Garth Brooks went from small-town Oklahoma boy to Nashville country superstar in the drop of a single — okay, maybe not the first single, but definitely the second.

Brooks released his self-titled debut album in 1989. It caught the attention of country music fans across the country and peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Country Albums chart, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The first single released from the album, "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)," found its way into country radio's Top 10, but couldn't quite make it all the way to the top.

That's when "If Tomorrow Never Comes" picked up. The sophomore single raced its way to the top of the chart, giving Brooks his first No. 1 hit on Dec. 9, 1989. Produced by Allen Reynolds and penned by Brooks and Kent Blazy, the song tells the story of a man who loves his woman deeply, and hopes she knows the extent of his affection.

"'If Tomorrow Never Comes' will probably always be my signature song. I ran the idea for this song by what seemed like a thousand writers and no one really seemed to understand what I was looking for," Brooks wrote in the liner notes of his second compilation album, The Hits. "On the day that Bob Doyle, my co-manager, introduced me to Kent Blazy, I passed this idea by Kent and he had the first verse down within fifteen seconds. I could tell he just felt it. Kent Blazy is a wonderful man, full of love and energy, and if we never write again, I hope that we are always friends first."

"If Tomorrow Never Comes" went on to win Brooks Song of the Year and Single of the Year at the 1989 ACM Awards, and nominations at the CMAs. The track is the first of many No. 1 hits for Brooks, including "The Dance" off of the same project. The success of both of those hits paved the way for the success of his sophomore album, No Fences, which spent 23 weeks at the top of Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.

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