Brooks & Dunn Released Their Debut Single, “Brand New Man,” 34 Years Ago Today, Launching The Most Successful Country Duo In History
The song that started it all. Thirty-four years ago, the country music duo released their debut country single, “Brand New Man,” which would skyrocket the career of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. The iconic country duo has been in the game for a long time, and the release of “Brand New Man” proved to the industry that they were a force to be reckoned with. They came out of the gate swinging, and didn’t look back. Before joining forces as […] The post Brooks & Dunn Released Their Debut Single, “Brand New Man,” 34 Years Ago Today, Launching The Most Successful Country Duo In History first appeared on Whiskey Riff.


The song that started it all.
Thirty-four years ago, the country music duo released their debut country single, “Brand New Man,” which would skyrocket the career of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. The iconic country duo has been in the game for a long time, and the release of “Brand New Man” proved to the industry that they were a force to be reckoned with. They came out of the gate swinging, and didn’t look back.
Before joining forces as a duo, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn were chasing a dream of becoming country stars on their own, but had yet to break through as solo artists. Although Kix Brooks had aspirations of being a solo artist, he was more successful as a songwriter. Kix was a master with words, penning a few number-one hits, including “I’m Only In It for the Love” for John Conlee and “Modern Day Romance” for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Ronnie Dunn was signed to an independent label and released several traditional singles. He then relocated to Nashville with his wife after winning the Marlboro Talent Search competition in 1988. Once in Music City, music engineer and producer Scott Hendricks brought Ronnie to the attention of Arista Records Nashville chief Tim DuBois.
Tim DuBois is the man we can thank for the union of Brooks & Dunn because, after getting to know the two men, he saw something no one else did: They would be unstoppable as a duo. After Tim DuBois heard what they sounded like together, he offered them a record deal, which they hesitantly signed, and they became the soon-to-be legendary duo of Brooks & Dunn.
On June 10, 1991, Brooks & Dunn released their debut single, “Brand New Man,” which kicked down doors and skyrocketed to the top of the charts, scoring them their first number-one single. The title single for their debut album, Brooks & Dunn, became the second country music band in history to have its debut single reach #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
(For those curious, Diamond Rio did it four months prior to the release of “Brand New Man” with “Meet in the Middle.”)
Penned by Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn, and Don Cook, Kix says that Ronnie brought the idea of the song to the table,
“Ronnie had brought this idea to the table, I’m a changed man, and I just said ‘God that sounds great, what if it’s brand new man?’ And he goes, ‘Well, I like that too.’
And we hacked around on the verses, got ’em pretty close. Don Cook, our buddy, co-writer, producer when we first got started, threw in that “born to love again” line. And we’re like, ‘Oh, okay, that’s good. That’s good, you’re in.’
And, uh, actually fooled around and started working on another song. We were workin’ on ‘My Next Broken Heart’, which were our first two number-one records. So that first week was kind of an eye-opener. You know, heck, maybe there’s something going on here.”
One to something is an understatement. After Brooks & Dunn released their debut record, Brand New Man, the duo continued to score number one hits with “My Next Broken Heart,” “Neon Moon,” and “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.” The record itself has now sold more than six million copies, and is still highly popular among country music fans.
The timelessness of these singles, especially their debut single, cemented their legendary career in country music.
Cheers to 34 years of “Brand New Man.”
In 2019, the duo revisited the song with Luke Combs as part of their Reboot album, breathing new life into it. Fire up that duet while you’re here.
The post Brooks & Dunn Released Their Debut Single, “Brand New Man,” 34 Years Ago Today, Launching The Most Successful Country Duo In History first appeared on Whiskey Riff.