Pre-Release
- NOV 15, 2024
- 19 Songs
- The Greatest Hits Collection · 1991
- Red Dirt Road · 2003
- The Greatest Hits Collection · 1991
- Reboot · 2019
- Steers & Stripes · 2001
- The Greatest Hits Collection · 1996
- Hillbilly Deluxe · 2005
- What You See Is What You Get · 2019
- Reboot · 2019
- Waitin' On Sundown · 1994
Essential Albums
- There is so much comfort and familiarity built into Brooks & Dunn that they have become the rare act whose fans allow them to try anything. Who else could pull off the Spanish come-ons of “My Heart Is Lost To You,” which is basically a Ricky Martin song adapted for Nashville? Or “The Long Goodbye,” which incorporates some gentle drum programming and electronic textures? Or the bluesy hard rock of “The Last Thing I Do,” which could almost pass for an Aerosmith song? The real shock of Steers and Stripes isn’t how many things Brooks & Dunn do—they’ve always been adventurous—but how many things they do well. Even as they refuse to rest on the same old Nashville sounds, the duo always sounds like pure country. And for every left turn in Steers and Stripes, a song like “Only in America” is reassurance that that heartland is the group’s lifeblood.
- While it’s a little top heavy — with most of its best songs arriving before the halfway mark —Waitin’ On Sundown still stands as the peak of Brooks and Dunn’s early career. “Little Miss Honky Tonk” epitomizes the duo’s patented blend of rock boogie and country twang, a recipe they quickly mastered. But “Silver and Gold” shows another side of the duo. Heartfelt, catchy, but entirely unhurried, the song has more in common with the working class songcraft of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellancamp than it does the slick sounds of Nashville. The second half of the album is packed with the kind of no-nonsense honky-tonk music that keeps the duo credible, but it's the album’s two big hits that show just how great Brooks and Dunn can be. Dunn’s gritty “She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind” and Brooks’ windswept “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” are rock-solid, sincere, and tastefully executed: everything good country music should be.
- Hard Workin’ Man cemented Brooks & Dunn’s standing as country superstars by achieving the perfect synthesis of old-school honky-tonk and roadhouse-rocking modern country. Hearing the way the pair tear into mostly self-penned tunes about everything from romantic wreckage (the half-crazed intensity of “Heartbroke Out of My Mind”) to working-class woes (the weary-eyed optimism of “Our Time Is Coming”), it’s a wonder there was enough country-boy charisma and crack songwriting left to go around for the rest of Nashville.
- When Brand New Man was released in 1991, few predicted that Brooks & Dunn would go on to become the most successful country duo of the modern era. Still, the success of their debut was well-earned. Since the 1970s Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn had worked the club circuits in Texas, Oklahoma and Nashville, playing in separate bands. Each was a seasoned veteran of honky tonk entertainment when Arista paired them up in 1990. The three big hits from their first album typify a roadhouse setlist. There’s the catchy singalong (“Brand New Man”), the tavern lament (“Neon Moon”) and the dance floor showstopper (“Boot Scootin’ Boogie”). The rest of the songs are rock solid, and Brooks & Dunn would go on to build a reputation for being straight shooters. While there are hints of the pop and rock influences that would make them superstars, Kix and Ronnie appear here as traditionalists with a deeply-honed understanding of their audience.
Artist Playlists
- Few country acts can get down quite like this duo.
- The neo-trad cowboys venture into dance music and '80s pop.
Compilations
Appears On
More To Hear
- Brooks & Dunn icon visits for his Hall of Fame induction.
- Country stars share Stones covers from 'Stoned Cold Country.'
- Ty shares his gratitude for the classic songs of Brooks & Dunn.
- Nick shares music and highlights from Brooks & Dunn.
About Brooks & Dunn
If you’ve ever had the good fortune to go line dancing, there’s an excellent chance you did it to Brooks & Dunn’s hit 1992 single “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.” In the early ‘90s, as the neo-traditionalist movement fell out of fashion and country music drew more and more influence from the big, brash guitars of stadium rock, Brooks & Dunn held steady with the genre’s roots. Introduced by an Arista Records executive who thought they’d write well together, Kix Brooks (born in Louisiana in 1955) and Ronnie Dunn (born in Texas in 1953) were a match made in honky-tonk heaven; Brooks’ high-energy swagger proved the perfect complement to Dunn’s soulful delivery. Their 1991 debut, Brand New Man—featuring plenty of twang and fiddle, with just a hint of rock and pop—became the soundtrack for roadhouse dance floors around the U.S. and started them on the path to becoming the best-selling musical duo in country-music history. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: By sticking to their tried-and-true sound, nine of the 12 studio albums they released between 1991 and 2007 went platinum. Following retirement, solo efforts, and a Vegas reunion, Brooks & Dunn passed the torch with 2019’s Reboot, an album that found them reworking a dozen of their hits with traditionally minded newcomers like Ashley McBryde, Jon Pardi, and Luke Combs.
- ORIGIN
- Nashville, TN, United States
- FORMED
- 1990
- GENRE
- Country