"When I heard George Strait, I went holy cow, that’s what I want to do."

On a recent edition of the Serendipity Podcast, country icon Garth Brooks noted that "King of Country" inspired his desire to enter the country music industry. However, he also noted his background was quite musical.

"I love music, [I was] the last of six kids, so lots of music in the house. Dad played guitar, and Mom actually was signed to Capital Records in the ’50s, so the dream had always kind of been in our house. So, it didn’t seem impossible at the time," Brooks said.

Regarding his inspiration, Brooks continued, "I was going to be a professional athlete, and the only thing, that little minute thing that kept me from being a professional athlete was my athletic ability." He added, "So, when I heard George Strait, that’s when I realized what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, and Ink I got to tell you, I’ve been lucky to do some pretty cool things. But I would be lying if I told you every morning when I woke up, I no longer want to be George Strait. That would be a lie. Every day, there’s just something about him that’s going to be forever cool for me."

This year has seen Brooks perform at President Joe Biden's inauguration and join a small group of country artists in announcing performance dates that are likely to be the nation's first post-vaccination concerts. According to Brooks' website, he will headline at Charlotte, North Carolina's Bank of America Stadium on September 25.