Garth Brooks' "The Thunder Rolls" Was Initially Recorded By Tanya Tucker

by apost team

This is an article on the famous Garth Brooks song, The Thunder Rolls. While it is iconic to the country singer, Tanya Tucker was actually the first artist to record the Brooks/Alger song. If she had not dropped the song from her album, Garth Brooks may never have recorded this powerful song in the first place.

Each time you hear Garth Brooks' The Thunder Rolls you feel that jolt of lightning. This song was released during the grunge era, but it still feels fresh. This is because it is a timeless song. This is a timeless performance.

Even fans that are not familiar with Garth Brooks' other material know this song. That is because the lyrics are so powerful and resonant. It is timeless and speaks to the heart. Do you know the real history of this song?

The Thunder Rolls is synonymous with Garth Brooks. But, it almost wasn't. There is a whole origin story about this iconic Garth Brooks song that very few people talk about. This is the song that almost wasn't. What is the rest of the story?

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Back in 1988, Garth Brooks and his co-writer, Pat Alger, started to tinker with the idea for an emotional song. As reported by Country Music Nation, according to The Garth Factor: The Career Behind Country’s Big Boom by Patsi Bale Cox, the idea behind The Thunder Rolls came from the singer. He wanted to write a song that focused on the subliminal "thunder rolling inside of a marriage and outside at the same time."

Brooks wanted to use a timeless metaphor to describe the rumblings that can happen inside of a marriage. This is something that anyone can understand and relate to. But, this was a very creative metaphor unique to Garth Brooks.

Pat Alger loved this idea. He picked up his guitar and started to tinker with a rolling rhythm. The D Minor chord matched the passionate lyrics and the "rolling" lyrics. They created an unbeatable combination of the powerful music that matched equally powerful lyrics.

But, instead of wanting this song for himself, Garth Brooks tried to pitch it to Tanya Tucker. He had only recorded one album at this time and she was a country legend. Brooks likely figured that royalties on a song like this was the best he could do. But, Brooks' producer, Allen Reynolds, was not a fan of this move. He felt the power of this song and thought that this was a song worth keeping.

It turns out Tanya liked the song. Her producer also liked the song but asked for a third verse. This verse was a bit more violent. She recorded it. Unfortunately, this song was cut from her album.

When the song was cut from Tanya's album, Garth Brooks decided that he needed to just record the song himself. Perhaps he even realized that powerful songs like The Thunder Rolls just don't happen every day.

When they recorded it, they skipped the third verse. To take the song up a notch, Brooks asked for thunder to be included in the song. The singer/songwriter decided exactly when to bring in that extra element into the song. The rest is history. As for the third verse, although it is not on the original recording, Garth Brooks performs it live.

In 1995, when Tanya Tucker released a box set, she included some extra goodies for her fans. That included her own version of The Thunder Rolls. Most people think that she is doing the cover of a great Garth Brooks song. Only part of this is true. This is a Garth Brooks song. But, she was the first to record it.

Would Garth Brooks ever have recorded his own version of The Thunder Rolls if Tanya Tucker had included it in her album? Maybe not. Or maybe on a box set, just like Tanya wound up doing! So, how many of your friends know the tale of The Thunder Rolls? You may be the only one with the real story. Why not find out who knows the OG?

What did you think of this information that Tanya Tucker actually recorded The Thunder Rolls first? Which version do you prefer? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to pass this on to any country music fans you know!