This makes sense, I guess. That the legacy Garth Brooks wants to leave behind isn’t necessarily his prolific catalog of country songs. It’s his deep, deep, deep appreciation for his fans. That’s what he really hopes his legacy will be.
“I hope that the people who traveled all those miles, sat in the freezing cold at Notre Dame,” Brooks told Jenna Bush Hager in a conversation on AOL’s Buildseries.com. “I hope the people that put in all the years know how grateful I was that they did it.”
If Brooks is sounding particularly melancholy about how people will remember him, it’s because he sees a little bit of himself — and his late mother — in his youngest daughter Allie.
“My mom was a singer,” he recalled. Brooks was the youngest of six kids, and has said before that as he headed into his Nashville career, he was carrying a big bag full of all the stuff he picked up on in his very musical house. “She gave (music) up for the children, so we kind of got to complete her journey.” Brooks’ mom died in 1999, and he’s recorded a few songs for her and about her: “It’s Your Song,” “Mom,” and “Send ’Em on Down the Road.”
“Now our youngest daughter’s bit with the bug. She loves to songwrite and sing. So the opportunity that you put in front of me and my family — I hope that people know how grateful we are to get to do the coolest gig on the planet,” he added, “next to being my daughters’ dad and being Mr. Yearwood.”
Brooks’ next tour stop is set for April 20 in Gainesville, Florida.