Brooks & Dunn Dunn began his musical career as a solo artist. He charted two minor singles with
Churchill/MCA Records: in 1983, he released "It's Written All Over Your Face", and in 1984, "She Put the Sad in All His Songs". In 1990,
Kix Brooks and he formed Brooks & Dunn. In 1991, they released their first album,
Brand New Man, certified six-times platinum by the
RIAA. Brooks & Dunn released 12 studio albums, two greatest-hits albums, and a Christmas album. Brooks & Dunn sold over 30 million albums, had 20 number-one singles on
Billboard, and were one of the most consistently successful acts on the concert circuit. In 2009, they announced they were temporarily disbanding in 2010. On December 3, 2014,
Brooks & Dunn reunited, and along with
Reba McEntire, performed a series of concerts throughout the summer and fall of 2015.
2011–2012: Debut solo album and departure from Sony In late 2010, Dunn announced that he was working on a solo album. The album's first single, "
Bleed Red", was released to country radio on January 29, 2011, and debuted at number 30 on the
Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week ending February 19, 2011, and ended as a top 10, his first of his solo career. Dunn's self-titled album
Ronnie Dunn was released on June 7, 2011. The second single from the album, "
Cost of Livin'", was released on June 6, 2011, and debuted at number 56 on the country chart. It peaked at number 19, followed by "
Let the Cowboy Rock" at number 31. The album debuted at number one on the
Billboard Top Country Albums, as well as number five on the
Billboard 200, selling 45,000 copies in its first week in the US. In June 2012, Ronnie Dunn took to social media to ask his fans what the fourth single on the album should be. Shortly after, Ronnie got a call from the executives at Sony Music saying that his "fb post killed the 'Let the Cowboy Rock' single". He then requested for radio to start playing "Once" as the next single. Before the song could be released to radio as a single, he was released from the label.
2013–2014: Little Will-E Records and Peace, Love, and Country Music In March 2013, Ronnie Dunn previewed the song "Country This" on SoundCloud. On June 4, 2013, Ronnie released the two new tracks, "Country This" and "Kiss You There", exclusively on iTunes. The songs were each previewed for a month on The Highway on Sirius XM. On July 9, 2013, Dunn announced his new record deal, a joint effort between HitShop Records and his own label Little Will-E Records with HitShop executing radio promotion while Dunn retains personal brand control. The lead-off single for his second solo album, "Kiss You There", was released to country radio on July 29, 2013. After an unsuccessful run with it, Dunn and HitShop Records parted ways. On November 19, 2013, Dunn released the second single from the forthcoming album, "Wish I Still Smoked Cigarettes". In January 2014, Dunn also released "Grown Damn Man" as a promotional single from the second solo album. The album,
Peace, Love and Country Music, was released on April 8, 2014.
2014–2018: Nash Icon record deal and Tattooed Heart On December 1, 2014, Ronnie Dunn began to speculate on his Facebook page that he had signed with the newest imprint of
Big Machine Label Group,
NASH Icon, but the label never confirmed nor denied it. On January 12, 2015, the president of Big Machine,
Scott Borchetta, officially announced that Dunn had joined
Reba McEntire and
Martina McBride, making him the third artist to join the roster. Borchetta stated in a press release, "Ronnie Dunn has one of the smoothest, most-recognized, and most-popular voices of the last 25 years in country music. I'm truly honored to have him join us and take his rightful place as an icon. Great music is on the way." Dunn also commented in the article, saying, "This is the best possible scenario that I can imagine. The Big Machine and Cumulus combination is a force, and I am proud to be included in this innovative venture." The press release went on to announce Ronnie Dunn was about to hit the studio to record what is now his third solo album and that the lead-off single of the album was released in early spring of 2015. The lead single from Dunn's third solo album, "Ain't No Trucks in Texas", was released on July 17, 2015. On April 22, 2016, Dunn announced the second single, "
Damn Drunk", on his Facebook page. The song was released August 5, 2016. On August 22, 2016, Dunn announced that the title of his third solo album was
Tattooed Heart; it was released on November 11, 2016.
2019–present: Reboot and Re-Dunn In 2019, Brooks & Dunn returned to the studio for the first time since the release of their 2009 compilation,
#1s... and Then Some. The result was a new album,
Reboot, a collection of some of Brooks & Dunn's greatest hits re-recorded as duets between the duo and up-and-coming country music stars. The album was released on April 5, 2019. It debuted at number one on
Billboards
Top Country Albums chart. Dunn performed at the 2019
Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum Concert and Induction Ceremony. Dunn announced in 2019 that he would be releasing a covers album in January 2020. Titled
Re-Dunn, the album is a collection of 24 classic rock and country covers. A cover of "
Amarillo by Morning" was released on September 6, 2019. ==Personal life==