Turntable Talk #35 – Sans Sophomore Slump

It is time for another edition of Turntable Talk hosted by Dave from A Sound Day. This is round #35, which means next month I’ll have been contributing to this feature for 3 years! Wow. As long as Dave keeps coming up with interesting topics, I’ll keep writing.

This time around, Dave says that “we’re going Sans Sophomore Slump. We all remember the triumphant debuts to the scene by The Knack, Meat Loaf, the Ramones…but how many recall, let alone listen to ‘But the Little Girls Understand’, ‘Dead Ringer’s or ‘Leave Home’… the follow-ups for them? This month, pick a SECOND album by a group or singer you thought was a standout and at least as good as the first.

When I worked in country radio we often referred to the “Class of ’89.” This was a group of four guys who all stormed onto the scene in 1989. Those guys were Clint Black, Travis Tritt, Alan Jackson, and Garth Brooks.

The four of them were so popular that the brought an entire new group of listeners to the genre. Much of their music focused on storytelling, which also made for some amazing music videos. They helped to make Country music more popular than ever.

Garth Brooks’ self titled album was released in April of 1989. It peaked at #13 on the Billboard 200 and went to #2 on the Top Country Albums chart. From the album, there were four singles, two of them went on to become number 1 hits.

Much To Young (To Feel This Damn Old) went to #8 on the charts for Garth. Not Counting You also went top 10, and was the first hit that Garth completely wrote himself. The Dance and If Tomorrow Never Comes were both #1 smashes! Today, they have reached “classic” status. If Tomorrow Never Comes was so big that it won the Academy of Country Music’s Song of the Year in 1990.

So how do you follow that kind of success? If you are Garth Brooks, you release your sophomore album and watch in amazement.

Like the other members of the class of 1989, fans wanted more of their music! Garth released No Fences in August of 1990 and it was just HUGE! It went to #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. It went to #3 on the Billboard 200 and stayed in the top 40 on that chart for a whopping 126 weeks!

As for the singles from the album, they have gone on to become Garth classics (just like the ones from album #1). All four singles from the album went to #1 on the Country chart!

The Thunder Rolls not only went to #1, but won the CMA Video of the Year for 1991. The video is a powerful one. When Garth plays the song at live shows he adds another verse where the cheater gets what’s coming to him.

Two of a Kind, Working On a Full House, Unanswered Prayers, and Friends in Low Places also all reached #1. Friends in Low Places also won the Academy of Country Music’s Single of the Year for 1990.

That song is familiar to country music fans and non-fans alike. It still plays everywhere. It was always on the Mobile Beat Top 200 songs for mobile DJs. It plays at parties, weddings and even sporting events. I’d love to see the money that this one song alone makes for Garth Brooks.

Garth’s Sophomore album, No Fences, helped to pave the way into super stardom for him. A simple search of “Awards won by Garth Brooks” will show you just how popular and successful Garth went on to be. One has to wonder what might have happened if No Fences bombed.

Thanks again to Dave for hosting this edition of Turntable Talk. I appreciate him reaching out and including me in such an amazing feature. As always, I look forward to the next topic.

Thanks for reading!