BIOGRAPHIES
BETSY SMITTLE (1953 - 2013)
Betsy Smittle was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 3, 1953, the daughter and third child of James Perry Smittle and Colleen Carroll Brooks. She spent her early childhood in Tulsa until 1966 when her family moved to Yukon, Oklahoma. About the same time she began learning the guitar from her father.
After graduation, Betsy returned to Tulsa where she pursued a career as a musician. She performed at various times with Anne Bell, Gus Hardin, Leon Russell, and Ronnie Dunn, to name only a few of the musicians with whom she shared the stage.
According to Betsy though, the highlight of her career was from 1990 to 1995 when she played bass guitar with her half-brother Garth Brooks, touring the country and performing before huge crowds. Garth often referred to her as “Hollywood” due to her flamboyant and almost ostentatious style. Betsy played the bass guitar and contributed vocals on Brooks 1991 debut Ropin' the Wind and his subsequent LPs including The Chase, In Pieces, Fresh Horses and Double Live. She even made television appearances with Garth for two of his well-known specials, This is Garth Brooks and This is Garth Brooks, Too.
Betsy then went on to sign on to her own solo recording contract and release a single solo album titled Rough Around the Edges, which has not until now been available for purchase in the United States. Betsy's music has similarities with Garth's, being rooted in country with rock influences, but there are differences too. Betsy's music has a bluesy edge that ideally suits her slightly bluesy voice. Her album blends country, blues and soft rock in a most appealing way, though ultimately country is the major influence. The closing track is a duet with her mother, This House, a semi-autobiographical song.
Betsy was known to perform at gay pride events throughout the south, and was a collaborator on Brooks 1993 civil rights anthem We Shall Be Free. The song included the line, “When we’re free to love anyone we choose,” was boycotted by some country radio nationwide. The music video for Free featured various celebrities exclaiming, “don’t be afraid to be yourself,” and “everyone has the right to be happy.” It was co-directed by Brooks, and featured lesbian icons Martina Navratilova and Lily Tomlin, among the many celebrity cameos. It won Video of the Year honors at the 1993 Academy of Country Music Awards.
Betsy loved and appreciated natural beauty in all its forms. She was a great lover of animals, especially dogs, and an avid gardener.
Betsy passed from this life early on Saturday, November 2, 2013 at the age of 60. After bravely fighting a two-year battle with ovarian cancer, Betsy died peacefully in her home surrounded by her family and a number of her devoted friends.
COLLEEN CARROLL BROOKS (1929 - 1999)
Colleen Carroll (McElroy) Brooks was born July 10, 1929 in Missouri, as the daughter of William Andrew McElroy and Nell (Hedges) Cooper.
Colleen is probably best known for being Garth Brooks' mom, but she had her own country music career in the 1950’s. The former Colleen Carroll appeared on the influential and pioneering radio and television show Ozark Jubilee and recorded several sides for different labels, including her son's future employer, Capitol Records.
The limited examples of Carroll's work include, "No Tellin'" and "Blue Bonnet Waltz," the two songs off a 1955 release by Kansas City, Mo. based Cardinal Records. "No Tellin'," a biting takedown of a would-be suitor, falls in line with the stand-up bass-driven "hillbilly" stompers of the time. "Blue Bonnet Waltz" is a sentimental dance tune written by Al Clauser, a guitarist and songwriter sometimes credited with coining the term Western swing.
Colleen's talent might have led to fame and fortune, but it was hard to be a female singer back then, and even harder if you were married and had children. Colleen loved music, but she loved family life even more. Colleen married Troyal Raymond Brooks who was a draughtsman for an oil company in his earlier years on January 27, 1957. Raymond and Colleen are the beloved parents of Jerome, James, Garth, Betsy, Kelly and Michael. Jerome and Betsy were Colleen’s children from her first marriage to James Perry Smittle.
Although Garth’s musical story gets told as if he stepped away from sports during college and picked up a guitar for the first time as an adult, the country superstar already performed the music he'd learned to love as a little baby with his parents and siblings."Friday and Saturday nights at the house, Jerry played guitar, Jim played the harmonica, Mike played guitar, Betsy played guitar, and, of course, Dad played guitar," Brooks told Playboy in 1994. "Mom sang her butt off, Dad sang, Betsy sang, Jerry sang, Jim sang, Mike sang. Kelly and I played the wax comb."
Carroll's last bow as a country singer came on her daughter and former Garth Brooks bassist Betsy’s album Rough Around the Edges. The song "This House" teamed the mother and daughter duo for a performance that makes listeners wonder if, with a few lucky breaks, the whole family might've been regulars on the CMA red carpet alongside Brooks and future in-law, Trisha Yearwood.
Carroll passed away August 6, 1999 from throat cancer. Brooks' 2014 album Man Against Machine includes a song titled "Mom." Its lyrics, written by Wynn Varble and Don Sampson and previously sung by Bonnie Tyler, may shed some light on a sentimental son's memories of his mother: "You'll never have a better friend, or a warmer touch to tuck you in. She'll kiss your bruises, your bumps and scrapes. And anytime you hurt, her heart's gonna break." Brooks performed it on Good Morning America in November 2014.
