Brooks and Dunn: Difference between revisions

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Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, the duo was no stranger to country music radio, racking up a total of twenty Number One hits and fifty chart singles overall. They were also a shoo-in for the Country Music Association's Duo of the Year award (winning it from 1992 through 2006), as well as an Entertainer of the Year award in 1996 after the smash "My Maria", which was also the biggest country hit of that year. The duo started to slip into more of a pop sound, maintaining the hits for the time being but losing its critical acclaim. Come 1999, the duo hit its first commercial low point, as the album ''Tight Rope'' produced only one big hit and disappointing sales. Montgomery Gentry — who was only ''two singles into its career'' at that point — got the 1999 Duo award at the Academy of Country Music.

Only two years later, Brooks & Dunn got back on track, launching that year with "Ain't Nothing 'bout You", the biggest hit of the duo's career ''and'' the biggest country single of 2001. The hits kept on coming for the next few years, but following a second Greatest Hits album, they started to fade away again. ''Hillbilly Deluxe'' did account for the duo's last #1 hit and the signature song "Believe", but ''Cowboy Town'' saw all of its singles fall quickly from the charts (except for the last-gasp "Cowgirls Don't Cry") and that album failed to even go gold. Kix also found work as a radio host, succeeding Bob Kingsley on the countdown show ''[[~~American Country Countdown (Radio)|~~American Country Countdown]]''.

Only two years later, Brooks & Dunn got back on track, launching that year with "Ain't Nothing 'bout You", the biggest hit of the duo's career ''and'' the biggest country single of 2001. The hits kept on coming for the next few years, but following a second Greatest Hits album, they started to fade away again. ''Hillbilly Deluxe'' did account for the duo's last #1 hit and the signature song "Believe", but ''Cowboy Town'' saw all of its singles fall quickly from the charts (except for the last-gasp "Cowgirls Don't Cry") and that album failed to even go gold. Kix also found work as a radio host, succeeding Bob Kingsley on the countdown show ''[[American Country Countdown]]''.

In 2009, Kix and Ronnie announced that they would be retiring as Brooks & Dunn. This retirement was led off by a comprehensive ''#1s... and Then Some'' compilation, which included two new low-charting singles. Afterward, Ronnie began a solo career with the single "Bleed Red", and contributed a song to the ''[[Country Strong]]'' soundtrack.

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* [[Record Producer]]: The failure of ''Tight Rope'' could be attributed to Don Cook's production getting a little tired (Byron Gallimore, with whom the duo had never worked before, did some production as well). Starting with their critically-acclaimed comeback ''Steers & Stripes'' in 2001, they began working with Mark Wright, so maybe such a change was in order. They switched again to Tony Brown, best known for his work with [[George Strait]], on their last two albums.

* [[Signature Song]]: "Neon Moon", "Boot Scootin' Boogie", "My Maria", "Ain't Nothing 'bout You", "Only in America", "Red Dirt Road", "Play Something Country", "Believe". Take your pick.

* [[Step Up to ~~The~~ Microphone]]: Out of 50 singles, Kix got lead on six: "Lost and Found", "Rock My World (Little Country Girl)", "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". The last of these peaked at #41 and was supposedly pulled because program directors didn't want another Kix song.

* [[Step Up to the Microphone]]: Out of 50 singles, Kix got lead on six: "Lost and Found", "Rock My World (Little Country Girl)", "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". The last of these peaked at #41 and was supposedly pulled because program directors didn't want another Kix song.

* [[Truck Driver's Gear Change]]: Present in the re-recorded version of "Cowgirls Don't Cry" that features a guest vocal from [[Reba McEntire]]. The song comes to a dead stop for a few seconds and jumps up a ''fifth'' for the end; even worse, the music just sounds like it was artificially pitched up on this version. Neither the key change nor the dead stop are present on the original, Brooks & Dunn-only version.