Ropin' the Wind

Ropin' the Wind
Studio album by Garth Brooks
Released	September 2, 1991
Recorded	Jack's Tracks Recording Studios, 1990-1991
Genre	Country
Length	39:21
Label	Liberty
Producer	Allen Reynolds
Garth Brooks chronology
No Fences (1990) Ropin' the Wind (1991) Beyond the Season (1992)
Singles from Ropin' the Wind
"Rodeo" Released: August 12, 1991 "Shameless" Released: October 21, 1991 "What She's Doing Now" Released: December 1991 "Papa Loved Mama" Released: February 3, 1992 "The River" Released: April 27, 1992

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[2]
Los Angeles Times	[3]
Robert Christgau	A−[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

Ropin' the Wind is the third studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on September 2, 1991 and was his first studio album to debut at No. 1 the Billboard 200 chart and the Top Country Albums chart. It was the first album by a country singer to top both of these charts since Kenny Rogers did just over a decade earlier. It enjoyed four runs at No. 1 between September 28, 1991 - April 3, 1992, spending a combined 18 weeks at the top, eventually being certified 14x Platinum by the RIAA in 1998. In the UK it reached the Top 50 pop albums list and went to No. 1 for several months on the country charts. It has gone to sell 17 million copies worldwide.

The track "Shameless" is a cover of a Billy Joel song, previously recorded on his 1989 album Storm Front.

According to music review website Allmusic, Ropin' the Wind is the first country album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.^[6]

Background

Brooks commented on the album saying : "Ropin' the Wind was what we called the son of Fences. Ropin' the Wind was made in this kind of tour that we were on from No Fences. We were gone, pretty much 250 days out of the year. And in that remaining 100 days, I elected to cut Ropin' The Wind, and try to write for it. This album became a lot bigger than I ever thought it could possibly be. And when I listen to the singles off of it like Rodeo, What She's Doing Now, The River, Papa Loved Mama, and Shameless, I look at it and stand very proud. And then when I also look at the cuts, Against The Grain, Cold Shoulder, these songs I am equally proud of.'"^[7]

Track listing

1. "Against the Grain" (Bruce Bouton, Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson) – 2:22
2. "Rodeo" (Larry Bastian) – 3:53
3. "What She's Doing Now" (Pat Alger, Garth Brooks) – 3:26
4. "Burning Bridges" (Stephanie C. Brown, Brooks) – 3:35
5. "Which One of Them" (Brooks) - 2:39^A
6. "Papa Loved Mama" (Kim Williams, Brooks) – 2:51
7. "Shameless" (Billy Joel) – 4:19
8. "Cold Shoulder" (Kent Blazy, Williams, Brooks) – 3:55
9. "We Bury the Hatchet" (Royal Wade Kimes, Brooks) – 3:05
10. "In Lonesome Dove" (Cynthia Limbaugh, Brooks) – 4:48
11. "The River" (Victoria Shaw, Brooks) – 4:25

^AThis track was not on the original release of the album. It first appeared when the album was re-released as part of Brooks' first Limited Series box set collection, and remained part of subsequent releases of the album until 2014, when it was released digitally for the first time.

Chart performance

Ropin' the Wind debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming his first, and No. 1 on the Top Country Albums number-one album selling 400,000 copies, becoming his second No. 1 Country album. In September 1998, Ropin' the Wind was certified 14 x platinum by the RIAA.

Charts Charts (1991) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[8] 21 Canadian RPM Top Albums 22 Canadian RPM Country Albums 1 Dutch Albums Chart[8] 69 European Albums Chart[9] 91 Irish Albums Chart[10] 10 New Zealand Albums Chart[8] 33 Norwegian Albums Chart[8] 14 Spanish Albums Chart[11] 31 UK Albums Chart[12] 41 U.S. Billboard 200[13] 1 U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums[13] 1

Sales and certifications Region Provider Certification Sales/Shipments Australia ARIA Platinum[14] 70,000+ Canada CRIA 5 x Platinum [15] 500,000+ Ireland IRMA 3 x Platinum 45,000 Japan Oricon N/A[16] 23,000 Spain PROMUSICAE N/A[16] 40,000+ United States RIAA 14 x Platinum[17] 14,800,000 World-Wide 15,478,000+

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard 200[18]	12

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Country	CAN Country	CAN AC	UK
1991	"Rodeo"	3	1	—	—
	"Shameless"	1	1	26	71
	"What She's Doing Now"	1	1	—	—
1992	"Papa Loved Mama"	3	2	—	—
	"The River"	1	1	—	—

Other charted songs

Year	Single	Peak positions
		US Country
1992	"Against the Grain"	66

Chart successions

Personnel

• Garth Brooks - lead and backing vocals
• Ty England - acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Dave Gant - keyboards, fiddle, backing vocals
• James Garver - electric guitar, percussion, backing vocals
• Steve McClure - pedal steel and electric guitars
• Betsy Smittle - bass guitar, backing vocals
• Mike Palmer - drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Susan Ashton - backing vocals
• Bruce Bouton - lap and pedal steel guitars, dobro
• Sam Bush - mandolin
• Mark Casstevens - acoustic guitar
• Mike Chapman - bass guitar
• Charles Cochran - string arrangements
• Larry Cordle - backing vocals
• Jerry Douglas - dobro
• Carl Jackson - backing vocals
• Chris Leuzinger - electric guitar
• Rob Hajacos - fiddle
• Edgar Meyer - acoustic bass
• Milton Sledge - drums, percussion
• Bobby Wood - keyboards
• Trisha Yearwood - backing vocals
• Nashville String Machine - strings

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Entertainment Weekly review
3. Los Angeles Times review
4. Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
5. Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 105. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (1962-02-07). "Garth Brooks". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
7. "Garth'S Cd'S". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
8. http://www.swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Garth+Brooks&titel=Ropin%27+The+Wind&cat=a
9. https://books.google.com/books?id=jg8EAAAAMBAJ&lr=&rview=1|title=Hits of the World - Eurochart|work=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=23 May 1992|page=43
10. "Hits of the World - Ireland". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 23 April 1994. p. 47. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
11. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
12. http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/garth%20brooks/
13. "Garth Brooks : Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
14. "Top 50 Albums Chart - Australian Record Industry Association". Ariacharts.com.au. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
15. "Canadian Recording Industry Association: Certification Results- February 15, 2010". CRIA. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
16. https://books.google.com/books?id=HQgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA100&dq=garth+brooks+spain&hl=en&sa=X&ei=em6oU4G5FMau7AbvtoGgCQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=garth%20brooks%20spain&f=false. Retrieved 2009-12-30. Missing or empty |title= (help)
17. "Gold & Platinum - February 12, 2010". RIAA. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
18. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.