What Did Garth Brooks Do to Upset Waylon 26 Years Ago?

Garth Brooks is an excellent entertainer, but what he did in 1991 made me very upset. Any wannabe musician would be upset by this!

Do you remember back in 1991, when at the top of his career, Garth Brooks smashed his guitar on stage during a show in Dallas? I seem to recall the guitar in question being a Takamine acoustic, retailing in those days for about $1,300.00.

Now I fully realize some entertainers use a "stunt guitar" for this practice, but in the case of Garth, he was using a perfectly good instrument. This heinous act upset not only me, but many up-and-coming wannabe musicians, and after 26 years, we're still holding a grudge.

Having a pro quality axe, that's musician talk for "instrument," is something all struggling wannabes dream about, and work tirelessly to achieve. Personally, I had just spent two years saving money from my lame day gig, as well as the tiny amount of gig pay coming in, to buy my first true pro instrument. Compare the photos below, and you'll see why I was so upset.

 Garth and His 'Axe'

Garth Brooks in his Stetson hat, fancy wardrobe, tens of thousands of fans in the audience, and a guitar he will casually destroy during his performance.

Me and My Baby

Me in a light blue tuxedo with black velvet collar which I purchased from a rental company after their delivery truck was in a wreck and the tuxedos were splattered all over the highway. For the record, the entire band got a really great deal by buying the entire collection. Pictured with me is my 1965 Fender Jazz I spent years saving to buy.

Do you see why I'm mad? How dare he destroy such a fine instrument. To add insult to injury, Garth's shattered guitar eventually wound up in the Smithsonian as part of the "Treasures of American History" display.

Don't get me wrong, he is an excellent entertainer and puts on an incredible show for his fans. Regardless, I will never forgive him for this.

Just to solidify my case, please observe these heart-wrenching videos of people destroying guitars. They're painful to watch, but please try to withstand the ugliness in order to better understand my plight.