In 2007, the the United States Library of Congress created an honor titled Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The first honoree was Paul Simon, followed by Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Hal David, and Burt Bacharach.
The list goes one with one iconic name after another. Country music has been represented with Willie Nelson first receiving then honor in 2015 and Garth Brooks following in his footsteps in 2020.
On March 4 2020, Brooks was honored by an all-star cast of guests. The night was hosted by Jay Leno and Trisha Yearwood, Keith Urban, Ricky Skaggs, Chris Stapleton, Keb’ Mo’, Lee Brice, and the Howard University Choir all paid tribute to the “Unanswered Prayers” singer.
Brooks himself also took the stage to give a special performance.
When accepting the award, Brooks said, “An award is only as good as the names on it. First off, for any musician, the name Gershwin says it all. Add to Ira’s and George’s names the names of the past recipients, and you have an award of the highest honor. I am truly humbled.”
While every performance was memorable, there was one that stood out to us.
Chris Stapleton was given the task to perform Brooks’ “Shameless,” a song Brooks released in 1991.
Brooks’ version of “Shameless,” which is originally a Billy Joel song, hit number one on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. In 2008, Brooks joined Joel at Shea Stadium to perform their hit song together.
RELATED: Garth Brooks Joins Billy Joel For 2008 Live Performance Of ‘Shameless’ At Shea Stadium
Stapleton proved that he can sing anything when he took the stage at the Daughter’s of the American Revolution Constitution Hall. He put his signature soulful spin on the well-known song and it moved Brooks so much that he wiped tears away towards the end of the performance.
Yearwood looked over at Brooks during this moment with a proud smile. She, of all people, knows how much this song means to Brooks. Not only does she know this as his wife, but she knows this because she actually sang backup vocals on the track in 1991.
Throughout the song, Brooks could be seen yelling and clapping his hands. He was loving every second of Stapleton’s performance.
Watch Stapleton’s “Shameless” performance below.