Chris Stapleton out here making grown men cry.
Then again, it’s Garth Brooks we’re talking about here… the man cries at the drop of a hat. I mean, Trisha starts pulling a tater tot casserole out of the oven and you can already picture Garth attacking the Kleenex box like a rabid hyena.
That being said, I don’t want to take anything away from Chris… it was the kind of performance that moved the whole room.
Back in March of 2020, Garth was chosen to receive the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, which was presented to him during a tribute concert featuring performances from Keith Urban, Lee Brice, Ricky Skaggs, Keb Mo, his wife Trisha Yearwood, and of course, the great Chris Stapleton.
Chris Stapleton Steals The Show
Chris Stapleton took the stage to perform Garth’s 1991 hit single “Shameless,” which was originally written and recorded by Billy Joel a couple years prior. Chris earned himself a standing ovation from everybody in attendance, and a couple of tear-soaked eyes from Garth himself.
My only regret is that we don’t have a camera on Garth the entire time. I would love to get a little split screen action going… listening to Chris and watching every single emotion fill Garth’s face in real time. In fact, the next time we honor Garth Brooks with some kind of lifetime achievement award, that needs to be priority number one. I mean, who wouldn’t pay to watch that?
Anyways.. without further ado, the great Chris Stapleton honoring Garth Brooks with a insanely good cover of “Shameless,” featuring Garth’s priceless reactions.
Yep, it was an emotional roller coaster for G… let’s go to the tape.
Garth’s Emotional Reaction
In the early going, Garth was steady as a rock, just vibing.
Trisha was looking a little stone-faced, but hey, it’s gonna be a long night and her purse is probably packed with Kleenex for G right now.
So much Kleenex in there…
Once Chris really got going, G just couldn’t contain himself anymore.
Trisha still pretty stone-faced, but just imagine that gorilla-strength dad grip Garth has on her hand right now. She’s in pain…
And then…. the waterworks…
Finally, the standing salute.
Chris Stapleton Performs “Rodeo”
But, there was another performance that night from Chris that also blew the roof off the joint.
Chris also sang “Rodeo” in honor of G, and it got the crowd absolutely ROCKING. The grit in his voice brought out the sad in the lyrics, but also kept the song’s snarly attitude for a cover unlike we’ve ever heard before.
Written by Larry Bastian a decade earlier, it was released by Garth Brooks in 1991 as the first single from his album legendary Ropin’ the Wind record.
And I could listen to Chris sing just about anything, but man, this was really enjoyable…
I mean, just look how happy G is watching Chris shred up there.
Trisha… not so much, but she’s probably just locked in, right? I mean, at any moment G would break into tears and she has to be ready with the Kleenex.
Do you think the Secret Service is smiling on the job when they’re protecting the President? Hell no, they’re in the zone, ready to sniff out any sign of trouble before it starts.
Same thing with Trisha… ready to tackle those tears the second they start rolling down Garth’s cheek.
Still though, just look at G right here… like a kid in a candy store.
