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Garth Brooks<\/a> scored one of the most important hits of his career with “Friends in Low Places” in 1990.<\/p>\n In a 2020 episode of Music’s Greatest Mysteries<\/em> on AXS TV, songwriter Earl Bud Lee opened up about a story that’s been making the rounds in Nashville for years.<\/p>\n Lee and Dewanye Blackwell co-wrote the song, and they pitched it to Brooks when he was a young and unknown singer.<\/p>\n He cut it and released it as the lead single from his sophomore album, No Fences.<\/em><\/p>\n “Friends in Low Places” became a career-changing song for Brooks, reaching No. 1 on Oct. 6, 1990, and spending four weeks there.<\/p>\n It went on to win Single of the Year honors at both the ACM and CMA Awards.<\/p>\n In the clip below, legendary Nashville songwriter Wynn Varble relates the legendary story about Lee and his smash hit.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/em> George Strait Passed on “Friends in Low Places”<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n “He settled his bar tab by giving his publishing to this song, ‘Friends in Low Places,’ that had just been cut by this young, unknown artist, and that come back to bite him in the butt,” Varble says.<\/p>\n In Brooks’ book The Anthology Part 1,<\/em>\u00a0he revealed that George Strait<\/a>\u00a0had\u00a0passed on the song before he cut it.<\/p>\n In 2020, he told\u00a0Taste of Country Nights<\/a><\/em>\u00a0that he sang the demo years before he had a record deal.<\/p>\n “The reason they asked me to do the demo was because I wanted to be George Strait for years, so I do a pretty good impersonation of him,” Brooks revealed.<\/p>\n “So the original demo of \u2018Friends\u00a0in Low Places,\u2019 I did my best George Strait on it before I ever had a record deal.”<\/p>\n Strait did not cut the song after it was pitched to him, leaving it free for Brooks.<\/p>\n It appeared on his second album,\u00a0No Fences,<\/em> in 1990, and “Friends\u00a0in Low Places” became the biggest song of his career.<\/p>\n Brooks performs it at every show to this day, adding in a special “lost” verse to give the song even more impact.<\/p>\n Garth Brooks has been filling the biggest arenas in the U.S. and the world since he launched his country career in 1989. There are 20 songs that have emerged as fan favorites, and Brooks has played some of them hundreds of times over the years.<\/p>\n Data reflected runs through March 2024<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Garth Brooks has written quite a few of his own hits, but a number of other artists have cut his songs, too … and not just country singers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWho Wrote “Friends in Low Places”?<\/h3>\n
How Did “Friends in Low Places” Do on the Charts?<\/h3>\n
What Is the Story Behind “Friends in Low Places”?<\/h3>\n
Did George Strait Ever Cut “Friends in Low Places”?<\/h3>\n
20 Songs Garth Brooks Has Played Live the Most Times<\/h2>\n
10 Artists You Didn’t Know Had Cut Garth Brooks Songs<\/h2>\n