Ronnie Dunn is one half of the country music duo Brooks & Dunn and he's an honorary famous Okie!
Born on June 1, 1953, Ronald Gene Dunn grew up in Texas most of his life. His father was a rancher by day and musician by night, but Dunn's love for country music didn't come until later.
Dunn started attending Abilene Christian University in 1975 but later was expelled from the college for "performing in honky tonks" in his off time. This propelled Dunn to make moves in both a music career and going to Tulsa.
While in Tulsa, Dunn performed for many years while drawing much inspiration from local honky tonks. This brought major attention to Dunn and his talents.
It wasn't until 1990 that things turned major for Dunn's music career when he met Kix Brooks. After getting together for a writing session, they both wrote: "Brand New Man" and thus Brooks & Dunn was born.
Their first album together, also named Brand New Man, was a major success. As well as the title track, "My Next Broken Heart", "Neon Moon", and their own rendition of "Boot Scootin' Boogie" all went number one. This made it the first time a country music duo had four singles make it to the top of the charts.
They continued to see major success after their first album and became one of the best-selling duos in all of country music history with more than 30 million albums sold worldwide. Collectively, they have more than 20 #1 singles and more than 80 industry awards, including two Grammys.
Brooks & Dunn played together for 20 years before temporarily parting ways in 2011. They reunited four years later and joined fellow famous Oklahoman Reba McEntire for a residency show in Las Vegas.
Dunn also has a solo career outside of the group. Ronnie Dunn, his first solo album, was released in 2011 with Tattooed Heart following in 2016.
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