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.

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. The song served as the lead single from their seventh album, 2001's Steers & Stripes. It became their longest-lasting number 1, with a six-week stay at that position. This song was the second song of the duo's career to be named the top single of the year according to Billboard Year-End; it was also their highest peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time, peaking at number 25 there. For this album, the duo worked with producer Mark Wright, who also produced for Lee Ann Womack and Gary Allan at the time.  The next two singles from Steers & Stripes both made number 1 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 5 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. "Only in America" was later used by George W. Bush in his 2004 re-election campaign, and again in 2008 by Barack Obama in his campaign. Noting that the song was used by both a Republican and a Democrat 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.

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