Garth Brooks was honored with a historic new award from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) this week.
The country music icon was named the No. 1-selling album artist in history and received the first-ever Artist of a Lifetime Award.
In a statement posted to his website, Brooks shared his appreciation for the honor.
“They say that gratefulness is the seed of happiness, and I am grateful every single day to have been given this shot,” he said. “A lot of people get the shot. But Bob Doyle told me early on that getting the shot wasn’t going to be the hard part. The hard part was going to be hanging on to it. I can’t thank God and the people enough for my life and the career I have been so lucky to have.”
Brooks performed at the RIAA event with a medley of songs that have inspired him over the years coupled with some of his own hits. The songs included “Carolina in My Mind” by James Taylor, “Turn the Page” by Bob Seger, and “Amarillo By Morning” by George Strait. Brooks mixed in a couple of his biggest hits—”The Thunder Rolls” and “Friends in Low Places.”
The performance and honor add to Brooks’ decades-long career as one of the most influential figures in country music. Over the years, he has consistently broken records while helping bring the genre to a wider global audience. The RIAA noted that his impact on the music industry spans generations, with his catalog continuing to reach new listeners more than 30 years after his debut.