Make the Choice to Live the Dream

Garth Brooks decision to bring a fictional persona into the world by the name of Chris Gaines was officially announced in March of 1999. In July of the same year, reviews and features started showing up in various publications as the first single “Lost in You” went out to Adult Contemporary radio and VH1. The album, In the Life of Chris Gaines, was available in stores on Sept 28th, coupled with a handful of late-night talk show appearances from Garth and a string of confused reviews. In mid-November, Gaines appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live and promptly vanished from the world.

There are many additional details surrounding this timeline worth investigating but the high level takeaway here is, Chris Gaines was a blip on the radar of pop culture; making it less than a year in the collective unconscious. As such, there’s only so much to say about the undertaking. Including this episode, we’ve devoted over six hours of discussion on the topic and feel good about the place we landed with it.

There may be a Season 2 in the future but, for now, let this time capsule be a document for future generations and scholars to reference; there was a Chris Gaines, and he burned too bright, too fast.