TIMELESS: “Looking Back . . .” Garth Brings Home Six Awards, Including Top Country Video for “The Dance,” at the 1991 Academy of Country Music Awards

The 1991 Academy of Country Music Awards show was a watershed event in Garth Brooks’ career.  Before the night was over, Garth walked away with a record-setting six trophies for Entertainer of the Year, Top Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Top Country Video, riding a wave of success from No Fences that laid the foundation for Ropin’ the Wind.

This is the first of a 6-part series that looks back on that landmark night 35 years ago and on the impact of each award.  

Hosted by Clint Black, Kathy Mattea, and George Strait, the show was held at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. Before he received his first award, Garth performed a medley of four songs that had already topped the charts – “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House,” “Unanswered Prayers,” “Friends in Low Places,“ and “The Dance.”

Garth’s first award was Top Country Video for “The Dance.”  Directed by John Lloyd Miller, the heartfelt video enhances the song’s themes of love, loss, and embracing life’s beauty and uncertainty.  Like all of Garth’s music videos, it adds another dimension to the song.  Garth talks candidly about how the song reflects his outlook on life. The video combines his performance with clips of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Keith Whitley, and others who boldly pursued their dreams before their lives were cut short. As Garth says at the beginning, “If they could come back, I think they’d say to us what the lyrics of ‘The Dance’ say.”

Accepting the award, Garth thanked the people who wrote letters saying how much “The Dance” meant to them. “Thanks for hearing what we’re trying to say. God bless you.”