34 Years Ago Today, Brooks & Dunn Scored Their Fourth Straight No. 1 With an Asleep at the Wheel Cover That Sparked a Line-Dancing Revival

After some time pursuing their own solo careers, Leon “Kix” Brooks and Ronnie Dunn teamed up in 1988 to form the country music duo Brooks & Dunn. This would prove a wise career move many times over, as Brooks & Dunn would go on to become the Country Music Association’s most winning duo of all time with 20 trophies. On this day (August 23) in 1992, they reached number one on the country charts for the fourth straight time with “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”.

Brooks & Dunn’s Label Initially Thought the Song Was “Too Progressive”

While Ronnie Dunn wrote “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”, Brooks & Dunn weren’t the first country musicians to record the song.

Two years earlier, Asleep at the Wheel released it on their 1990 album Keepin’ Me Up Nights.

By August 1992, the two-time Grammy Award winners were on a winning streak. Since releasing their debut album, Brand New Man, a year earlier, every single they released had climbed to number one—first the title track, then “My Next Broken Heart” and the heartbreak anthem “Neon Moon”.

The widespread success of “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” shocked both the duo and their label, who feared the song might not strike the right chord with country music audiences.

“They were afraid that it was too, I don’t know — progressive is not the word — but just kinda pushing the limits, too much, isn’t that crazy?” Dunn explained to Taste of Country Nights in 2024.

The Fans Demanded Its Release

Ironically, the same country music fans who Brooks & Dunn feared would reject “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” were the ones who made its release possible.

“The fans made that happen, too. We were playing clubs actually, that was our first year of touring,” Kix Brooks said. “By the time we got to ‘Boot Scoot,’ I just remember going to clubs and people having posters and stuff, I know they were lighting up radio stations. Finally, they said, ‘Hey, it’s time to put this one out.’”

While the then-country music newcomers had already seen immense success with their first three singles, “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” seemed like a harbinger of the unprecedented career that Brooks & Dunn would have.

It brought scores of people to the dance floors for western line dancing. To date, there are at least 16 line dances with “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” in the title.

[RELATED: Remember When Brooks & Dunn Broke Every Country Music Fan’s Heart in 2009?]

And with 20 number-one hits and almost as many platinum albums, Brooks & Dunn is officially the best-selling country music duo of all time.

Even after three decades, they continue to regularly pack arenas.

Featured image by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

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