Kix Brooks
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| Kix Brooks | |
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 Ronnie Dunn (left) and Kix Brooks (right).
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Leon Eric Brooks III |
| Born | May 12, 1955 |
| Origin | Shreveport, Louisiana, USA |
| Genre(s) | Country |
| Occupation(s) | singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1983-present |
| Label(s) | Capitol Nashville Arista Nashville |
| Associated acts | Ronnie Dunn |
| Website | www.brooksanddunn.com/ |
Kix Brooks (born Leon Eric Brooks III, May 12, 1955 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is currently one half of the multi-award winning, American, country music duo Brooks & Dunn. Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn live down the street from each other in Brentwood, Tennessee, an upscale suburb of Nashville.
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[edit] Early Life
Kix grew up in Louisiana. He has one sister, one half-sister, one half-brother and his father adopted one son of his third wife. After graduating from Sewanee Military Academy, he briefly attended Louisiana Tech University as a Theater 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.
[edit] Musical Career
His father urged him to pursue his desire to become a musician, and Kix moved to Nashville in the early 1980s. His then girlfriend (now wife Barbara, with whom he has a son and daughter) followed shortly thereafter. He began working for Tree Publishing as a staff songwriter. He recorded his first solo single, Baby, When Your Heart Breaks Down, for Avion in 1983 but returned to songwriting after its failure. He also released an album, Kix Brooks, in 1989 on Capitol Records. This album also featured the song "Sacred Ground", which became a #2 country hit for McBride & the Ride in 1992.
He is currently one half of country music duo Brooks & Dunn. Kix usually provides backing vocals on their songs and singles. Only one single featuring Kix on lead vocals, "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone", has gone to Number One, and he has not sung lead on a single since 1999's "South of Santa Fe".
[edit] Awards
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. They have won the Country Music Association Vocal Duo Of The Year award every year since they debuted in 1991 except in 2000 where the honor went to Montgomery Gentry, and in 2007 where the honor went to Sugarland. They have sold over 30 million records and continue to be one of the most consistently successful touring acts on the concert circuit.
[edit] Other achievements
As of January 2006, Kix Brooks is the host of American Country Countdown, a syndicated radio countdown show based on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Brooks succeeded the show's former host, Bob Kingsley, who now hosts Country Top 40. He is also owner of Arrington Vineyards, a winery located outside of Nashville.[1]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Kix Brooks | Capitol |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | US Country | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "Baby, When Your Heart Breaks Down" | 73 | Kix Brooks |
| 1989 | "Sacred Ground" | 89 |
[edit] Reference
- ^ "1995". Clemson World. Spring 2008. p. 36.
