Brooks & Dunn is an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before the foundation, both members were solo recording artists. Brooks wrote number one singles for John Conlee, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Highway 101; both he and Dunn also charted two solo singles apiece in the 1980s, with Brooks also releasing an album for Capitol Records in 1989.

Arista Nashville released Brooks & Dunn's second Greatest Hits package, The Greatest Hits Collection II, in October 2004. The album included singles from If You See Her, Steers & Stripes and 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.  In August 2005, the duo released the single "Play Something Country". According to Dunn and co-writer Terry McBride, it was inspired by Gretchen Wilson, who was touring with Brooks & Dunn and Big & Rich on the Deuces Wild tour at the time. "Play Something Country" was the lead-off to their ninth studio album, Hillbilly Deluxe. Brooks & Dunn co-produced 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. The album's second single, "Believe", peaked at number eight, also winning the next year's Single of the Year and Song of the Year awards from the Country Music Association. After it was "Building Bridges", with guest vocals from Vince Gill and Sheryl Crow, which peaked at number four. Before the duo released this song, it had been released by co-writer Larry Willoughby, a cousin of country singer Rodney Crowell, and later by Nicolette Larson. The final release from Hillbilly Deluxe was the title track, which peaked at number sixteen on Hot Country Songs. Erlewine gave this album a positive review, saying that it was not "quite as ambitious" as the previous two albums, but "just as satisfying".  Brooks & Dunn began the Long Haul tour in mid-2006, which featured Sugarland and Jack Ingram as opening acts. Of this tour, Brooks said, "They've got a lot of shows under their belt, they're really good at what they do, and they are great performers[...]We want everything about this show from opening act 'til the lights go down to be first class."

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