The duo's material is known for containing influences of honky-tonk, mainstream country, and rock, as well as the contrast between their singing voices and on-stage personalities, although some of their music has also been criticized as formulaic.

Their 1992 single "Boot Scootin' Boogie" helped repopularize line dancing in the United States, and 2001's "Only in America" was used by both George W. Bush and Barack Obama in their respective presidential campaigns.

Brooks and Dunn have collaborated with several artists, including Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, Mac Powell, Billy Gibbons, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Luke Combs.

Leon Eric "Kix" Brooks III was born on May 12, 1955, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1976, he played at various venues in Maine.

[1] Brooks worked as a songwriter in the 1980s,[2] co-writing the number-one singles "I'm Only in It for the Love" by John Conlee, "Modern Day Romance" by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and "Who's Lonely Now" by Highway 101,[3] plus The Oak Ridge Boys' Top 20 hit "You Made a Rock of a Rolling Stone",[4] Nicolette Larson's "Let Me Be the First",[5] and Keith Palmer's "Don't Throw Me in the Briarpatch".

[2][7] Brooks and Pam Tillis co-wrote and sang on "Tomorrow's World", a multi-artist single released on Warner Bros. Records in 1990 in honor of Earth Day.

He played bass guitar in local bands during high school, and he briefly studied theology at Hardin-Simmons University with the intention of becoming a Baptist preacher.

"Boot Scootin' Boogie", which had previously been the B-side to "My Next Broken Heart", also made number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100,[7] and its commercial success led to a renewed interest in line dancing throughout the United States.

[1] Brand New Man received a positive review from AllMusic, whose critic Daniel Gioffre thought that the album showed the duo's diversity of musical influences.

"We'll Burn That Bridge" and "Rock My World (Little Country Girl)" (respectively the second and fourth releases) both made top five on Billboard, with the former reaching number one on Radio & Records.

[22] Randy Lewis of the Orlando Sentinel gave a generally positive review, saying that the "minidrama" of "A Few Good Rides Away" (which Brooks co-wrote) was the strongest track on the album.

[33] Also included on the album was a cover of Mark Collie's "Born and Raised in Black and White", the first song of the duo's career in which they alternated on lead vocals.

[15] Jana Pendragon, in her review for Allmusic, praised Dunn's vocal performances on "Husbands and Wives" and "You're My Angel", but thought that a couple of the other cuts were "formula".

[34] Country Standard Time writer Kevin Oliver criticized the album for having "wildly uneven" material, calling the McEntire collaboration a "snoozer" and "South of Santa Fe" "wretched".

[37] Brooks revealed in 2015 that the album's poor performance almost led to the duo splitting up, as he felt, "We weren't really writing together anymore, and we were just kind of done", but they ultimately stayed together at the suggestion of Joe Galante, then the head of their label.

[42] The next two singles from Steers & Stripes both made number one, as well: "Only in America" and "The Long Goodbye", the latter of which was written by Irish pop singers Ronan Keating and Paul Brady.

Four of its cuts made the country music charts based on seasonal airplay: the title track, "Hangin' 'round the Mistletoe", "Rockin' Little Christmas", and a rendition of "Winter Wonderland".

Erlewine described Red Dirt Road as a concept album in his review of it, saying that its title track and other songs offered a "tribute to their roots and upbringing".

[62] Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "Brooks & Dunn have crafted these songs[…]with an eye on the middle of the road, and they do it well enough that this music will likely win them that audience yet again.

"[63] Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly rated it "B+", saying that "even if the themes on their 11th studio CD are a bit predictable, their muscular riffs and handsome vocal harmonies give the material a boot-scooting vibrancy".

[66] Both of these new songs, "Indian Summer" and "Honky Tonk Stomp" (featuring guest vocals from Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top), peaked at number 16 on the country-music charts.

Dunn released his self-titled solo album in June 2011,[70] which produced the top 40 country hits "Bleed Red", "Cost of Livin'" and "Let the Cowboy Rock".

[78] On December 3, 2014, Brooks & Dunn were announced to be reuniting to perform a series of concerts in Las Vegas with Reba McEntire in mid to late 2015.

[80] In February 2019, the duo announced a new album called Reboot, which features re-recordings of their previous singles with guest vocals from contemporary country-music artists.

In addition, Brooks and Dunn announced a concert in Dallas, alongside their Las Vegas residency, as well as a March 2019 appearance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

[86] They covered Bob Seger's "Against the Wind" for the soundtrack to the cartoon King of the Hill; this rendition charted at number 55 in late 1999 based on unsolicited airplay.

[97] Dunn and Dean Dillon co-wrote Shenandoah's 1994 single "Darned If I Don't (Danged If I Do)" and the track "She Wants Me to Stay" on David Kersh's debut album Goodnight Sweetheart.

[1] He also describes their sound as "a winning formula of rambunctious, rocked-up honky tonk with punchy, danceable beats [alternated with] smooth, pop-tinged ballads".

[36] Brooks sang lead on "Lost and Found", "Rock My World", "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone",[110] "Mama Don't Get Dressed Up for Nothing",[111] "Why Would I Say Goodbye",[112] and "South of Santa Fe".

[115] For several years, Dunn's annual "Rock The Barn" event at his home near Nashville raised money for charities such as Gilda's Club and the St. Thomas Breast Cancer Center.