Ropin' the Wind

Ropin' the Wind is the third studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on September 2, 1991 and was his first studio album to debut at No. 1 the Billboard 200 chart and the Top Country Albums chart. There it enjoyed four runs at No. 1 between September 28, 1991 - April 3, 1992, spending a combined 18 weeks at the top, eventually being certified 14x Platinum by the RIAA in 1998. In the UK it reached the Top 50 pop albums list and went to No. 1 for several months on the country charts. It has gone to sell 17 million copies world wide.

Ropin' the Wind
Studio album by Garth Brooks
Released	September 2, 1991
Recorded	Jack's Tracks Recording Studios, 1990-1991
Genre	Country
Length	39:21
Label	Liberty
Producer	Allen Reynolds
Garth Brooks chronology
No Fences (1990) Ropin' the Wind Beyond the Season (1992)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[2]
Los Angeles Times	[3]
Robert Christgau	A−[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

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

According to music review website AllMusic, Ropin' the Wind is 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 in this kind of tour that we were on from No Fences. We were gone, pretty much 250 days out of the year. And in that 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. And 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 then when I also look at the cuts, Against The Grain, Cold Shoulder, these songs I am equally proud of.'"^[7]

Track listing

1. "Against the Grain" (Bruce Bouton, Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson) – 2:22
2. "Rodeo" (Larry Bastian) – 3:53
3. "What She's Doing Now" (Pat Alger, Garth Brooks) – 3:26
4. "Burning Bridges" (Stephanie C. Brown, Brooks) – 3:35
5. "Which One of Them" (Brooks) - 2:39^A
6. "Papa Loved Mama" (Kim Williams, Brooks) – 2:51
7. "Shameless" (Billy Joel) – 4:19
8. "Cold Shoulder" (Kent Blazy, Williams, Brooks) – 3:55
9. "We Bury the Hatchet" (Royal Wade Kimes, Brooks) – 3:05
10. "In Lonesome Dove" (Cynthia Limbaugh, Brooks) – 4:48
11. "The River" (Victoria Shaw, Brooks) – 4:25

^AThis track was not on the original release of the album. It first appeared when the album was re-released as part of Brooks' first Limited Series box set collection, and remained part of subsequent releases of the album until 2014, when it was released digitally for the first time.

Chart performance

Ropin' the Wind debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming his first, and No. 1 on the Top Country Albums number-one album selling 400,000 copies, becoming his second No. 1 Country album. In September 1998, Ropin' the Wind was certified 14 x platinum by the RIAA.

Charts Charts (1991) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[8] 21 Canadian RPM Top Albums 22 Canadian RPM Country Albums 1 Dutch Albums Chart[8] 69 European Albums Chart[9] 91 Irish Albums Chart[10] 10 New Zealand Albums Chart[8] 33 Norwegian Albums Chart[8] 14 Spanish Albums Chart[11] 31 UK Albums Chart[12] 41 U.S. Billboard 200[13] 1 U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums[13] 1

Sales and certifications Region Provider Certification Sales/Shipments Australia ARIA Platinum[14] 70,000+ Canada CRIA 5 x Platinum [15] 500,000+ Ireland IRMA 3 x Platinum 45,000 Japan Oricon N/A[16] 23,000 Spain PROMUSICAE N/A[16] 40,000+ United States RIAA 14 x Platinum[17] 14,800,000 World-Wide 15,478,000+

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard 200[18]	12

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

Chart successions

Preceded by Metallica by Metallica Use Your Illusion II by Guns N' Roses Nevermind by Nirvana Nevermind by Nirvana	Billboard 200 number-one album September 28 - October 4, 1991 October 19 - December 6, 1991 January 18–31, 1992 February 8 - April 3, 1992	Succeeded by Use Your Illusion II by Guns N' Roses Achtung Baby by U2 Nevermind by Nirvana Wayne's World (soundtrack) by Various artists
Preceded by No Fences by Garth Brooks Wynonna by Wynonna	Top Country Albums number-one album September 28, 1991 - April 17, 1992 May 9 - June 5, 1992	Succeeded by Wynonna by Wynonna Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus
Preceded by none	RPM Country Albums number-one album April 18–24, 1992	Succeeded by For My Broken Heart by Reba McEntire
Preceded by No Fences by Garth Brooks	Top Country Albums number-one album of the year 1992	Succeeded by Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus

Personnel

• Garth Brooks - lead and backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Susan Ashton - backing vocals
• Bruce Bouton - lap and pedal steel guitars, dobro
• Sam Bush - mandolin
• Mark Casstevens - acoustic guitar
• Mike Chapman - electric bass
• Larry Cordle - backing vocals
• Jerry Douglas - dobro
• Carl Jackson - backing vocals
• Chris Leuzinger - electric guitar
• Rob Hajacos - fiddle
• Edgar Meyer - acoustic bass
• Milton Sledge - drums, percussion
• Bobby Wood - keyboards
• Trisha Yearwood - backing vocals

References

1. Allmusic review
2. "Ropin' the Wind". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-28. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
3. HILBURN, ROBERT; classic), Albums are rated on a scale of one asterisk (poor) to five (a (8 September 1991). "The Same Old Stories From Garth Brooks" – via LA Times.
4. "Robert Christgau: CG: garth brooks". www.robertchristgau.com.
5. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (1962-02-07). "Garth Brooks". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
7. "Garth'S Cd'S". Angelfire.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-11. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
8. "Garth Brooks - Ropin' The Wind - hitparade.ch". www.swisscharts.com.
9. https://books.google.com/books?id=jg8EAAAAMBAJ&lr=&rview=1%7Ctitle=Hits of the World - Eurochart|work=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=23 May 1992|page=43
10. "Hits of the World - Ireland". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 23 April 1994. p. 47. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
11. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Solo exitos: ano a ano, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 978-84-8048-639-2.
12. "Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
13. "Garth Brooks : Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
14. "Top 50 Albums Chart - Australian Record Industry Association". Ariacharts.com.au. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
15. "Canadian Recording Industry Association: Certification Results- February 15, 2010". CRIA. Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
16. Billboard. 29 January 1994. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
17. "Gold & Platinum - February 12, 2010". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
18. 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.