Ropin' the Wind

Ropin' the Wind
Studio album by Garth Brooks
Released	September 2, 1991
Recorded	1990–1991
Studio	Jack's Tracks (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre	Country
Length	39:21
Label	Capitol Nashville
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 6, 1991 "Papa Loved Mama" Released: February 3, 1992 "The River" Released: April 27, 1992

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	A− [2]
Entertainment Weekly	C+ [3]
Los Angeles Times	[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 became his first studio album to debut at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 chart and the Top Country Albums chart. This marked the first time a country singer topped both charts since Kenny Rogers accomplished this just over a decade earlier. The album had four runs at No. 1 between September 28, 1991, and April 3, 1992, spending a total of 18 weeks at the top and ultimately being certified 14× Platinum by the RIAA in 1998. In the UK, it reached the Top 50 pop albums list and maintained the No. 1 position for several months on the country charts. It is the last studio album released under Capitol Records Nashville until the 1995 album Fresh Horses .

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

According to the music website AllMusic, Ropin' the Wind was 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 during this kind of tour that we were on from No Fences. We were gone for pretty much 250 days out of the year. In the 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. 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 when I also look at the cuts, 'Against the Grain' and 'Cold Shoulder,' these songs I am equally proud of."

^[7]

Reception

Ropin' the Wind debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming his first album to achieve this milestone, and reached No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, selling 400,000 copies. This made it his second No. 1 country album. In September 1998, Ropin' the Wind was certified 14× Platinum by the RIAA.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Against the Grain"	Bruce Bouton, Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson	2:23
2.	"Rodeo"	Larry Bastian	3:54
3.	"What She's Doing Now"	Pat Alger, Garth Brooks	3:26
4.	"Burning Bridges"	Brooks, Stephanie C. Brown	3:36
5.	"Which One of Them [A] "	Brooks	2:40
6.	"Papa Loved Mama"	Brooks, Kim Williams	2:50
7.	"Shameless"	Billy Joel	4:20
8.	"Cold Shoulder"	Kent Blazy, Brooks, Williams	3:54
9.	"We Bury the Hatchet"	Brooks, Royal Wade Kimes	3:05
10.	"In Lonesome Dove"	Brooks, Cynthia Limbaugh	4:49
11.	"The River"	Victoria Shaw, Brooks	4:25
Total length:			39:22

European Bonus Tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Alabama Clay"	Larry Cordle, Ronny Scaife	3:39
13.	"Everytime That It Rains"	Brooks, Ty England, Charlie Stefl	4:12
14.	"Nobody Gets Off In This Town"	Larry Bastian, Dewayne Blackwell	2:19
15.	"Cowboy Bill"	Bastian, Ed Berghoff	4:33
Total length:			55:47

^[8]

Personnel

• Garth Brooks – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar
• 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
• Kenny Malone – percussion
• Edgar Meyer – acoustic bass
• Milton Sledge – drums, percussion
• Bobby Wood – keyboards
• Trisha Yearwood – backing vocals
• Nashville String Machine – string orchestra

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1991) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [9] 21 Canadian Albums ( RPM ) 22 Canadian Country Albums ( RPM ) 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [10] 69 European Albums ( Billboard ) [11] 91 Irish Albums ( Billboard ) [12] 10 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [13] 33 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [14] 14 Spanish Albums (Fundación Autor-SGAE) [15] 31 UK Albums (OCC) [16] 41 US Billboard 200 [17] 1 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [18] 1 Zimbabwean Albums Chart [19] 1 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

Year-end charts Chart (1991) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [20] 98 US Billboard 200 [21] 79 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [22] 47 Chart (1992) Position US Billboard 200 [23] 1 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [24] 1 Chart (1993) Position US Billboard 200 [25] 68 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [26] 13 Chart (1994) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [27] 44 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position US Billboard 200 [28] 12

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [29]	Platinum	70,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [30]	5× Platinum	500,000^
Japan	—	23,000 [31]
Spain	—	40,000 [31]
United States (RIAA) [32]	14× Platinum	14,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States

References

1. AllMusic review
2. Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
3. Entertainment Weekly review
4. Los Angeles Times review
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. "Garth Brooks". AllMusic. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
7. "Garth'S Cd'S". Angelfire.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
8. "Garth Brooks - Ropin' The Wind". Discogs. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
9. "Australiancharts.com – Garth Brooks – Ropin' the Wind". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Garth Brooks – Ropin' the Wind" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
11. "Hits of the World – Eurochart". Billboard . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 23, 1992. p. 43.
12. "Hits of the World – Ireland". Billboard . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 23, 1994. p. 47. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
13. "Charts.nz – Garth Brooks – Ropin' the Wind". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
14. "Norwegiancharts.com – Garth Brooks – Ropin' the Wind". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
15. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
16. "Garth Brooks | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
17. "Garth Brooks Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
18. "Garth Brooks Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
19. • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
20. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1702". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
21. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
22. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
23. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
24. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
25. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
26. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
27. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
28. 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.
29. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved June 9, 2020.
30. "Canadian album certifications – Garth Brooks – Ropin' the Wind". Music Canada . Retrieved June 9, 2020.
31. Duffy, Thom (January 29, 1994). "EMI Makes Brooks Ana International Priority". Billboard. p. 100. Retrieved June 9, 2020– via Google Books.
32. "American album certifications – Garth Brooks – Ropin' the Wind". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved December 5, 2021.

1. Limited Edition version only