Chris Gaines

Chris Gaines is actually Garth Brooks, acting in a role as a pop musician. In a move that puzzled his country music fans and non-fans alike, Garth Brooks donned a new persona with a fictional history. None of the following is true:

1967: Gaines born in Brisbane, Australia
1972: Gaines family moves to Los Angeles
1985: Gaines defies his parents' Olympic swimming ambitions by joining a rock band
1986: Gaines releases first album
1989: Gaines' solo album "Straight Jacket" spends 224 weeks on Billboard Top 20 and wins Grammy for Album of the Year.
... omitted dramatic car accident personal tragedy stuff ...
1999: Gaines releases greatest hits album before solo album ("The definitive album of the new millennium")

While the entire history is made up, the 1999 album was actually released by Garth. Critics panned it as lame pop.

Probably one of the worst played media ploys... In an effort to expand his career, Garth Brooks went after a role in the upcoming film (currently due out in early 2001) The Lamb, dealing with a rock star named Chris Gaines. Garth got a little, shall we say, carried away... He invented a past, wrote songs, and recorded an album for his character, most of which he did on his own without a lot of bearing on the movie. In addition, he wasn't very open about the purpose and the fact that this was a movie character was never really made clear, leaving most people really confused. So essentially, the album and the alter ego were all Garth's idea to get into the role. The album itself is pretty mainstream pop, not good and not bad, and is probably the least creative part of the whole act. Hopefully after the movie is out, Garth will get back to normal...