SUSAN McCann is Ireland’s First Lady of Country, and in part two of her life story here on the Sunday World podcast My Country Life, the legendary singer recalls performing on the same Florida festival with Garth Brooks, while he was then on his journey to becoming a country music superstar.

Susan talks about her meeting with Garth at that event in 1991, and tells how he was trying to achieve the same chart success in the UK as our own Daniel O’Donnell.

“Garth Brooks was in the changing room right next to us,” Susan recalls. “And we chatted…he wasn’t even known in Ireland at the time. He knew Daniel O’Donnell.

He had released a record in England and had been over to do a promotion on his album.

“He said, ‘Do you know that guy, Daniel O’Donnell?’ Sure I knew Daniel very well.
He used to call to the house when he was starting up. So I said, ‘Of course I know him.’

“Daniel had three albums in the UK charts at the time. ‘I can’t even get one,’ Garth said, ‘that man has three!’ He laughed about it.”

Now listen here to Susan telling many more behind-the-scenes stories from her career in country music, her life amid the The Troubles in Northern Ireland…and why her favourite title today is Grandma…

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