An Examination of the Music of Garth Brooks

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For generations, singers and songwriters of country music have been working to evoke emotions in listeners by performing and writing songs that the listeners will be able to relate to. Country music traditionally reveals stories of life, love, death, and values, all of which can be seen in the works of great singers and songwriters like George Strait, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, and Alan Jackson. One artist in particular, Garth Brooks, forever left his stamp on country music and on the hearts of his millions of listeners with his hit songs, “The Beaches of Cheyenne”, “Callin’ Baton Rouge”, and “The River”. “The Beaches of Cheyenne” has a storyline containing themes of life, death, love, and regret. The themes of this song branch out much further than the reaches of country music, and makes this particular song relatable to each and every person. "The Beaches of Cheyenne" by Garth Brooks is the epitome of country music, and largely contributes to the success and popularity of country music by evoking emotions in listeners through means of a storyline that conveys strong emotions, relatable to each and every person. “Callin’ Baton Rouge” is fast-paced, upbeat love song that is able to evoke emotion in listeners because of the strong instrumentals in the song accompanied by meaningful lyrics. “The River” is a song about following dreams no matter what obstacles may be in the way, which makes it inspirational and very relatable to everyone that listens to it.

Peter J. Rentfrow, Lewis R. Goldberg, and Daniel J. Levitin reveal in their article, The Structure of Musical Preferences: A Five-Factor Model that, "It (music) is composed of specific auditory properties, communicates emotions, and has strong social connotations. There is eviden...

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...ty Press, 2005. Print.

Brooks, Garth, Bryan Kennedy, and Dan Roberts. The Beaches of Cheyenne. Nashville: Capitol Records, 1995. Google. Web. 12 May 2014.

Brooks, Garth, and Victoria Shaw. The River. N.p.: Liberty Records, 1992. Google. Web. 12 May 2014.

Church, Eric, Jeff Hyde, and Ryan Tyndell. Springsteen. Nashville: Capitol Records, 2012. Google. Web. 12 May 2014.

Linde, Dennis. Callin' Baton Rouge. N.p.: Liberty Records, 1994. Google. Web. 12 May 2014.

Rentfrow, Peter J., Lewis R. Goldberg, and Daniel J. Levitin. "The Structure of Musical Preferences: A Five-Factor Model." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 100.6 (2011): 1139-57. EBSCO Host. Web. 12 May 2014.

Shusterman, Richard. "Moving Truth: Affect and Authenticity in Country Musicals." Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 57.2 (1999): 221-33. EBSCO Host. Web. 12 May 2014.

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