- Brooks & Dunn
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▪ 2008Leon Eric [“Kix”] Brooks and Ronnie Gene Dunnborn May 12, 1955, Shreveport, La.,andborn June 1, 1953, Coleman, TexasIn 2007 Brooks & Dunn were the favourite vocal duo in country music. In fact, every year since 1991 the eminent pair had been named top vocal duo by the Country Music Association (CMA) or the Academy of Country Music (ACM)—and in most years by both. From the string of good-time honky-tonk hits of their early years to the slick musicianship of their 2007 album Cowboy Town, Brooks & Dunn parlayed their odd-couple partnership into extraordinarily consistent success.By age six Brooks was playing the ukelele; by the time he was a student at Louisiana State University, he was performing regularly in nightclubs. He moved around the U.S., working on the Alaska oil pipeline and at an advertising job in Maine. Finally he went to Nashville, where he took a position on the staff of Tree Publishing, writing hit songs for acts such as Sawyer Brown and the Oak Ridge Boys. He also recorded two solo albums before joining Dunn.Dunn's father was a musician who also worked on oil rigs; his father's musicianship and his mother's devout Baptist faith were strong influences on him. When he was a student at Abilene (Texas) Christian College, planning to be a preacher, a dean gave him an ultimatum: quit playing music in bars or leave school. Dunn chose music. After winning the Marlboro Country Music Talent Search, he moved to Nashville and signed with Tree Publishing.Arista Records executive Tim DuBois was familiar with the songwriting talents of both men and introduced them over lunch in 1990, suggesting that they try to write songs together. Both artists had set their sights on solo careers but agreed to give the partnership a try. Their first effort became the title track of the album Brand New Man (1991), which also included the hit single “Boot Scootin' Boogie.” Their second album, Hard Workin' Man (1993), confirmed their popularity, immediately reaching third on the country music charts. With the laid-back Dunn singing and the wildly energetic Brooks playing guitar, the duo also had strong appeal in concert. Several times they won the Entertainer of the Year award, once from the CMA and three times from the ACM. By 2007, with two Grammy Awards to their credit, Brooks & Dunn had expanded their musical repertoire, incorporating some straight-ahead rock 'n' roll, covering the occasional classic country hit, and even composing a few sombre ballads. Their popularity remained strong, and the duo showed no signs of fading.Anthony G. Craine
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▪ American music duopopular American country music duo that became a fixture on the music sales charts beginning in the early 1990s. The band comprised Leon Eric (“Kix”) Brooks (b. May 12, 1955, Shreveport, La., U.S.) and Ronnie Gene Dunn (b. June 1, 1953, Coleman, Texas, U.S.).By age six Brooks was playing the ukulele; by the time he was a student at Louisiana State University, he was performing regularly in nightclubs. He moved around the United States, working on the Alaska oil pipeline and at an advertising job in Maine. Finally he went to Nashville, where he took a position on the staff of Tree Publishing, writing hit songs for acts such as Sawyer Brown and the Oak Ridge Boys. He also recorded two solo albums before teaming with Dunn in 1990.Dunn's father was a musician who also worked on oil rigs; his father's musicianship and his mother's devout Baptist faith were strong influences on him. When he was a student at Abilene (Texas) Christian College, planning to be a preacher, a dean gave him an ultimatum: quit playing music in bars or leave school. Dunn chose music. After winning the Marlboro Country Music Talent Search, he moved to Nashville and signed with Tree Publishing.Arista Records executive Tim DuBois was familiar with the songwriting talents of both men and introduced them in 1990, suggesting that they write songs together. Both artists had set their sights on solo careers but agreed to give the partnership a try. Their first effort became the title track of the album Brand New Man (1991), which also included the hit single "Boot Scootin' Boogie." Their second album, Hard Workin' Man (1993), confirmed their popularity, immediately reaching third on the country music charts. With the laid-back Dunn singing and the wildly energetic Brooks playing guitar, the duo also had strong appeal in concert.Several times they won the Entertainer of the Year Award, once from the Country Music Association (CMA) and three times from the Academy of Country Music (ACM). From the string of good-time honky-tonk hits of their early years to the slick musicianship of their 2007 album, Cowboy Town, Brooks & Dunn parlayed their partnership into extraordinarily consistent success. By 2007, with two Grammy Awards and a host of CMA and ACM awards to their credit, Brooks & Dunn had expanded their musical repertoire, incorporating some straight-ahead rock and roll, covering the occasional classic country hit, and even composing a few sombre ballads.Anthony G. Craine* * *
Universalium. 2010.
