With children now grown, Garth Brooks says he will tour again

[December 10, 2013]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — American country singer Garth Brooks, the top-selling recording artist of the last 20 years, on Monday said he would return to touring after more than a decade off the road.

Brooks, 51, who has sold more than 125 million albums, said he would embark on a world tour next year in large part because his three daughters are now older.

"My children are off on their own, so the guilt of not being there ... I'm a phone-call dad now," the "Friends in Low Places" singer said on ABC's "Good Morning America" program.

"It sure feels good to get to throw your hat back in the ring," Brooks said.

The Oklahoma native gave no details on when the tour would start and in which cities he would perform.

Brooks retired from recording new music and touring in 2001 after eight studio albums, saying at the time he would leave music until his youngest daughter turned 18.

Best known for hits such as "The Thunder Rolls" and "Unanswered Prayers" from the early 1990s, Brooks played the occasional one-city run of shows and benefit concerts during his retirement but never toured.

In 2009, he began performing concerts in Las Vegas.

Brooks released a box set "Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences" on November 28, which debuted at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard album chart last week.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; editing by Mary Milliken and Grant McCool)

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