Leon Eric "Kix" Brooks III (born May 12, 1955) is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's American Country Countdown. Prior to the duo's foundation, he was a singer and songwriter, charting twice on Hot Country Songs and releasing an album for Capitol Records. Brooks and Ronnie Dunn comprised Brooks & Dunn for 20 years, with both members beginning solo careers. Brooks's solo career after Brooks & Dunn has included the album New to This Town.
Early life
Brooks grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. He has one sister, one half-sister, one half-brother and his father adopted one son of his third wife. He attended Riverside Elementary for grades K-5. After graduating from the former Sewanee Military Academy, an Episcopalian institution in Sewanee, Tennessee, Brooks attended Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, where he was a theatre arts major. He moved to Alaska to work for his father on an oil pipeline for one summer and then returned to Louisiana Tech to finish his education. He then moved to Maine and wrote advertising for a company owned by his sister and brother-in-law.
Kix Brooks is the solo debut album by American country music artist Kix Brooks. It was released on Capitol Nashville in 1989, a year before he joined Ronnie Dunn in the duo Brooks & Dunn. The album was re-released in 1993 on compact disc via Liberty Records when he was one half of Brooks & Dunn at the time. It includes the single "Sacred Ground," which was a minor hits for Brooks on the country charts, and a new version of "Baby, When Your Heart Breaks Down", which was originally released as a single in 1983.
"Sacred Ground" was later covered by McBride & the Ride on their 1992 album Sacred Ground. McBride & the Ride's version peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts.
Track listing
"Highways and Heartaches" (Kix Brooks, Chris Waters) - 4:05
"Way Up North Around Shreveport" (Brooks, Don Cook) - 2:45
"There's a Telephone Ringing" (Brooks, Alan Laney, Kyle Young) - 4:11
"She Does the Walk On By" (Brooks, Gary Nicholson) - 3:02
"When they said they wanted to experience it, I thought, 'Come on.... We're gonna show you a real good time!' And they gave me almost a whole day, so they sure did get a lot of ground covered...I don't know how often they have to go 4-wheeling or climb trees to do what they do, but that day, they did. Thank heavens those guys are athletic and have a sense of humor, 'cause we tore it up."
"And you know, ... it is pretty much a rallying cry for everything we do. I mean, we may turn those guitars up -- and play hard and loud -- but in the end, we're all about taking country music and setting it on stun. That's what we do, and that's what this song is about."
"I knew doing a rap-country song like 'Whiskey Do My Talkin'' was a good move, ... It totally opened the urban side of honky tonk up to us, not to mention there being plenty of good old fashioned amped up country on this one."
"Today was absolutely as good as I can play. And I was scared to death. I played a couple practice rounds leading up to this event and hacked it all over the place. I didn't even break 90 in my practice rounds. This is a dream come true for a hacker like me."
"We don't want our fans to think we're just stupid goofballs."
"We've got our friends in the world of sports,"
"New York actually took notice of us and it wasn't in a hokey, hay-bale kind of way."
"Our business is based in Nashville, and it always will be, but New York City is still our No. 1 or No. 2 market. There's an amazing history of country music here; most people just don't realize. Garth (Brooks) is still the biggest concert that was ever in (Central) Park."
"I know every time I turn the corner he's working on something. I think it would probably be easier if I was by myself to head for the Caribbean for a month and just tell everybody to leave me alone. But when I know he's sitting over here working, it doesn't allow me to do that."
"We are competing against ourselves. There's 28 million people who have Brooks & Dunn CDs ... The challenge is to come up with Brooks & Dunn music that's not something they've got already. That's what we are really up against."
I was sittin' at the cafe for a bite And couldn't help but overhear this guy He just pulled up in a U-Haul truck Tell Becky how pumped he was 'Bout movin' here for his new job And what a cool little spot it was It kinda made me jealous, it made me mad Wish I could see this place like that Yeah, I wish I was new to this town Just pullin' in, and checkin' it out For the first time, wish I could go anywhere And not be afraid of finding you there Yeah, girl, when I see you around I wish I was new to this town I can't put my feet on this sidewalk Without hearing you laugh, and hearing you talk And every street's a memory Of just how good it used to be I can't walk into the corner bar Without asking how you are And how you're doing, and how you've been I gotta go through it all again I wish I was new to this town Just pullin' in, and checkin' it out For the first time, wish I could go anywhere And not be afraid of finding you there Yeah, girl, when I see you around I wish I was new to this town I wonder what it feels like to hop in my truck Not think about us, just go for a ride And stop at that stoplight, not think about you Sittin' here by my side Yeah, I wish I was new to this town Just pullin' in, and checkin' it out For the first time, wish I could go anywhere And not be afraid of finding you there Yeah, girl, when I see you around And I feel the way that I do now Oh, I wish I was new to this town I wish I was new to this town, oh, yeah I wish I was new to this town
Kix Brooks. The Shreveport native famous for being one half of country music duo Brooks & Dunn for 20 years before embarking on solo careers. Brooks was a theatre arts major while attending Louisiana...
Brooks and Dunn first got together in 1990, and despite their age, they’re still our touring ... Dunn and his partner in the duo, Kix Brooks, were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019.
Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles even shimmered in a silver number on the red carpet as one of this year’s awards presenters. See what everyone wore on the carpet below. 1 of 44. KaceyMusgravesGetty Images...Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks Getty Images.
It's also an apropos way to describe how Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn enter the Music Row conference room where they're speaking with The Tennessean... Brooks and Dunn, overall, are impressed with how the "Reboot" concept has progressed ... Adds Brooks.
