Unanswered Prayers - Garth Brooks (1990) 11/23/23

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy the day!

To be honest, there aren't a lot of Great Thanksgiving Songs from the '70s or '80s, and the few that can be found: "Thank You" by Sly and the Family Stone, "Thank You for Being a Friend" by Andrew Gold, and "Be Thankful for What You've Got" by William DeVaughn. I've already highlighted over the years.

At first, I really struggled to come up with something. I found a few obscure album cuts,

and a lot of songs from 2000-2022, but nothing that would organically fit into this blog.

I even scoured the Contemporary Christian charts, but nothing really stood out--even when considering names like Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith--just three of many extremely talented and prolific artists.

Finally, my wife, Nancy, suggested one of her all time favorite songs: "Unanswered Prayers" by Garth Brooks. In its own way, It's a GREAT song for Thanksgiving...but there's just one thing: It was released in 1990.

Close enough! I'm going to wave my '70s/80s rule and highlight it anyway.

The song is autobiographical. Garth and his then-wife Sandy were attending a football game at his high school alma mater in Oklahoma, when they ran into his high school crush. Garth came to a realization that night...and when the song was completed and released as a single from the album "No Fences," (as the follow-up to his uber-classic "Friends in Low Places"), it scored a touchdown on the Country Charts, reaching #1 in both the US and Canada!

The song was so popular, it was even made into a Lifetime TV movie in 2010.

Personally, I love the song as much as my wife does, so breaking my own rule to highlight it was a pleasure!

Personal note: in 1991, I met and briefly visited with Garth & Sandy at the Hodag Country Music Festival in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. They were both friendly and gracious, and helped me pull a prank on my daughter Holly--a story for another day!

"Unanswered Prayers" by Garth Brooks: a Great Country Song, and a Great Song for Thanksgiving---from 1990. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Xawlq1-oE

Tomorrow: Don't get Chrissie Wrong.