Garth Brooks has had a huge string of top country hits, but did you know that one of his biggest songs was written by Billy Joel?
Joel wrote and recorded “Shameless” for his Storm Front album in 1989, reaching No. 40 on Billboard‘s Adult Contemporary chart with his rendition. Brooks is a huge Billy Joel fan, and he covered “Shameless” in 1991 for his Ropin’ the Wind album. Brooks’ version — which featured support vocals from his future wife, Trisha Yearwood — reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and became one of his most durable hits, earning airplay at country radio even today, decades later.
Brooks’ version of the song is definitely different from Joel’s. While the original features a pop keyboard motif balanced against a sprightly electric guitar line as the instrumental backbone, Brooks delivered an earthier, grittier take on the song that actually suits the material far better than Joel’s original vision. Brooks incorporates pedal steel and an energetic electric guitar solo, and the track features the upper range of Brooks’ voice in a setting quite unlike most of his other hits.
Brooks actually got to team up with Joel to perform “Shameless” live at Shea Stadium when Joel played a sold-out two-night stand at the legendary venue in 2008. Those shows were the last live performances at Shea Stadium before it was torn down to make way for Citi Field.
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This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TasteofCountry.com
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