More than a memory: Do you remember these moments about Garth Brooks?

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Country superstar Garth Brooks has hit several milestones in his career spanning more than 30 years.

From becoming the first artist in history to have seven albums reach diamond status (over 10 million album sales each) to smashing tour records once held by performers such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Brooks is prone to big moments.

He's now set to open and close RodeoHouston this year, and judging by how quickly tickets sold out, fans couldn't be happier to see him.

In honor of his return to the RodeoHouston stage, here's a look back at some of the memories we're reminiscing about.


Remember when Garth Brooks played RodeoHouston 25 years ago?

Brooks last played at RodeoHouston on Feb. 22, 1993 at The Astrodome, He made his debut on the Rodeo stage two years earlier in 1991.

Brooks was on tour at the time promoting his "In Pieces" album.

Before performing at the Rodeo, he had another big moment almost a month earlier.

He sang the national anthem in Super Bowl XXVII.

Remember when Garth Brooks married another big country star?

In 2005, Brooks wed fellow country artist Trisha Yearwood who has been called one of the most powerful voices in country music.

The two first met in 1987, according to Brooks, who says a songwriter introduced them.

They first sang together on Yearwood's "Like We Never Had a Broken Heart" in 1991.

After marrying 14 years later, they've stayed strong, even going on tour together.

Brooks also stopped a show for her while performing in Dallas in 2015 to celebrate her birthday.

That moment when Garth Brooks was Chris Gaines

Brooks' alter ego Chris Gaines first appeared in 1999.

Gaines was supposed to be an Australian rocker who was introduced to the world through the pop album "Garth Brooks in... The life of Chris Gaines."

As Chris Gaines, Brooks donned a dark wig with pieces that fell over his eyes. He even transformed into Gaines as the musical guest for Saturday Night Live in 1999.

The idea was that the persona would lead to a movie starring Brooks called "The Lamb" about a rock star who went into seclusion after an accident.

The venture was short-lived and the movie never happened.

But all was not lost. The single "Lost in You" off the Gaines album reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

Once upon a time, you could stream Brooks' music from a site called GhostTunes

Brooks co-founded the online platform GhostTunes in 2014 and was the place where fans could find not only his music but that of 800,000 artists from different genres.

According to Forbes, the site got its name by using the 'G' in Garth and 'host' for hosting, hence, GhostTunes.

A message on the GhostTunes website says it officially closed March 3, 2017. It folded into Amazon Music Unlimited where every Garth album can be found.

There was that time when Brooks had the largest concert in Central Park - sort of

On August 7, 1997, Brooks became the last artist in New York City's Central park to host a six-figure crowd. Or so the saying goes.

Brooks was the headliner for the free concert that day which is said to have attracted a reported 750,000 people (before that, Paul Simon allegedly had 600,000 and James Taylor, Elton John and Simon and Garfunkel reportedly had crowds in the 100,000s as well).

But it turns out - the number was inflated.

The New York Times talked to Doug Blonsky a former Parks Department Administrator who explained where the exaggerated numbers came from: "You would get in a room with the producer, with a police official, and a person from parks, and someone would say, 'What does it look like to you?' The producer would say, 'I need it to be higher than the last one.' That's the kind of science that went into it."

Brooks was the last performer to benefit from the fuzzy figures.

For more on how politics played a role in the math,