You can’t have every one of your songs go to number one on the country charts if you don’t do it with your first one. Just like you can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning.
Brooks & Dunn came out swinging for the fences in 1991, releasing the song “Brand New Man” in June of that year and immediately making an impression on the country music industry.
The American country music duo recorded the song in 1990 for their first album also titled Brand New Man. The tune was written by Don Cook, along with the two namesakes of the band, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.
The debut single single for the powerhouse country duo was released on June 10th, 32 years ago to the day (feel old yet?).
The song, which acted as Brooks & Dunn’s title track for their first album, was incredibly popular once it was released. In fact, the song as a single reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks charts.
How often does an artist’s debut song reach the number one spot on the charts? Well, before Brooks & Dunn did it with “Brand New Man,” it had only ever happened before one other time.
The country band Diamond Rio did the same thing just three months prior to Brooks & Dunn’s accomplishment with their hit song “Meet in the Middle.”
As for the Brooks & Dunn classic, the song tells the story of a person conveying to their significant other that they are a “brand new man” after getting together with them. A portion of the song tells the story as:
“I used to have a wild side, they say a country-mile-wide
I’d burn those beer joints down
That’s all changed now, You turned my life around
Oh, I saw the light I’ve been baptized
By the fire in your touch and the flame in your eyes
I’m born to love again, I’m a brand new man.”
Thanks to this single putting Brooks & Dunn on the map, the country duo rode the momentum into their album release later in August of 1991.
The album titled Brand New Man included four eventual number one singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles and ended up going “Multi-Platinum” six times, selling over six million copies.
So here’s the song that arguably started it all for the talented country music duo:
And if you liked that, you’ll certainly enjoy the re-recording that Brooks & Dunn put together with the help of Luke Combs in 2019.
This video answers the question “how do you make an already all-time-great song even better?” It’s simple really, you just add Luke Combs.
Take a listen:
