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The Garth Factor: The Career Behind Country's Big Boom |  | Author: Patsi Bale Cox
Publisher: Center Street
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $12.49
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Seller: strandbookstore
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 246839
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 1599950995
Dewey Decimal Number: 921
EAN: 9781599950990
ASIN: 1599950995
Publication Date: May 28, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Garth Brooks is certified by the RIAA as the #1 selling solo artist in US history. Since his debut in 1990, he has sold over 128 million albums. But success rarely comes without controversy, and Garth has had more than a share. Is he a media and market manipulator, a country music poseur, and a megalomaniac, or is he simply a brilliant businessman and marketing strategist?Industry insider Patsi Bale Cox, who generated all label material on Brooks throughout his career, examines the meteoric rise of the country star. Examining his career within the context of country music history, she takes readers behind closed doors at the labels, and delves into the inner sanctum of the Nashville music community. THE GARTH FACTOR will paint a portrait of how Brooks's friendship with Trisha Yearwood developed into love and marriage, explore the truth behind his "alter-ego" Chris Gaines, and update readers on what he has been up to since retirement.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 Readable, but not particularly objective February 6, 2010
DSA (Phoenix, AZ)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"The Garth Factor" is a quick read, but it's also a bit unsatisfying. Patsi Bale Cox doesn't have much distance or objectivity when it comes to Brooks, as one other reviewer mentioned. It comes off as if he can do no wrong, which is not true: He's only human, after all. But judging from this book, he virtually walks on water. Perhaps Cox was afraid of offending him? The same thing applies to people close to Brooks: When Trisha Yearwood's album sales falter, it's due to poor marketing, Cox writes. Couldn't it simply be the natural progression that happens with most artists, when their time on the charts is over? She is also overly effusive with people she interviews: She writes that "Gary Morris remained a player in Nashville" even though he longer lives there and hasn't been signed to a major label for nearly 20 years. It's as if there is a need to suck up to those who grant her interviews.
The book is a bit sloppy: She briefly mentions an incident involving Brooks' first wife putting her fist in a bathroom wall, but gives no details or explanation or even puts it in context. Did it happen early in the marriage, when they were dating or just before Brooks told a reporter about it? You get no clue from the book. Factual errors are also distracting. Eddy Raven's name is misspelled, and she states that Lacy J. Dalton's "The Heart" was the only Universal single that had much success -- "that was it," she writes. But Raven scored two No. 1 hits on the label ("In a Letter To You" and "Bayou Boys"), so the research seems a little haphazard.
 Country Music Star - Book review October 6, 2009
J. Urgitus (denver, colorado)
Interesting facts and chronology of the success of Garth Brooks. Nothing controversial or for that matter, surprising. It is clear that Garth Brooks was not involved in this as most of his quotes are from public events or other sources. Not a lot of raw honesty, just written so as not to offend anybody...
Garth Factor September 14, 2009
Frank D. Mitchell (kansas)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Boughtthe book for my wife she loves it. It is detailed it fills in a lot of blanks as to what Garth has been up to. I really hope he starts touring again but i cant blame him for settling down with out family the work well is just work
Could be a textbook August 6, 2009
Benjamin T. Dukes
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I think many in the Country Music Industry could benefit by reading this bio. In a time when country is turning into a business purely about marketing and what is "slick" and "hot," this book portrays the genre's biggest star as someone who succeeded purely because of the MUSIC.
"The Garth Factor" could be a textbook for youngsters wanting to get into the Country Music game. It shows the ins-and-outs of the business side, as well as what it takes to become truly GREAT as an entertainer.
I gladly recommend this!
A GREAT READ FOR FANS OF ANY COUNTRY ARTISTS July 14, 2009
M. Smolkovich (Nashville)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was late to counry music, having spent most of my musical formative years listening to rock and roll and pop music. Like probably millions of rock/pop fans I got tired of the glam and postering in the music videos on MTV and even eventually VH1, I was looking for music more pure and songs and videos that actually told a story or at least seemed sincere and not just about who had the hottest chicks in their videos, or the biggest hair and loudest spandex. It was a sweet video on VH1 with Amy Grant and Vince Gill that sent me over to CMT for more Vince info and from watching CMT I discovered the amazing world of country music, singers, songwriters and videos that actually told the story or at least tried to match the meaning of the song. What a feast of songs and artist, from Vince to Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Hal Ketchum, all who taught me to honor the legends, thus my love for the Grand Ole Opry and the men and women who have been members for over 50 years.
I have to admit I didn't come to this musical wonderland early, and thus all the crap written about Garth Brooks and his "marketing major" fueling some kind of "only in it to make money and sell more records" hype was already out there and I fell for it a bit and never gave him his due when he was putting out his music. But I did come around and learned to appreciate him.
Patsi has written a great book, so easy to read and so sincere in showing how much Garth really has tried to honor the SONG and the songwriter his whole career. He was a good guy and still is and reading this book will show any fan what YOUR favorite artist has to deal with on the busnines end of making his music. The work and care that an artist puts into trying to put the best music he can, the music that moves him, onto a finished cd is a long tedious job and often that effort is just trashed by the stroke of the pen of some music critic who thinks they know what was inside the artist's head and heart when he was recording.
Read this book and if you already have been a Garth fan you will appreciate him more and if you as not a fan, you will at least appreciate the process involved in getting that music to your cd player or IPod.
Great job, Patsi, your writing is so flowing and you tell the story indeed of the rise of country music via Garth, a true music maverick.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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