Editing Garth Brooks (section)

==Early life and education==
Troyal Garth Brooks was born on February 7, 1962, in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]].<ref name=allmusic1>{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/garth-brooks-mn0000798248 | title=Garth Brooks | website=Allmusic | access-date=December 11, 2015}}</ref><ref name=oklahistorical /> He was the youngest child of Troyal Raymond Brooks Jr. (1931–2010), a [[Technical drawing|draftsman]] for an oil company, and Colleen McElroy Carroll (1929–1999), a 1950s-era country singer of [[Irish Americans|Irish]]<ref name="irish">{{Cite news|url=https://www.mayonews.ie/?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=19331:paddys-prayers-are-answered-as-he-meets-garth-brooks&amp;catid=23:news&amp;Itemid=46|title=Paddy's prayers are answered as he meets Garth Brooks|newspaper=[[The Mayo News]]|access-date=August 4, 2021}}</ref> ancestry who recorded on the [[Capitol Records]] label and appeared on ''[[Ozark Jubilee]]''.<ref name="mcgraw">{{citation | last = McGraw | first = Marjie | title = Hitting 'Em in the Heart | newspaper = The Saturday Evening Post | date = December 2, 1992 | url = http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=1062 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015231111/http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=1062 | url-status=dead | archive-date = October 15, 2015 | access-date = April 3, 2007 }}. Archived from [http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=1062 the original] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621045704/http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=1062 |date=June 21, 2012 }} on March 21, 2017.</ref><ref name="pond">{{citation | last = Pond | first = Steve | title = Garth Brooks | newspaper = Playboy | date = June 1, 1994 | url = http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=01136 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160719155940/http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=01136 | url-status=dead | archive-date = July 19, 2016 | access-date = April 23, 2007 }}. Archived from [http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=01136 the original] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621045737/http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=01136 |date=June 21, 2012 }} on March 21, 2017.</ref><ref name="hilburn">{{citation | last = Hilburn | first = Robert | title = The Amazing Garth-O-Matic! | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | date = June 27, 1992 | url = http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=222 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160101015733/http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=222 | url-status=dead | archive-date = January 1, 2016 | access-date = April 3, 2007 }} Archived from [http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=222 the original] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621045648/http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=222 |date=June 21, 2012 }} on March 21, 2017.</ref> This was the second marriage for each of his parents, giving Brooks four older half-siblings (Jim, Jerry, Mike, and Betsy). The couple had two children together, Kelly and Garth.<ref name=cox4>Cox (2009), p. 4.</ref> At their home in [[Yukon, Oklahoma]], the family hosted weekly talent nights. All of the children were required to participate, either by singing or doing skits.<ref name=cox8>Cox (2009), p. 8.</ref> Brooks learned to play both the guitar and banjo.<ref name=cox9>Cox (2009), p. 9.</ref>

As a child, Brooks often sang in casual family settings, but his primary focus was athletics. In high school, he played football and baseball and ran track and field. He received a track scholarship to [[Oklahoma State University]] in [[Stillwater, Oklahoma|Stillwater]], where he competed in the [[Javelin throw|javelin]].<ref name="hilburn"/><ref name="seattletimes">{{citation | title = Trajectory of a Superstar | newspaper = Seattle Times | date = July 8, 1998 | url = http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=187 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141211034142/http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=187 | url-status=dead | archive-date = December 11, 2014 | access-date = April 3, 2007 }}. Archived from [http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=187 the original] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621045610/http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=187 |date=June 21, 2012 }} on March 21, 2017.</ref> At nights, he worked as a bouncer at a local bar and formed his own band, Santa Fe, learning to play whatever the college audience wanted.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Garth Brooks Biography {{!}} Ken Burns|url=https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music/garth-brooks-biography|access-date=December 21, 2020|website=Country Music|language=en}}</ref> Brooks graduated in 1984 with a degree in advertising.<ref name="seattletimes"/> His roommate, [[Ty England]], later played guitar in his road band until going solo in 1995.<ref>{{cite web|last=Thomas |first=Stephen |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ty-england-mn0000804642 |title=Ty England – Music Biography, Credits and Discography |website=AllMusic |date=December 5, 1963 |access-date=February 17, 2013}}</ref>