Garth Brooks was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012. Although Brooks will always be grateful for the honor, the 56-year-old says upcoming inductee Ricky Skaggs deserved the honor first.
“My daughters were right here and my wife was right here when George Strait walked out, when James Taylor walked out and came straight to me and hugged me,” Brooks told PopCulture.com “When Bob Seger looks at you and goes, ‘Man, you’ve done it right,’ from Bob Seger, it was the reatest night of my life. It was fabulous.
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“So this is going to be Ricky Skaggs’ greatest night, and good for him,” he continued. “He deserves it. It’s long overdue. He should have been on that stage long before Garth Brooks was.”
Brooks will always be proud to be recognized as an integral part of the country music genre.
“This is everything,” Brooks said. “This is Haggard and Jones. This is Loretta. This is Miss Patsy. This is Tammy Wynette, which, I still will put Tammy Wynette as the strongest individual on the planet, because you saddle up next to George Jones? That takes a hell of a human being right there.”
Dottie West will also be inducted post-humously. West died tragically from a car accident in 1991, right before Brooks released his diamond-certified Ropin’ the Wind. Although her life was cut short, Brooks has nothing but praise for the legendary singer.
“Dottie West was sunshine,” he told PopCulture.com. “That’s all she was. When she was coming down the hall, she just glowed. What she did was, she made that jump in you. You’re getting ready to go out onstage, to perform for people, who want to forget the next two hours. She understood that, lived it and because of that, she passed it on to everybody that met her.
“Steve Wariner speaks so highly of her,” he added. “Steve Wariner’s probably the nicest guy in this business, so when guys like that love somebody, they have to be somebody very special.”
Brooks just announced he was embarking on a three-year stadium tour, but it’s his plans after the tour ends that might be a surprise. The Oklahoma native revealed to PopCulture.com that he was going to trade large venues for honky tonks.
“Wouldn’t that be the most fun thing on the planet? Now that would be fun,” said Brooks. “Talk about completing the circle. Because when we played [Nashville bar] Layla’s, everything just came back to the circle. And everything was centered on it. And I so enjoyed it. And this music was built for honky tonks.”
Musician Johnny Gimble will also be inducted post-humously. Brooks will travel back from his historic Notre Dame concert in time to attend the ceremony. More information on the inductees can be found here.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Jemal Countess
