After 20 years of making music together, Brooks and Dunn have called it a day.
The superstar country duo posted a message on its website today saying "If you hear rumors, don't believe them, it's just time." But that doesn't make the news less bittersweet. After winning Vocal Duo of the Year 14 times at the Country Music Association Awards, Brooks and Dunn were pushed out of the top spot by Sugarland in 2007, and again in 2008 - with a third year off the podium looking likely in November.
It's not that B&D were making poorer music. Brooks and Dunn were consistently good - from their honky-tonk sing-alongs to their heartbreaking ballads. But sometimes things just run their course - and in this case, perhaps it's a miracle they lasted so long. Ronnie Dunn, the fair-haired singer with the equally golden voice, and Kix Brooks, the dark-haired guitarist and showman who rocked a Village People mustache, but somehow made it look sexy... two polar opposites whose on-stage chemistry superseded their off-stage tendency to travel separate paths.
Brooks and Dunn say they'll release a compilation of their #1 hits on September 8th, followed by "The Last Rodeo Tour" in 2010 (dates to be announced). After that, they'll be Brooks and Done. I, for one, will be clamoring for tickets to their last hurrah, and savoring memories of the time they came to Hollywood for the dedication of their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and got a hankering for In-N-Out burgers. After convincing the limo driver to hit the drive-thru, they placed their order... then discovered they didn't have any cash.
Kix and Ronnie, you still owe me 17 bucks.