• 1990-2010, 2015-

  Kix Brooks

  Ronnie Dunn
• Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn were both solo recording artists before becoming a duo. They reluctantly got together in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois, the founder of the Nashville branch of Los Angeles-based artist management firm Fitzgerald-Hartley, who'd recently been appointed head of Arista Nashville. "A record company guy convinced us that we should be a duo," Brooks recalled to Larry King. "On a Tuesday, over an enchilada, was the day I met him, and we were like, 'We don't wanna do this. We don't know each other. I mean, this is just silly.'"
• The 2003 hit "Red Dirt Road" was a rare co-writing collaboration between the Brooks & Dunn duo. Most of their songs were either penned by just one of the pair or by outside writers.
• Brooks & Dunn took a detour from their music in 2008, when they released a book titled The Adventures of Slim and Howdy. The musicians came up with the characters, which were fictionalized cowboy versions of themselves, and worked with writer Bill Fitzhugh on the manuscript. "We didn't want them to be Dukes of Hazzard silly," Brooks said of the characters to Billboard magazine. "We wanted them to be that kind of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid smile — [not] too heavy, but at the same time [with] a good sense of humor."
• 2009's "Honky Tonk Stomp" from Brooks & Dunn's greatest hits package #1s… and Then Some was the 50th overall single for the pair as well as the final release of their career as a duo.
• Brooks & Dunn signed to Arista Nashville in 1991 and stayed with the label throughout their career. In total the duo recorded ten studio albums, one Christmas album, and three compilation albums.
• The duo's second decade produced three platinum-certified chart-topping albums and twenty Top 20 singles, but those successes almost didn't happen. "We had a record called Tight Rope [in 1999] that hadn't done really well, and we were just getting kind of threadbare," Brooks told Country Weekly. "We weren't really writing together anymore, and we were just kind of done."
  
  It was former Sony Music Chairman Joe Galante who persuaded the pair to give their partnership one more shot. "Joe sat down with us and just convinced us we still had some music to make," Brooks continued. "He said, 'If I'm wrong, then you can shut it down. But I don't think I am.' We had so much respect for him and his legend. Neither one of us knew him, but we said, 'OK. This guy is for real, and he's a big-time guy.'"
• Brooks and Dunn announced in 2009 that they were splitting, before launching their Last Rodeo Tour. Their final show was at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on September 2, 2010. The pair reunited in 2015 for a series of concerts with Reba McEntire in Las Vegas.

Comments: 2

• Barbara Bell from Blueridge GaI luv all their songs but I have two l favorite Red dirt Road and Believe.
• Ann Hansen from RenoI have so many favorites but my favorite is Indian Summer.

More Songfacts:

Tainted LoveSoft Cell

"Tainted Love" started as a 1964 soul song by Gloria Jones, became a huge hit when Soft Cell covered it in 1981, and was the basis for Rihanna's 2006 #1 "S.O.S. (Rescue Me)."

Double VisionForeigner

Foreigner got the title for "Double Vision" after watching a hockey game where goalie John Davidson got a concussion. It was announced over the PA system that he was suffering from "Double Vision."

ThrillerMichael Jackson

In the UK, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" returns to the chart every Halloween, a tradition started in 2007.

Le FreakChic

The guys from Chic wrote "Le Freak" as a message to a doorman who wouldn't let them into a club. Originally, it was "F--- Off."

Shot In The DarkOzzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne's "Shot In The Dark" is titled after a Pink Panther movie.

BloodstreamEd Sheeran

Ed Sheeran's "Bloodstream" was written after an experience taking MDMA during a wedding celebration in Ibiza; it's basically about all the feelings that he got from that time.

Editor's Picks

Kerry Livgren of KansasSongwriter Interviews

In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo LyricMusic Quiz

In this quiz, spot the artist who put Romeo into a song lyric.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."