Shameless (song)
Encyclopedia
"Shameless" is the title of a song written by American singer Billy Joel
and recorded on his 1989 album Storm Front
. His version was a #40 single on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
charts. Two years later, the song was covered by country music
artist Garth Brooks
on his third studio album, 1991's Ropin' the Wind
. Brooks's rendition of the song was his seventh Number One hit on the Billboard
country charts in late 1991. It also reached #71 on the UK Singles Chart
.
"Shameless" was the longest shot we took with a song. I was talked into becoming a member of a CD club... you know, the 40,000 CD's for a penny deal. With those clubs they write you with the selection of the month. If you don't write back and cancel, then they send it to you and charge you for it. I was on the road for six months with no one to check the mail and came home to find six compact discs in my mailbox. Storm Front by Billy Joel was one of them. I hadn't listened to Billy Joel since the late seventies, probably since Glass Houses. I fell in love with the album and fell back in love with Billy Joel's music. One of his songs really captured me, a song called "Shameless." I kept watching it, and when he did not release it as a single, we contacted his people in the hopes that we could cut it. His people sent us a letter acknowledging that he knew who I was and was very honored that I was cutting it. That was quite a compliment for me then, as it is now. My hope is that Billy, as writer, hears this cut and says, "Yeah, man, the guy's got balls."
Garth Brooks performed Shameless along with Billy Joel during Joel's Last Play at Shea
concerts.
of Allmusic described Brooks' rendition of the song favorably in his review of the album, saying that Brooks "made his '70s rock influences more explicit" by "transform[ing] the song from a rock power ballad into contemporary country."
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
and recorded on his 1989 album Storm Front
Storm Front (album)
Storm Front is the 11th studio album by Billy Joel. Released in 1989 , the album featured one of Joel's three #1 hits, "We Didn't Start the Fire", a fast-paced song, mentioning some of the major historical events that took place in his time, and "Leningrad", Joel's take on the end of the Cold...
. His version was a #40 single on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
charts. Two years later, the song was covered by country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
on his third studio album, 1991's Ropin' the Wind
Ropin' the Wind
Ropin' the Wind is the third studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on September 10, 1991 and was his first studio album to debut at #1 the Billboard 200 chart and the Top Country Albums chart...
. Brooks's rendition of the song was his seventh Number One hit on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country charts in late 1991. It also reached #71 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Garth Brooks version
The song features harmony vocals by Trisha Yearwood. Garth provided the following background information on the song in the CD booklet liner notes from The Hits:"Shameless" was the longest shot we took with a song. I was talked into becoming a member of a CD club... you know, the 40,000 CD's for a penny deal. With those clubs they write you with the selection of the month. If you don't write back and cancel, then they send it to you and charge you for it. I was on the road for six months with no one to check the mail and came home to find six compact discs in my mailbox. Storm Front by Billy Joel was one of them. I hadn't listened to Billy Joel since the late seventies, probably since Glass Houses. I fell in love with the album and fell back in love with Billy Joel's music. One of his songs really captured me, a song called "Shameless." I kept watching it, and when he did not release it as a single, we contacted his people in the hopes that we could cut it. His people sent us a letter acknowledging that he knew who I was and was very honored that I was cutting it. That was quite a compliment for me then, as it is now. My hope is that Billy, as writer, hears this cut and says, "Yeah, man, the guy's got balls."
Garth Brooks performed Shameless along with Billy Joel during Joel's Last Play at Shea
Last Play at Shea
The Last Play at Shea is a 2010 documentary film written by Mark Monroe, directed by Paul Crowder, produced by Steve Cohen and Nigel Sinclair, in conjunction with Billy Joel's Maritime Pictures and Spitfire Films. The film is centered around Billy Joel's 2008 concerts of the same name that...
concerts.
Garth Brooks version
Stephen Thomas ErlewineStephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic described Brooks' rendition of the song favorably in his review of the album, saying that Brooks "made his '70s rock influences more explicit" by "transform[ing] the song from a rock power ballad into contemporary country."
Billy Joel version
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 40 |
Garth Brooks version
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary | 26 |
| UK Singles Chart | 71 |