of such an occasion shows how good music can cross over the lines of genre and appeal to the masses.