An American duo comprises Kix Brooks, born in 1955, in Louisiana, US; and Ronnie Dunn, born in 1953 in Texas, US. Both artists are singers and songwriters of country music. They cover different musical genres, including solo, traditional, and typical country music.
More than 30 million albums have been sold; thanks to hits like “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” “My Maria,” “Only in America,” and “Believe,” and Brooks & Dunn have won more than 80 industry awards, including two Grammys, 20 CMA awards, and 27 Academy of Country Music awards.
Before jumping up to a discussion about their songs, let’s look at their early life and starting a career.
Kix Brooks
Leon Eric Brooks III, known as Kix Brooks, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and producer. He was raised in Louisiana, living with his parents and siblings.
After graduation, he worked with his father for a short period. After finishing his studies at his father’s request, he went to Nashville to work as a songwriter in the 1980s.
How did he Pursue his Music Career?
In the beginning, he wrote songs for other music artists. In the early 80s, he met Barbara, with whom he married later and had two kids. He issued for the first time a solo single in 1983 for Avion, which was Baby When Your Heart Breaks Down.
He wrote songs for the top listed music artists, i.e., Highway 101 John Conlee, and Nitty Gritty Band. His first item could not get a high rank on the country songs chart and reached only 73 positions.
A Way of Earning Success
He gained his first top achievement when he wrote Modern Day Romance with Dan Tyler for Nitty Gritty band in 1985, the no. 1 hit on the Hot Country chart.
Besides songwriting, he released his first official album in 1989, Kix Brooks. Some hits from his first album achieved a high ranking on the country music chart.
Additionally, Kix served as a host and hosted American Country Countdown, a radio music program focusing on the top 30 hits weekly.
He also runs a stage program Kickin’ with Kix, in which celebrities show their talent and have fun with fans. Regarding production, Kix also runs his own production company, Team Two Entertainment. Steaks Out with Kix Brooks, a cooking show, is the best work of the Kix production house.
Now, without further delay, let’s read about the second duo member Ronnie Dunn.
Ronnie Dunn
Ronald Gennie Dunn, who grew up in Texas, is an American songwriter, singer, and recording executive. He graduated with a psychology major, but because of his music-passionate nature, he could not continue his academics and decided to quit.
He moved to Oklahoma, tried nightclub events, and recorded various music tunes during the ’80s. He took part in music contests, and this led him to Nashville. He began his career presenting himself as a solo singer.
Beginning of the Music Career
In the beginning, he released his two singles: alternatively, It Was Written All Over Your Face in 1983, and She Put the Sad in All His Songs in 1984 in the production of Churchill, MCA Records.
Highlights of His Work
In 2010, Dunn released his new solo album, Bleed Red. Few of the songs from the album ranked at peak on the country music chart.
Ronnie Dunn‘s second album was issued in 2011, and the track Cost of Living ranked 56 on the chart. The album ranked highest among the Top Country albums and sold over 40,000 copies in the first few days.
2014 was the year when he released another album, Peace, Love, and Country Music. The album could not make success as expected. In 2016, his album Tattooed Heart was released, and he quit Nash Icon the same year.
Formation of the Duo “Brooks and Dunn”
As we read above about Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both artists and songwriters formed a duo in 1990. Tim DuBois introduced both of them as a duo; in the beginning, they were known as songwriters specifically. But the team tried, and their efforts worked.
They released Brand New Man in 1991. The single track of the album Boot Scootin Boogie, and literally, they became the first-selling duo in the country music chart after their shots.
Their second achievement of Brooks and Dunn was The Hard Workin Man, released in 1993. It was the piece that was enough to present them as the most famous duo in the country music world. The album counted in the top 10 on the Billboard chart.
They earned immediate success and became popular by releasing at least 40 singles, and were nominated several times for the Grammy awards, ACM awards, and other country music awards.
Reason for Popularity
Brooks and Dunn became one of the most famous duos in the music world. About 30 to 35 million albums have been sold, and they wrote about 80 different awards to their name. They are the band that earned more honors than some other bands in history.
Their songs are usually influenced by country rock, honky tonk, and tradition. However, they both mixed honky tonk rhythms with guitar riffs to produce their unique style.
Whenever they performed on stage, they won the heart of their fans. Brooks’s strident style and Dunn’s meaningful deep voice make the event fun.
Additionally, Brooks and Dunn issued many single tracks every year till 1998 under the supervision of Don Cook, the producer. Some central singles include My Maria, Little Miss Honky Tonk, and If You See Him.
After so many consecutive singles, in 1999, they released the album Tight Rope. Compared to other albums and single tracks, the album could not get much success as other albums.
The Singing Style of Brooks and Dunn
Regarding their singing style, they both are opposite to each other in different expects. Even though Dunn is an extraordinary singer with deeply soulful vocals, Brooks has a high vitality sound with a smooth voice.
Hits of Brooks and Dunn
Brooks and Dunn worked on 12 albums, 51 single tracks, and other charted songs. Now, let’s take a look at the list of their songs in the following data table.
| Song Title | Year of Release |
| Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You | 2001 |
| Boot Scooting Boogie | 1991 |
| Brand New Man | 1991 |
| Building Bridges | 2005 |
| Best of my Love | 1993 |
| Believe | 2005 |
| Cowgirls Don’t Cry | 2007 |
| Every River | 2001 |
| Forever Country | 2016 |
| Goin’ Under Getting Over You | 1999 |
| Hard-working Man | 1993 |
| Hilly Billy Deluxe | 2005 |
| How Long Gone | 1998 |
| Honky Tonk Truth | 1997 |
| I’ll Never Forgive My Heart | 1994 |
| Indian Summer | 2009 |
| It’s Getting Better All The Time | 2004 |
| If You See Him | 1998 |
| The Long Goodbye | 2001 |
| Little Miss Honkytonk | 1994 |
| Lost and Found | 1991 |
| A Man This Lonely | 1996 |
| My Heart is Lost to You | 2001 |
| My Maria | 1996 |
| Missing You | 1999 |
| My Next Broken Heart | 1991 |
| Neon Moon | 1991 |
| Proud of the House We Built | 2007 |
| Put a Girl in it | 2007 |
| Red Dirt Road | 2003 |
| She Used to be Mine | 1993 |
| That’s What It’s All About | 2004 |
| That Isn’t Any Way To Go | 2009 |
| We’ll Burn That Bridge | 1993 |
| Why Would I Say Goodbye? | 1996 |
| You Can’t Take the Honky Tonk Girl Out of the Way | 2003 |
| You Are Going to Miss Me | 1994 |
I have mentioned some of the most popular songs sung by Brooks and Dunn in their career.
The End of Brooks and Dunn Duo
After working and gaining success for twenty years, Brooks and Dunn announced to split their band. Besides working or singing, they both were like brothers and best friends to each other.
The cause of separation is not a fight or any argument, but they happily broke their strong bond showing in the duo to achieve further success and work individually.
Why Did They Decide to Split?
According to the statement of Brooks and Dunn, “This ride has been everything and more than we could ever have dreamed… We owe it all to you, the fans. If you hear rumors, don’t believe them, it’s just time.”
The above statement proves the reason for splitting the duo. After announcing they performed their farewell concert at Nashville Arena in 2010.
However, the news of the splitting duo rapidly spread worldwide like a fire in the forest, and it was shocking news for their fans and country music lovers.
On the other side, both artists focused on their music careers and released various singles and albums by working individually after a breakup.
Did the Duo Reunite?
After four or five years of friendship breakup, 2014 Brooks and Dunn announced reuniting to attend a live concert performance in Las Vegas in 2015 with co-singer Reba McEntire.
At the celebration of 50 years of CMA awards, Brooks and Dunn were selected to perform among 30 performers to attend the Forever Country event.
After the reunion, they released an album in 2019 known as Reboot. They attended music concerts, a season of The Voice, and worked on single tracks like before.
Interesting Facts About Brooks and Dunn
- Their song tune was used in the election campaign for some of the presidents of America.
- They both pursued their career as solo artists before forming a duo.
- Besides music, they both have other interests and business part-time.
- The duo is the bestselling duo who received 2 Grammy, 17 CMA, and 26 Academy awards.
- Both artists support low-income people and give charity to different organizations.
- The duo wrote a book with Bill Fitzhugh in 2008, named The Adventure of Slim, and Howdy mainly described a Cowboy character.
Conclusion
- Brooks and Dunn are among the most famous duos in music history. They achieved more awards than some other bands or duos.
- Brooks and Dunn released thousands of songs in their career.
- Besides a musical career, both partners have other interests to work on.
- After 20 years of working together, the duo split up and rejoined again in 2015.
- We hope the duo can release more songs and albums and entertain their fans as they entertained before.
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