5. He Was Selling Cowboy Boots When He Wrote His First Hit

Mid-'90s hitmaker Ken Mellons tells the story of meeting Garth Brooks when both were struggling boot salesmen in Nashville. "He gave me his business card, and I still have it today. I thought that was pretty neat, and a few months later I'm driving down the road and hear him on the radio. Now he's one of the biggest things that ever happened to country music. I guess I can say I met him, you know, back when." Between customers, Brooks wrote the lyrics to 'Not Counting You,' a Top 5 hit from 1990.

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