Brooks & Dunn Documentary - Hollywood Walk of Fame

brooks and dunn is an american country music duo consisting of kicks brooks and ronnie dunn both of whom are vocalists and songwriters the duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of tim dubois before the foundation both members were solo recording artists both members charted two solo singles apiece in the 1980s with brooks also releasing an album for capitol records in 1989 and writing hit singles for other artists founded in 1991 the duo signed to arista nashville that year they have re

corded 11 studio albums and five compilation albums for the label they also have released 50 singles of which 20 went to number 1 on the hot country songs charts and 19 more reach top 10. two of these number one songs my maria n ain't nothing about you were the top country songs of 1996 and 2001. respectively according to the billboard your end charts the latter is also the duo's longest lasting number one single on that chart at six weeks several of their songs have also reached the billboard h

ot 100 with the number 25 peaks of ain't nothing about you and red dirt road being their highest there brooks and dunn also won the country music association vocal duo of the year award every year between 1992 and 2006 except for 2000. two of their songs won the grammy award for best country performance by a duo or group with vocal hard-working man in 1994 and my maria in 1996. all but two of the duo's studio albums are certified platinum or higher by the recording industry association of americ

a they're highest certified as their 1991 debut album brand new man which is certified sextuple platinum for shipments of 6 million copies the duo's material is known for containing influences of honky tonk mainstream country and rock as well as the contrast between their singing voices and onstage personalities although some of their music has also been criticized as formulaic their 1992 single boot scoot and boogie helped repopularize line dancing in the united states and 2001's only in americ

a was used by both george w bush and barack obama in their respective presidential campaigns brooks and dunne have collaborated with several artists including reba mcintyre vince gill cheryl crow mack powell billy gibbons and jerry jeff walker after announcing their retirement in august 2009 they performed their final concert on september 2nd 2010 at the bridgestone arena in nashville tennessee both brooks and dunn have continued to record for arista nashville as solo artists dunn released a sel

f-titled album in 2011 which included the top 10 country hit bleed red while brooks released new to this town in september 2012. the duo reunited in 2015 for a series of concerts with reba mcintyre in las vegas in 2019 the duo was inducted into the country music hall of fame history kicks brooks leon eric brooks iii was born on may 12 1955 in shreveport louisiana and before moving to nashville tennessee in 1976 he played at various venues in maine he was also a neighbour of country singer johnny

horton brooks worked as a songwriter in the 1980s co-writing the number one singles i'm only in it for the love by john conley modern day romance by the nitty gritty dirkband and who's lonely now by highway 101 plus the oakridge boys top 20 hit you made a rock of a rolling stone nicolette larson's let me be the first and keith palmers don't throw me in the briar patch brooks also released several singles through the independent avion label charting at number 73 on hot country songs in 1983 with

baby when your heart breaks down in 1989 he released a self-titled studio album through capitol records this album included baby when your heart breaks down and sacred ground which mcbride and the ride covered and took to number two on the country charts in 1992. brooks and pamtillas co-wrote and sang on tomorrow's world a multi-artist single released on warner brothers records in 1990 in honor of earth day brooks also co-produced and co-wrote backbone job a keith whitley outtake that appeared

on his 1991 compilation album kentucky bluebird rani dun rani jin dun was born on june 1 1953 in coleman texas he played bass guitar in local bands during high school and he briefly studied theology at hardin simmons university with the intention of becoming a baptist preacher dunn was kicked out of the school because he played in bars between 1983 and 1984 he recorded for the churchill label taking both it's written all over your face and she put the sad in all his songs to number 59 on the cou

ntry charts in 1989 session drummer jamie oldiker entered done in a talent contest sponsored by marlboro which he won the grand prize in the competition included a recording session in nashville tennessee the producer of that session scott hendricks recommended dunn's recordings to tim dubois then an executive of arista nashville dubois paired brooks and dunn because he thought that they would work well together as songwriters and after the two recorded a demo he suggested that they form a duo d

uring this time span dunn also wrote boot scoot and boogie which asleep at the wheel recorded on their 1990 album keeping me up nights musical career brand new man brooks and dunn's first single brand new man entered the hot country songs charts in june 1991 and went to number one it was the title track to the duo's debut album brand new man which was released two months later brooks and dunn wrote the song and several other cuts in collaboration with songwriter don cook who co-produced the albu

m with hendrix it was also cook's first credit as a producer the next three single releases from brand new man all made number one on the country music charts as well making for the first time in country music history that a duo or group had sent its first four singles to the top of the charts a fifth single lost and found peaked at number six boot scooten boogie which had previously been the b-side to my next broken heart also made number 50 on the billboard hot 100 and its commercial success l

ed to a renewed interest in line dancing throughout the united states brand new man was certified platinum by the recording industry association of america in august 1992 for shipments of one million copies by 2002 the album had been certified sextuple platinum for shipments of 6 million it spent more than 190 weeks on the top country albums charts in 1992 the duo won the duo of the year award from the country music association which also nominated them for that year's album of the year and hori

zon awards brooks and dunn won the association's duo award for every year from then until 2006 except for 2000 when the award went to montgomery gentry after the album's release brooks and dunn began touring as well brand new man received a positive review from allmusic whose critic daniel joffra thought that the album showed the duo's diversity of musical influences alana nash of entertainment weekly was less positive criticizing the duo sound for being imitative hard work and man and waiting o

n sundown hard work and man was the title of brooks and dunn's second album which was released in 1993. the title track also its first single peaked at number four on the country music charts the album included two number one singles in its third and fifth releases she used to be mine and it's b-side that ain't no way to go we'll burn that bridge and rock my world both made top five on billboard with the former reaching number one on radio and records also included on the album was a remix of bo

ot scoot and boogie in 1994 hard working man won the duo a grammy award for best country performance by a duo or group with vocal and the album was nominated for best country album hard working man earned its highest riaa certification in 2002 when it was certified quintuple platinum brian mansfield gave a generally positive review in all music saying that its uptempo songs rocked harder than any of the songs from the first album by the end of 1994 the duo released their third studio album waiti

n on sundown it also produced five charting singles three of which made number one on the country charts she's not the cheating kind little miss honky tonk and you're gonna miss me when i'm gone the other two singles i'll never forgive my heart and whiskey under the bridge both made top ten all music critic tom owens thought that the album singles were solid but that the rest of the songs were filler a review of the single she's not the cheating kind from the same site praised it for its hard dr

iving honky tonk spirit nash praised the honky tonk sound of i'll never forgive my heart but thought that most of the other songs relied on contrivance randy lewis of the orlando sentinel gave a generally positive review saying that the mini-drama of a few good rides away was the strongest track on the album borderline the first single from brooks and dunn's fourth album borderline was a cover version of bw stevenson's 1972 single my maria their version of the song spent three weeks at number on

e in mid-1996 and peaked at number 79 on the billboard hot 100. it was also that year's top country song according to the billboard year end charts dunn said that he was initially reluctant to record my maria because the duo had not previously recorded any cover songs the song won brooks and done its second grammy award for best country performance by a group or duo and the duo won the 1996 entertainer of the year award from both the country music association and academy of country music making

them the first duo to win that award from the former in 1997 brooks and dunn joined a double headliner tour with reba mcintyre borderline produced another number one in a man this lonely along with the top 10 hits i am that man and why would i say goodbye mama don't get dressed up for nothing the third single and b-side to my maria became their first release not to make the top ten michael mccall of all music and ilana nash of entertainment weekly both thought that the album's material was clich

e and that my maria was the strongest song on it a more positive review came from larry stevens of country standard time who thought that the album had the right mix of songs the greatest hits collection and if you see her their first greatest hits compilation was released on september 16 1997. it comprised most of their singles to that point in three new songs honky tonk truth he's got you and days of thunder the first two were released as singles with respective peaks of three and two on the c

ountry charts the greatest hits collection was certified platinum in april 1998 and double platinum in 2001. brookson and dunn collaborated with reba macintyre to perform if you see him if you see her which was the lead-off single to brooks and duns if you see her in mcintyre's if you see him both of which were released on the same day arista nashville and mca nashville the label to which mcintyre was signed both promoted the single this cut went to number one as did if you see here's next two s

ingles how long gone and a cover of roger miller's husbands and wives which also became the duo's first top 40 hit on the billboard hot 100. dunn recorded the vocals for husbands and wives in one take also included on the album was born and raised in black and white the first song of the duo's career in which they alternated unlead vocals the album's fourth single was i can't get over you which was a top five country hit following it was south of santa fe which peaked at number 41 on the country

charts thus becoming the duo's lowest peaking single there in 2001 if you see her reach double platinum certification in the united states janna pendragon in her review for all music praised dun's vocal performances on husbands and wives and you're my angel but thought that a couple of the other cuts were formula country standard time writer kevin oliver criticized the album for having wildly uneven material calling the mcintyre collaboration a snoozer and south of santa fe wretched tightrope t

ightrope the duo's sixth album was also its least commercially successful release it included three singles a cover of john waites missing you followed by beer 30 and you'll always be loved by me the former two failed to make top ten while the latter peaked at number five in 2000. dun co wrote some songs on this album with mcbride and the ride lead singer and bassist terry mcbride and brooks collaborated with bob dipiero the duo shared production duties with bayern gallimore on all three singles

and four other songs on the album while retaining cook as producer on the other six while beer 30 was climbing the album cut go and under get an overu charted as high as number 60 based on unsolicited airplay tightrope was certified gold for us shipments of 500 000 copies but did not receive any higher certification stephen thomas earlywine gave this album a mixed review referring to the missing you cover as of john weisberger thought that the album was consistent but added that it did not have

any surprises brooks revealed in 2015 that the album's poor performance almost led to the duo splitting up as he felt we weren't really writing together anymore and we were just kind of done but they ultimately stayed together at the suggestion of jogalanti then the head of their label steers and stripes in addition to persuading the duo to stay together galante suggested that they record the song ain't nothing about you because he felt it had potential as a hit the song served as the lead sing

le from their seventh album 2001 steers and stripes it became their longest lasting number one with a six-week stay at that position this song was the second song of the duo's career to be named the top single of the year according to billboard year-end it was also their highest peak on the billboard hot 100 at the time peaking at number 25 there for this album the duel worked with producer mark wright who also produced for lee ann womack and gary allen at the time the next two singles from stee

rs and stripes both made number one as well only in america and the long goodbye the latter of which was written by irish pop singers ronan keating and paul brady after it the duo charted at number five with my heart is lost to you and number 12 with a cover of kim richie's every river featuring a backing vocal from ritchie all of these other singles also made the pop charts only in america was later used by george w bush in his 2004 re-election campaign and again in 2008 by barack obama in his

campaign noting that the song was used by both a republican and a democratic candidate brooke said that it was very flattering to know our song crossed parties and potentially inspires all americans this album was generally well received with the reviews in all music and country standard time noting that the album was more consistent than the previous ones nash was less favorable referring to the uptempos as retreads but praising dun's voice it won't be christmas without you in red dirt road bro

oks and dunn released a christmas album in 2002 titled it won't be christmas without you four of its cuts made the country music charts based on seasonal airplay the title track hanging round the mistletoe rockin little christmas and a rendition of winter wonderland it was followed in early 2003 by the duo's eighth studio album red dirt road whose title track became the duo's 18th number one on billboard two more singles were released from it you can't take the honky tonk out of the girl which s

pent five weeks in the number three position and that's what she gets for loving me at number six on the hot 100 these songs respectively peaked at 25 39 and 53. as with steers and stripes red dirt road was certified platinum earlywine described red dirt road as a concept album in his review of it saying that its title track and other songs offered a tribute to their roots and upbringing nash gave the album an a minus rating saying that brooks and dunn dig even deeper on the album she also refer

red to the title track as a gutsy account of the terrible beauty of coming of age a less favorable review came from country standard time whose critic geoffrey b rems called it satisfactory but not much more both nash and rems compared you can't take the honky tonk out of the girl to the sound of the rolling stones the greatest hits collection 2 and hillbilly deluxe arista nashville released brooks and dunn's second greatest hits package the greatest hits collection 2 in october 2004. the album

included singles from if you see her steers and stripes red dirt road and the previously unreleased that's what it's all about and it's getting better all the time respectively these cuts peaked at numbers 2 and 1 on the country music charts as well as 38 and 56 on the hot 100. it excludes material from tightrope in august 2005 the duo released the single play something country according to dunn and co-writer terry mcbride it was inspired by gretchen wilson who was touring with brooks and dunn a

nd big and rich on the deuces wild tour at the time play something country was the lead-off to their ninth studio album hillbilly deluxe brooks and dunco produced it with tony brown with further production from mark wright on my heart's not a hotel a month after the album's release play something country became the duo's 20th and final number one on hot country songs and went to number 37 on the billboard hot 100. the album's second single belief peaked at number eight also winning the next year

single of the year and song of the year awards from the country music association after it was building bridges with guest vocals from vince gill and cheryl crowe which peaked at number four before the duo released the song it had been released by co-writer larry willoughby a cousin of country singer rodney crowl and later by nicolette larson the final release from hillbilly deluxe was the title track which peaked at number 16 on hot country songs earlywine gave this album a positive review say

ing that it was not quite as ambitious as the previous two albums but just as satisfying brooks and dunn began their long-haul tour in mid-2006 which featured sugarland and jack ingram as opening acts of this tour brook said they've got a lot of shows under their belt they're really good at what they do and they're great performers we want everything about the show from opening act till the lights go down to be first class cowboy town their 10th studio album cowboy town was released on october 2

2007. its leadoff single proud of the house we built reached number four on the country charts and 57 on the hot 100. following this song were god must be busy at number 11 and put a girl in it at number three after this song the duo released cowgirls don't cry which they later performed with reba mcintyre at the country music association awards following this performance the song was re-released partway through its chart run with mcintyre dubbed into the final chorus in early 2009 the song pea

ked at number two on the country charts although not released as a single the title track spent three weeks on the charts and peaked at number 56 also included on the album is a collaboration with jerry jeff walker on the ballot of jerry jeff walker cowboy town was also the name of the duo's 2009 tour which featured rodney atkins and zz top the tour began on june 6 at the bama jam festival in enterprise alabama stephen thomas earlywine wrote brooks and dunn have crafted these songs with an eye o

n the middle of the road and they do it well enough that this music will likely win them that audience yet again michael wood of entertainment weekly rated it b-plus saying that even if the themes on their 11-studio cd are a bit predictable their muscular riffs and handsome vocal harmonies give the material a boot-scooting vibrancy retirement solo careers reunion and reboot on august 10 2009. brooks and dunn announced that they would be splitting up after a tour titled the last rodeo according t

o brooks the decision to split was on good terms he told cmt that dun and here are still good friends walden said we've ended up more like brothers the duo released its final compilation number ones and then some on september 8 of the same year the album features 28 past hits and two new songs but again skipping material from tightrope both of these new songs indian summer and honky tonk stomp peaked at number 16 on the country music charts on may 23 2010 cbs aired a tribute show presented by th

e academy of country music titled the last rodeo on which various country music stars performed brooks and dunn songs while the duo received a milestone award the academy donated proceeds from the concert to help victims of the 2010 tennessee floods brooks and dunn performed their last concert together at the bridgestone arena in nashville on september 2nd 2010 with proceeds from the concert benefiting the country music hall of fame both members stayed with arista nashville as solo artists after

the split dunn released his self-titled solo album in june 2011 which produced the top 40 country hits bleed red cost of livin and let the cowboy rock dun announced via facebook on june 7 2012 that he had exited arista nashville restaurant chain cracker barrel reissued the album in late may with two bonus tracks proceeds from the reissue benefit the wounded warrior project in late 2013 dunsang duet vocals with kelly clarkson on a cover of baby it's cold outside from her christmas album wrapped

in red dunn's second solo album peace love and country music was released in 2014 followed by tattooed heart in 2016 on valerie music group's nash icon label the latter features brooks on the single damn drunk brooks released the solo single new to this town which features joe walsh on slide guitar brooks's first arista album also titled new to this town was released in september 2012. on december 3 2014 brooks and dunn were announced to be reuniting to perform a series of concerts in las vegas

with reba macintyre in mid-to-late 2015. in 2016 they were selected as some of the 30 artists to perform on forever country a mash up track featuring the artists performing a medley of take me home country roads on the road again and i will always love you which was released in celebration of 50 years of the cma awards in february 2019 the duo announced a new album called reboot which features re-recordings of their previous singles with guest vocals from contemporary country music artists in ad

vance of the album's release they issued two of their tracks a version of brand new man with luke combs and believe featuring kane brown in addition brooks and dunn announced a concert in dallas alongside their las vegas residency as well as a march 2019 appearance at the houston livestock show and rodeo reboot was released on april 5 2019. in 2019 the duo featured in season 16 of the voice as battle advisors as a part of team blake other works brooks and dunn have also contributed to several so

undtracks and compilation albums in 1994 they recorded write him high write him low for the soundtrack to the 1994 film eight seconds and a cover of carine karina in collaboration with asleep at the wheel for a tribute album to bob wills both of these cuts peaked at number 73 on the country charts while rock my world was climbing in early september 1994 the duo collaborated with johnny cash on a rendition of his song folsom prison blues for the album red hot plus country a charity album made by

the red hot organization to benefit aids awareness also that year they covered best of my love on the eagles tribute album common thread the songs of the eagles they covered bob segar's against the wind for the soundtrack to the cartoon king of the hill this rendition charted at number 55 in late 1999 based on unsolicited airplay they also recorded keep on swinging which brooks wrote with five for fighting for the soundtrack to the 2006 animated film everyone's hero finally they collaborated wit

h mack powlan over the next hill from the soundtrack to the 2008 film billy the early years and took the song to number 55 on the country charts dunn has sung guest vocals on other artists songs including leroy parnell's mid-1994 cover of the hank williams song take these chains from my heart try me on tricia yearwood's 2005 album jasper county raise the barn on keith urban's 2006 album love pain and the whole crazy thing and ashley monroe's 2006 single i don't want to which reached number 37 on

the country charts he also sang duet vocals with carline carter on a cover of johnny cash and june carter cash's jackson for the 2007 tribute album anchored in love a tribute to june carter cash in 2011 he covered gary stewart's chief's act in single for the soundtrack of the film country strong and contributed duet vocals to cletus t judd's parody of god must be busy titled garth must be busy dun and dean dylan co-wrote shenandoah's 1994 single darned if i don't and the track she wants me to s

tay on david kirsch's debut album goodnight sweetheart he also co-wrote don't leave on tobiki's 2003 album shocking y'all with keith and reba mcintyre's 2010 single i keep on loving you with terry mcbride brooks and dunco wrote steady as she goes on wade haye's debut album old enough to know better and our time is coming on his second album on a good night while dunco produced his 2001 album highways and heartaches in january 2006 brooks succeeded bob kingsley as the host of the radio countdown

show american country countdown while kingsley moved to his own show bob kingsley's country top 40. brooks received an academy of country music nomination for national on air radio personality in 2010 and again in 2011 later that same year he made his acting debut in an independent film called thrift store cowboy in 2011 he starred in a second film the last ride musical style steve huey of all music contrasts brooks's and dunn's voices saying that dunn was the quietly intense singer with the sou

lful voice while kicks brooks played the part of the high-energy showman he also describes their sound as a winning formula of rambunctious rocked up honky tonk with punchy danceable beats smooth pop tinged ballots in the book the new generation of county music stars david dicker describes dun as possess a soulful voice with a quiet intensity and a traditional country singer while calling brooks the opposite to dunn's musical personality a high-energy showman and the perfect accompaniment to his

partner brook sang lead on lost and found rock my world you're gonna miss me when i'm gone mama don't get dressed up for nothing why would i say goodbye and south of santa fe philanthropy and impact in 2015. brooks received the inaugural cma foundation humanitarian award as a reflection of his dedication to organizations such as monroe carrell jr children's hospital at vanderbilt the monroe-harding children's home and the cma foundation he was pivotal in the creation of the keep the music playi

ng program which is funded from proceeds of the cma music fest the campaign has provided more than 11 million dollars into tennessee schools for music education since 2006. for several years dunn's annual rocked the barn event at his home near nashville raised money for charities such as gilda's club and the saint thomas breast cancer center slim and howdy in the liner notes to each of their studio albums brooks and dunn wrote short stories about slim and howdy fictionalized cowboy versions of t

hemselves the duo worked with bill fitzhugh in late 2008 to write a book titled the adventures of slim and howdy you