1990 Garth Brooks Followed By Shenandoah Singer/songwriter Garth Brooks and the Alabama-based country band Shenandoah pull out all the stops on Austin City Limits. From his first single, “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old),” and his second release, “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” to the current single, “Not Counting You,” Brooks has carved out a niche for his traditional country sound. All three songs are off of his self-titled debut album. Brooks’ first visit to Nashville was in 1985. He lasted 23 hours. Two years later, he returned better prepared and not nearly as naïve. While completing his college education at Oklahoma State University, Brooks sang with a band that toured throughout Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. In 1987, Brooks and the band moved to Nashville. “It was fun for the first month,” he said. “But, once again, reality rang the doorbell. It just fell apart right in front of our eyes.” As the band disintegrated, Brooks’ musical vision began to crystallize. He started singing on songwriter demos and his break came when Capitol Records executives heard him perform at a Nashville Entertainment Association showcase. Ironically, music was not always at the top of Brooks’ list of goals. In high school he was interested in athletics, playing football and baseball. The last of six children, he was born in Tulsa, but spent most of his childhood in Yukon, an oil town near Oklahoma City. There was always plenty of music in the Brooks household. His mother is the former Colleen Carroll, who recorded for Capitol Records in the mid-1950s. Brooks’ father played guitar, as does an older sister. While his father exposed him to the music of George Jones and Merle Haggard, Brooks’ older brothers introduced him to the sounds of Dan Fogelberg and James Taylor. All of these influences gradually meshed together, giving Brooks his own musical identity. Shenandoah has all the qualities of a hit recording act: strong lead vocals, high caliber musicianship, members with diverse musical backgrounds, plus several years of playing together. Then there’s that something extra which separates Shenandoah from the rest of the pack — their common goal to make music “like labelmate George Jones’ music — but in band form.” From the rave reviews they receive and the steady chart progress of their singles, Shenandoah is well on its way to success. Each single from the group’s 1988 debut album performed progressively better, and Shenandoah’s second CBS album, The Road Not Taken, has yielded three singles. The five members of Shenandoah bring a variety of musical experiences and influences to the group: Marty Raybon (lead vocals) has a hint of R&B in his voice, but his primary influence was the music of bluegrass artists the Osborne Brothers, Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers. Mike McGuire (drums) is a songwriter (T. Graham Brown’s “She Couldn’t Love Me Anymore”). Ralph Ezell (bass) has been a session player at various Muscle Shoals recording studios for the past decade. Jim Seals (guitar) moved from Illinois to Muscle Shoals and became an in-demand session player. Stan Thorn (keyboards) started his musical career in his family gospel group and during the '70s was a member of the popular R&B group Funkadelic. McGuire, Seales and Thorn started a band and played in clubs in Muscle Shoals. When the bass player and lead vocalist left, they invited Raybon and Ezell to join. Muscle Shoals producer/songwriter Robert Byrne discovered the band when they invited him to see them at a local club. He asked the guys to record a few tunes and test the waters with veteran producer Rick Hall. The results were more than encouraging. Shenandoah’s debut single, “They Don’t Make Love Like We Used To,” went to No. 51 on the country music charts, followed by “Stop The Rain,” “She Doesn’t Cry Anymore,” “Mama Knows” and “The Church On Cumberland Road,” the third hit from their second CBS album, The Road Not Taken