Love it or hate it, Garth Brooks doesn't sign autographs after his shows anymore. The country singer said he refuses to sign autographs to not disappoint fans. He said that too many fans want his autograph, and he can't stay there all night. So he just doesn't do it anymore.
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He said, "It was killing the drivers. It was killing the band. Because everybody's got to set up and wait on you. The sun would be coming up, (and I'd) be signing the last autograph. So at some point, I just had to say, ' Guys, we can't do it.' And that point was Charlotte."
However, he said fans weren't happy by the change. He said, "I remember sitting in the front of that bus waving at people and people not being happy because that was the first time I didn't sign autographs after a show. And it was... phew. That was 1994, maybe 1995."
Brooks made the change after signing autographs for 23 hours straight at a fan event. He started signing at 9 a.m. and didn't finish until after midnight. It got to the point where Brooks faced a possible thunderstorm to sign autographs.
Garth Brooks Opens Up About Autographs
He told Billboard, "I'm thinking, 'This is how it's going to end? People running to their cars, unhappy?' ... It was like a military operation. They popped out tents, coolers, rain gear. Everybody stayed there. It's about four in the morning and you're starting to see the end of the line way down there. But the crazy thing is with everybody you sign [autographs for] and everybody you hug, you realize they've been there as long as you have."
He continued, "I'm not sure I could sign autographs that long, but when you get to take pictures ... and then hear those stories of what that music has done to them, and you've got somebody in a suit and tie going, 'I don't think you're still among the people,' I'm gonna take those stories over any awards or anything they can give me."
Ultimately, Brooks didn't even have time to go to the bathroom. He said he ended up holding it and trying to get through all of the fans."It's like anything else: If you stop for a second, you're not going to start back up, so just keep going," he said. "I promise you I'm not making this up, but every story kept getting better and better."
