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. The next three single releases from
Brand New Man ("
My Next Broken Heart", "
Neon Moon", and their own rendition of "Boot Scootin' Boogie") 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. and its commercial success led to a renewed interest in
line dancing throughout the United States. It spent more than 190 weeks on the
Top Country Albums charts. After the album's release, Brooks & Dunn began touring as well.
Alanna Nash of
Entertainment Weekly was less positive, criticizing the duo's sound for being "imitative".
''Hard Workin' Man and Waitin' on Sundown'' ''
Hard Workin' 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 its B-side, "
That Ain't No Way to Go". "
We'll Burn That Bridge" and "
Rock My World (Little Country Girl)" (respectively the second and fourth releases) both made top five on
Billboard, with the former reaching number one on
Radio & Records. By the end of 1994, the duo released their third studio album, ''
Waitin' on Sundown''. It also produced five charting singles, three of which made number one on the country charts: "
She's Not the Cheatin' 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 10. A review of the single "She's Not the Cheatin' Kind" from the same site praised it for its "hard-driving,
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 "minidrama" of "A Few Good Rides Away" (which Brooks co-wrote) was the strongest track on the album.
Borderline The first single from Brooks and Dunn's fourth album,
Borderline, was a
cover version of
B.W. Stevenson's 1973 single "
My Maria". 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 Dunn 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 & Dunn joined a double-headliner tour with
Reba McEntire.
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 10. A more positive review came from Larry Stephens 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 and 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 country charts. Arista Nashville and
MCA Nashville, the label to which McEntire was signed, both promoted the single. This cut went to number one, as did
If You See Her's next two singles: "
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. Also included on the album was a cover of
Mark Collie's "
Born and Raised in Black and White", the first song of the duo's career in which they alternated on lead vocals.
Country Standard Time writer Kevin Oliver criticized the album for having "wildly uneven" material, calling the McEntire collaboration a "snoozer" and "South of Santa Fe" "wretched".
Tight Rope Tight Rope (1999), the duo's sixth album, was also its least commercially successful release. The duo shared production duties with
Byron Gallimore on all three singles and four other songs on the album, while retaining Cook as producer on the other six. While "Beer Thirty" was climbing, the album cut "Goin' Under Gettin' Over You" charted as high as number 60 based on unsolicited airplay. Jon Weisberger thought that the album was "consistent" but added that it did not have any "surprises".
Steers & Stripes In addition to persuading the duo to stay together, Galante suggested that they record the song "
Ain't Nothing 'Bout You", because he felt it had potential as a hit. it was also their highest peak on the
Billboard Hot 100 at the time, peaking at number 25 there. The next two singles from
Steers & 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 Richey's "
Every River", featuring a backing vocal from Richey. All of these other singles also made the pop charts. Noting that the song was used by both a
Republican and a
Democratic candidate, Brooks (who wrote the song with Cook and
Ronnie Rogers) 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 Allmusic and
Country Standard Time noting that the album was more consistent than the previous ones. Nash was less favorable, referring to the up-tempos as "retreads", but praising Dunn's voice. Nash gave the album an A-minus rating, saying that Brooks & Dunn "dig even deeper" on the album; she also referred 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 Jeffrey B. Remz called it "satisfactory, but not much more". Both Nash and Remz compared "You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl" to the sound of
The Rolling Stones.
The Greatest Hits Collection II and Hillbilly Deluxe Arista Nashville released Brooks and Dunn's second greatest-hits package,
The Greatest Hits Collection II, 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 two and one on the country-music charts, as well as 38 and 56 on the Hot 100. "Play Something Country" was the lead-off to their ninth studio album,
Hillbilly Deluxe. Brooks & Dunn co-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 twentieth and final number one on Hot Country Songs, and went to number 37 on the
Billboard Hot 100. and later by
Nicolette Larson. The final release from
Hillbilly Deluxe was the
title track, which peaked at number 16 on Hot Country Songs.
Cowboy Town , August 2009 Their 10th studio album,
Cowboy Town, was released on October 2, 2007. Its lead-off single "
Proud of the House We Built" reached number four on the country charts and 57 on the Hot 100. In early 2009, the song peaked 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 Ballad 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 BamaJam festival in
Enterprise, Alabama. Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "Brooks & Dunn have crafted these songs[…]with an eye on the middle of the road, and they do it well enough that this music will likely win them that audience yet again." Mikael Wood of
Entertainment Weekly rated it "B+", saying that "even if the themes on their 11th 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 to Brooks, the decision to split was on good terms; he told
CMT that Dunn and he are "still good friends", while Dunn said, "We've ended up more like brothers." The duo released its final compilation,
#1s… 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
Tight Rope. Both of these new songs, "
Indian Summer" and "
Honky Tonk Stomp" (featuring guest vocals from
Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top), peaked at number 16 on the country-music charts. On May 23, 2010,
CBS aired a tribute show presented by the Academy of Country Music titled
The Last Rodeo, on which various country music stars performed Brooks & 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 2, 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". Dunn 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, Dunn sang 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
Valory 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' first Arista album, also titled
New to This Town, was released in September 2012. On December 3, 2014, Brooks & Dunn were announced to be reuniting to perform a series of concerts in Las Vegas with Reba McEntire 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 advance 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. Brooks & Dunn announced a sequel album to
Reboot in 2024, titled
Reboot II. It includes re-recordings of their previous hit singles with other country music artists such as
Jelly Roll,
Lainey Wilson, and
Megan Moroney. Unlike the previous project, it also includes collaborations with rock band
Halestorm and blues singer
Marcus King. The album was released on November 15, 2024. == Other works ==