Stephen Deusner

Garth Brooks was the best-selling country artist of the 1990s. Actually, he was the best-selling artist of the ‘90s period. So why did he close out that triumphant decade by transforming into a fictional rocker named Chris Gaines? He devised an outrageous backstory for the character—complete with sex addiction, facial reconstructive surgery, wildfires, and chainsaws—and even recorded a “pre-soundtrack” to...