Ronnie Dunn
Encyclopedia
Ronnie Gene Dunn is an American
country music
singer-songwriter, known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn
. In 2011, Dunn began working as a solo artist following the breakup of Brooks & Dunn. He released his self-titled
debut album for Arista Nashville on June 7, 2011, reaching top 10 with its lead-off single "Bleed Red
".
, and attended 13 schools in his first 12 years of school. He began school in New Mexico and finished his formal education at Abilene Christian University
in 1975 as a psychology major. When Ronnie began playing bass guitar
and singing with bands in clubs in the Abilene, Texas
, area, the university gave him the choice of either quitting the band or the university. He chose to leave the university and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma
, for a chance at the country music scene. He lived there for many years while drawing much inspiration from local honky tonk
s such as Tulsa City Limits, which is prominently featured in the music video for Brooks & Dunn's hit "Boot Scootin' Boogie
". While he was in college, he served as a music and youth minister at Avoca Baptist Church in Avoca, Texas
.
Ronnie began his musical career as a solo artist. He charted two minor singles with Churchill/MCA Records
in 1983 he released "It's Written All Over Your Face" in 1983 and "She Put the Sad in All His Songs" in 1984. In 1990, he and Kix Brooks
formed Brooks & Dunn. They released their first album, Brand New Man
, with their first four singles in 1991, and was certified 6x platinum by the RIAA. Brooks & Dunn have released 12 studio albums, two Greatest Hits albums, and a Christmas album. The three Greatest Hits albums feature seven songs that can't be found on any other album.
Brooks & Dunn have sold over 30 million records, had 20 number one singles on Billboard, and are one of the most consistently successful acts on the concert circuit. In 2009, they announced that they would disband in 2010.
", was released to country radio on January 29, 2011, and debuted at number 30 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs
chart for the week ending February 19, 2011. Dunn's self titled album Ronnie Dunn
was released on June 7, 2011. The second single from the album, "Cost of Livin'
", was released on June 6, 2011, and debuted at number 56 on the country chart.
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums, as well as number 5 on the Billboard 200
, selling 45,000 copies in its first week in the US.
On November 29th, 2011, it was announced that Ronnie Dunn is going to be a grandfather. His son Jesse and his wife are expecting a baby boy this winter in Northern California.
(BMI) awards, including Country Music Songwriter of the Year in 1996 and 2001. He has received more than 27 ACM
awards for Top Vocal Duo since 1991, except for 2000 when the honor went to Montgomery Gentry
and 2009 when the honor went to Sugarland, including three Entertainer of the Year awards and vocal event of the year in 2005, for their hit "Building Bridges
" with Vince Gill
and Sheryl Crow
's background vocals, along with his Single of the Year for his gospel song "Believe
". He is a member of both the Oklahoma
and Arkansas
Music Halls Of Fame. Brooks and Dunn have won more Country Music Association
awards and Academy of Country Music
awards than any act in the history of country music.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer-songwriter, known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn was an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, who were both vocalists and songwriters. They were paired by record producer Tim DuBois in 1990. Before the duo's foundation, both members of the duo were solo recording artists...
. In 2011, Dunn began working as a solo artist following the breakup of Brooks & Dunn. He released his self-titled
Ronnie Dunn (album)
Ronnie Dunn is the title of the debut album from country music singer Ronnie Dunn. The album was released on June 7, 2011, via Arista Nashville...
debut album for Arista Nashville on June 7, 2011, reaching top 10 with its lead-off single "Bleed Red
Bleed Red
"Bleed Red" is the title of a song written by Tommy Lee James and Andrew Dorff, and recorded by American country music singer Ronnie Dunn. The song is Dunn's first solo release after Brooks & Dunn disbanded in 2010. "Bleed Red" was released to country radio on January 31, 2011. It is intended to be...
".
Early life
Dunn was born in Coleman, TexasColeman, Texas
Coleman is a city in Coleman County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,127 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coleman County.-Geography:Coleman is located at ....
, and attended 13 schools in his first 12 years of school. He began school in New Mexico and finished his formal education at Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute...
in 1975 as a psychology major. When Ronnie began playing bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and singing with bands in clubs in the Abilene, Texas
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
, area, the university gave him the choice of either quitting the band or the university. He chose to leave the university and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, for a chance at the country music scene. He lived there for many years while drawing much inspiration from local honky tonk
Honky tonk
A honky-tonk is a type of bar that provides musical entertainment to its patrons...
s such as Tulsa City Limits, which is prominently featured in the music video for Brooks & Dunn's hit "Boot Scootin' Boogie
Boot Scootin' Boogie
"Boot Scootin' Boogie" is the title of a song written and recorded by the American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. Before its release, the band Asleep at the Wheel recorded it on their 1990 album Keepin' Me Up Nights...
". While he was in college, he served as a music and youth minister at Avoca Baptist Church in Avoca, Texas
Avoca, Texas
Avoca is an unincorporated community in Jones County, Texas, United States.It is on State Highway 6 at the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 600 and 1636, eight miles southeast of Stamford. Avoca is part of the Abilene, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area....
.
Brooks & Dunn
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
in 1983 he released "It's Written All Over Your Face" in 1983 and "She Put the Sad in All His Songs" in 1984. In 1990, he and Kix Brooks
Kix Brooks
Leon Eric "Kix" Brooks III , is an American country music artist, best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn.-Early life:...
formed Brooks & Dunn. They released their first album, Brand New Man
Brand New Man
Brand New Man is the debut album by country duo Brooks & Dunn. The album produced four consecutive Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in "Brand New Man", "Boot Scootin' Boogie", "My Next Broken Heart", and "Neon Moon"; in addition, "Lost and Found" was a #6...
, with their first four singles in 1991, and was certified 6x platinum by the RIAA. Brooks & Dunn have released 12 studio albums, two Greatest Hits albums, and a Christmas album. The three Greatest Hits albums feature seven songs that can't be found on any other album.
Brooks & Dunn have sold over 30 million records, had 20 number one singles on Billboard, and are one of the most consistently successful acts on the concert circuit. In 2009, they announced that they would disband in 2010.
Return to solo career
In late 2010, Dunn announced that he was working on a solo album. The album's first single, "Bleed RedBleed Red
"Bleed Red" is the title of a song written by Tommy Lee James and Andrew Dorff, and recorded by American country music singer Ronnie Dunn. The song is Dunn's first solo release after Brooks & Dunn disbanded in 2010. "Bleed Red" was released to country radio on January 31, 2011. It is intended to be...
", was released to country radio on January 29, 2011, and debuted at number 30 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart for the week ending February 19, 2011. Dunn's self titled album Ronnie Dunn
Ronnie Dunn (album)
Ronnie Dunn is the title of the debut album from country music singer Ronnie Dunn. The album was released on June 7, 2011, via Arista Nashville...
was released on June 7, 2011. The second single from the album, "Cost of Livin'
Cost of Livin'
"Cost of Livin'" is the title of a song co-written by American country music singer Ronnie Dunn. It was released in June 2011 as the second single from his self-titled album, and his second release following the split of the duo Brooks & Dunn....
", was released on June 6, 2011, and debuted at number 56 on the country chart.
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums, as well as number 5 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, selling 45,000 copies in its first week in the US.
Personal life
Dunn has been married to his wife, Janine, since May 19, 1990 and they have three children: daughters Whitney Claire Nicole, Haley Kathryn Marie, and son Jesse Ronald Brooks.On November 29th, 2011, it was announced that Ronnie Dunn is going to be a grandfather. His son Jesse and his wife are expecting a baby boy this winter in Northern California.
Awards
Ronnie Dunn has won more than twenty Broadcast Music IncorporatedBroadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
(BMI) awards, including Country Music Songwriter of the Year in 1996 and 2001. He has received more than 27 ACM
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
awards for Top Vocal Duo since 1991, except for 2000 when the honor went to Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo composed of vocalists Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry. The two began performing in the 1990s as part of a band which also included Eddie Montgomery's brother John Michael Montgomery, and founded the existing duo in 1999.Signed to Columbia Records,...
and 2009 when the honor went to Sugarland, including three Entertainer of the Year awards and vocal event of the year in 2005, for their hit "Building Bridges
Building Bridges
Building Bridges is the title of the third solo album by the Christian singer-songwriter Paul Field.-Side one:# "Rescued for a Reason" # "Building Bridges" # "Return to Love"...
" with Vince Gill
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
and Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
's background vocals, along with his Single of the Year for his gospel song "Believe
Believe (Brooks & Dunn song)
"Believe" is a single by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was the second single from their album Hillbilly Deluxe, and it won the Country Music Association's 2006 awards for Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year.-Content:...
". He is a member of both the Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
Music Halls Of Fame. Brooks and Dunn have won more Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
awards and Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
awards than any act in the history of country music.
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
UK Country UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| Ronnie Dunn Ronnie Dunn (album) Ronnie Dunn is the title of the debut album from country music singer Ronnie Dunn. The album was released on June 7, 2011, via Arista Nashville... |
|
1 | 5 | 20 | 9 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
|||
| 1983 | "It's Written All Over Your Face" | 59 | — | — | Non-album songs |
| 1984 | "She Put the Sad in All His Songs" | 59 | — | — | |
| "Jessie" | — | — | — | ||
| 2011 | "Bleed Red Bleed Red "Bleed Red" is the title of a song written by Tommy Lee James and Andrew Dorff, and recorded by American country music singer Ronnie Dunn. The song is Dunn's first solo release after Brooks & Dunn disbanded in 2010. "Bleed Red" was released to country radio on January 31, 2011. It is intended to be... " |
10 | 62 | 67 | Ronnie Dunn |
| "Cost of Livin' Cost of Livin' "Cost of Livin'" is the title of a song co-written by American country music singer Ronnie Dunn. It was released in June 2011 as the second single from his self-titled album, and his second release following the split of the duo Brooks & Dunn.... " |
19 | 86 | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Featured singles
| Year | Single | Artist | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
||||
| 2007 | "I Don't Want To" | Ashley Monroe Ashley Monroe Ashley Monroe is an American country music singer-songwriter. She has released two solo singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The singles "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To" reached #43 and #37, respectively... |
37 | Satisfied |
| 2009 | "Garth Must Be Busy" | Cledus T. Judd Cledus T. Judd Barry Poole is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country music songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and his albums are usually an equal mix of original comedy songs and parodies... |
— | Polyrically Uncorrect Polyrically Uncorrect Polyrically Uncorrect is the tenth studio album, and fourteenth album release overall, by American country music parodist Cledus T. Judd. It was released on June 30, 2009 via E1 Music. It includes the singles "Waitin' on Obama", "Garth Must Be Busy" and " Kellie Pickler's Boobs"... |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Bleed Red" | Thien Phan |
| "Love Owes Me One" | ||
| "I Can't Help Myself" | ||
| "How Far to Waco" | ||
| "Cost of Livin'" | ||
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Inspirational Country Music Awards | Mainstream Inspirational Country Song - "Bleed Red" | |