IN: Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. His integration of rock and roll elements into the country genre has earned him immense popularity in the United States. Brooks has had great success on the country single and album charts, with multi-platinum recordings and record-breaking live performances, while also crossing over into the mainstream pop arena. According to the RIAA, he is the best-selling solo albums artist in the United States with 148 million domestic units sold, ahead of Elvis Presley, and is second only to the Beatles in total album sales overall.

Brooks' third album, Ropin' the Wind, was released in September 1991. It had advance orders of 4 million copies and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, a first for a country artist. The album's musical content was a melange of pop country and honky tonk; singles included "The River", "What She's Doing Now", and a cover of Billy Joel's "Shameless". It would become Brooks' second-best selling album, after No Fences. The success of Ropin' the Wind further propelled the sales of Brooks' first two albums, enabling Brooks to become the first country artist with three albums listed in the Billboard 200's top 20 in one week.  After spending time in Los Angeles during the 1992 riots, Brooks co-wrote a gospel-country-rock hybrid single, "We Shall Be Free", to express his desire for tolerance. The song became the first single off his fourth album The Chase. The album only reached No. 12 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, Brooks' first song in three years to fail to make the top 10. Nonetheless, "We Shall Be Free" peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Christian Songs charts through a marketing deal with Rick Hendrix Company, and earned Brooks a 1993 GLAAD Media Award. The next single released from The Chase was "Somewhere Other Than the Night", followed by "Learning to Live Again", which peaked at numbers one and two on the Hot Country Songs chart, respectively. The album's final single, "That Summer", would go on to be the most successful single from the album, reaching No. 1 in July 1993.  Brooks released his first Christmas album, "Beyond the Season" on August 25, 1992. The album included classics such as "White Christmas" and "Silent Night" as well as an original tune "The Old Man's Back in Town." "Beyond the Season" was the best selling Christmas album in 1992, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.

What year was Ropin the Wind released?

OUT: Ropin' the Wind, was released in September 1991.


IN: Hiatt was born in 1952 to Ruth and Robert Hiatt, the sixth of seven children in a Roman Catholic family from Indianapolis. When he was nine years old, Hiatt's 21-year-old brother Michael committed suicide. Only two years later, his father died after a long illness. To escape from the stress of his early life, Hiatt watched IndyCar racing and listened to Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and the blues.

Hiatt was picked up by the MCA label in 1979. He released two albums for the label - Slug Line (1979) and Two Bit Monsters (1980) - neither of which met with commercial success. He received a few good reviews for these albums by critics in the Netherlands. He performed at Paradiso in Amsterdam for the first time in 1979 (opening for Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes) and came back often and built a solid fan base. In 1982, "Across the Borderline", written by Hiatt with Ry Cooder and Jim Dickinson, appeared on the soundtrack to the motion picture "The Border", sung by country star Freddy Fender. The song would later be covered on albums by Willie Nelson, Paul Young, Ruben Blades and Willy DeVille, among others, as well as by Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan in concert. Hiatt was signed to Geffen (which would later absorb MCA) in 1982, where he recorded three diverse albums from 1982 to 1985. The first, All of a Sudden, was produced by Tony Visconti, and featured use of keyboards and synthesizers; his future albums combined country and soul influences. Riding With the King appeared in 1983, produced by Scott Mathews, Ron Nagle and Nick Lowe. Hiatt began making "critics choice" lists and building a large European following. The title track of Riding With the King (taken from an odd dream Scott Mathews had) was re-recorded two decades later by Eric Clapton and B.B. King and went double platinum.  During this period, Rosanne Cash covered several Hiatt compositions, taking "It Hasn't Happened Yet" to the Top 20 on the country charts. In 1983, Cash would duet with Hiatt on his "The Way We Make a Broken Heart" produced by Mathews and Nagle. When Geffen failed to release the single, Cash re-recorded it in 1987 and it went to No. 1 on the US country charts. It was during this time that Asleep At The Wheel also covered the song. Ricky Nelson also covered "It Hasn't Happened Yet" on his 1981 album Playing to Win.  Hiatt recorded a duet with Elvis Costello, a cover version of the Spinners' song, "Living A Little, Laughing A Little", which appeared on Warming Up to the Ice Age. Shortly after its release, Bob Dylan covered Hiatt's song "The Usual", which had appeared on the soundtrack to the film, Hearts of Fire. However, Geffen dropped Hiatt from the label after Ice Age failed to chart.

Did he release any albums after this?

OUT: Hiatt was signed to Geffen (which would later absorb MCA) in 1982, where he recorded three diverse albums from 1982 to 1985.


IN: Born in Prague, Czech Republic (then part of the Austro Hungarian empire) Friml showed aptitude for music at an early age. He entered the Prague Conservatory in 1895, where he studied the piano and composition with Antonin Dvorak. Friml was expelled from the conservatory in 1901 for performing without permission.

One of the most popular theatrical forms in the early decades of the 20th century in America was the operetta, and its most famous composer was Irish-born Victor Herbert. It was announced in 1912 that operetta diva Emma Trentini would be starring in a new operetta on Broadway by Herbert with lyricist Otto Harbach entitled The Firefly. Shortly before the writing of the operetta, Trentini appeared in a special performance of Herbert's Naughty Marietta conducted by Herbert himself. When Trentini refused to sing "Italian Street Song" for the encore, an enraged Herbert stormed out of the orchestra pit refusing any further work with Trentini.  Arthur Hammerstein, the operetta's sponsor, frantically began to search for another composer. Not finding any other theatre composer who could compose as well as Herbert, Hammerstein settled on the almost unknown Friml because of his classical training. After a month of work, Friml produced the score for what would be his first theatrical success. After tryouts in Syracuse, New York, The Firefly opened at the Lyric Theatre on December 2, 1912 to a warm reception by both the audience and the critics. The production moved to the Casino Theatre after Christmas, where it ran until March 15, 1913, for a total of 120 performances. After The Firefly, Friml produced three more operettas that each had longer runs than The Firefly, although they are not as enduringly successful. These were High Jinks (1913), Katinka (1915) and You're in Love (1917). He also contributed songs to a musical in 1915 entitled The Peasant Girl.  Trentini was named as a co-respondent in Friml's divorce from his first wife in 1915, and evidence was introduced that they were having an affair. Another show, Sometime, written with Rida Johnson Young and starring Ed Wynn and Mae West, ran well on Broadway in 1918-1919.

what were some of the early operetta's?

OUT:
He also contributed songs to a musical in 1915 entitled The Peasant Girl.