Do You Remember When McDonald’s in Kentucky Sold Garth Brooks CDs?

Yesterday morning on the show during Robbie Lee's Country Music Roundup, we shared a story from Taste of Country about Garth Brooks releasing a new box set. In collaboration with Bass Pro Shop, this will be his third limited edition series and the first since 2005. With classics we all know and love, and a new studio album, this is exciting news for Garth fans.

This is not his first "Rodeo" when it comes to collaborations, however. I remember back in the mid-90s when you could buy Garth Brooks' The Collection CD at McDonald's! The golden arches of yesteryear had the BEST Happy Meal toys and promotions including this fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald house.  With CDs selling for $5.99 and cassette tapes for $3.99, there were several popular musical artists who participated. Elton John, Roxette, Tina Turner, and Garth Brooks were the ones we had here at the Wesleyan Park Plaza location. Apparently, other places had a Selena Collection CD and I'm kinda salty we didn't, to be honest!

I was able to find an article from The Tampa Bay Times archives dated 1994 that says Elton and Tina were tied for second place having sold over a million each. Garth, however, took the top spot at 3 million copies sold. These albums were special collections of greatest hits that couldn't be found in record stores.

Record stores were divided regarding this particular promotion. Some weren't concerned at all while others weren't very happy that McDonald's was dipping their toes into the CD/cassette sales pond. While they weren't expected to take over as a music retail giant or anything, they did offer these exclusive collections at a lower price than you could buy at Disc Jockey or Tower Records. Here is a hilarious commercial that ran at the time.

If you're curious as to what Garth Brooks songs this collection consisted of, here is the track list:

1. Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
2. Alabama Clay
3. New Way To Fly
4. Wild Horses
5. Against The Grain
6. Cold Shoulder
7. Mr. Right
8. Every Now & Then
9. The Night I Called The Old Man Out
10. The Cowboy Song

I remember my dad got me the Tina Turner Collection and I wore it OUT. I didn't listen to a lot of secular music as a kid, but she was a total queen to me! I think I may actually still have the CD in a case somewhere. Did you have any of these limited edition CDs?