On This Day in 1990, Garth Brooks Released His Signature Song “Friends in Low Places”

On this day (August 6) in 1990, Garth Brooks released “Friends in Low Places.” The single went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and stayed there for four weeks. More importantly, it became Brooks’ signature song. Later, the superstar would name his Nashville bar and grill after the song.

Brooks remains one of the most profitable artists in country music. His concerts sell out in minutes, his album sales are in the tens of millions, and he’s still a household name. However, the Oklahoma native saw much more chart success in his early career. Between 1989 and 1999, he released 37 singles. Only six of those missed the top 10 three of which came from his ill-fated Chris Gaines project.

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Garth Brooks Lands a Lasting Hit with “Friends in Low Places”

Most country fans think of “Friends in Low Places” as a Garth Brooks song. However, he wasn’t the first or last person to release the song. Earl Bud Lee and Dewayne Blackwell wrote the song in 1989 and tapped the little-known Brooks to record a demo for the song. Then, David Wayne Chamberlain released his version of the song later that year.

Brooks loved the song and decided to record it for his sophomore album No Fences. He released it as the lead single from the album. It climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and stayed there for four consecutive weeks. It also won Single of the Year at the ACM and CMA Awards in 1990.

“’Friends in Low Places’ was the last demo session I ever did as a singer,” Brooks recalled. “The demo was for Bud Lee and Dewayne Blackwell, I sang the session out in Hendersonville, and for the next two weeks, the chorus of the song kept running through my head,” he added. “I knew it would be a year and a half before the release of No Fences because Garth Brooks was just getting ready to be released. I asked Bud Lee and Dwayne if I could hold onto it and, without a blink of an eye, they both said yes. Putting that kind of faith into an unknown artist is unheard of.”

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