Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1988 through the suggestion of songwriter and record producer, Tim DuBois. Before thei ...

and host of radio's ''

American Country Countdown ''American Country Countdown'', also known as ''ACC'', is a weekly internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 30 country songs of the previous week, from No. 30 to No. 1, according to the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard ...

''. Prior to the duo's foundation, he was a singer and songwriter, charting twice on

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

and releasing an album for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. Brooks and

Ronnie Dunn Ronald Gene Dunn (born June 1, 1953) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record executive. Starting in 2011, Dunn has worked as a solo artist following the temporary dissolution of Brooks & Dunn. He released his Ronnie Dunn (alb ...

comprised Brooks & Dunn for twenty years, then both members began solo careers. Brooks’ solo career after Brooks & Dunn includes the album '' New to This Town''. In 2019, Brooks was inducted into the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

as a member of Brooks & Dunn.

Early life

Brooks grew up in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He has a sister, a half-sister, and a half-brother; his father also adopted a son of his third wife. After graduating from the former Sewanee Military Academy, an Episcopal school in Sewanee,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, Brooks attended

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...

in Ruston as a

theatre arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communic ...

major. He moved to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

to work with his father on an oil

pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

for one summer, then returned to Louisiana Tech to finish his education. After graduating, he moved to

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

to write advertising for a company owned by his sister and brother-in-law.

Musical career

Brooks' father urged him to pursue his desire to become a musician, and he moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Tennessee, in the early 1980s. His then-girlfriend (now wife Barbara, with whom he has a son and daughter) followed shortly thereafter. He worked 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 it only reached number 73 on the

chart. Brooks and Dan Tyler co-wrote " Modern Day Romance", released by

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (sometimes abbreviated NGDB), also known as the Dirt Band, is an American band founded in Long Beach, California, in 1966. Since 2018, the band has consisted of Jeff Hanna and his son Jaime Hanna, both guitarists and voc ...

in June 1985; it became the band's second No. 1 hit on the country chart. Brooks released an album, ''

Kix Brooks Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's ''American Country Cou ...

'', in 1989 on Capitol Records. This album also featured the song " Sacred Ground" which became a No. 2 country hit for McBride & the Ride in 1992. He is one half of country music duo

. Their 1991 debut album, '' Brand New Man'', generated four number-one hit singles on the country charts. Brooks usually provided backing vocals on their songs and singles. The singles featuring Brooks on lead vocals include, " You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" (the only Brooks & Dunn single featuring Brooks on lead vocals to reach No. 1), "Lost and Found", " Rock My World (Little Country Girl)", "Mama Don't Get Dressed Up for Nothing", "South of Santa Fe", and "Why Would I Say Goodbye". On August 10, 2009, Brooks & Dunn announced to their fans, via their website they intended to disband after twenty years of touring. According to the short statement released on their web site, Brooks & Dunn intended to release a greatest hits album, tour during the rest of 2009, and have a farewell tour in 2010. Brooks resumed his solo career in 2012, releasing a new 12-track album on September 11, 2012. '' New to This Town'' features nine songs co-written by Brooks, including the album's first single, the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

.''Kix Brooks to Release Debut Album September 11''
Taste of Country. Retrieved 2012-07-05 He followed his second album with the soundtrack to the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film ''Ambush at Dark Canyon'' in 2014. Brooks composed the majority of the musical score as well as starring in the film. On December 3, 2014, Brooks & Dunn reunited, and along with

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

, performed a series of concerts in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, throughout the summer and fall of 2015. Brooks performed at the 2019

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum Mission Statement The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is a 501(c)(3) charity organization. The mission of the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is to honor all great musicians regardless of genre or instruments. This is done by exhibiting t ...

Concert and Induction Ceremony.

Awards

In 2005, Brooks, along with timber industrialist Roy O. Martin Jr., and the

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

sports legends Paul Dietzel, and

Sue Gunter Sue Gunter (May 22, 1939 – August 4, 2005) was an American women's college basketball coach. She is best known as the head coach of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Lady Tigers basketball team. Gunter was inducted into the Women's Basketb ...

were among those named a "Louisiana Legend" by Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

Other achievements

Since January 2006, Brooks has hosted ''

'', a syndicated radio countdown show based on

Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...

(originally was BILLBOARD, from 2006 to August 2009), country charts. Brooks succeeded the show's former host, Bob Kingsley. Brooks is also co-owner of Arrington Vineyards, a Nashville

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

with winemaker Kip Summers and businessmen John Russell."1995". ''Clemson World''. Spring 2008. p. 36. In 2013, Kix launched the film company Team Two Entertainment along with Eric Brooks. The company makes independent films Kix produces, and Kix occasionally appears as an actor. In 2015, Brooks contracted with

Cooking Channel Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by and spin-off of Food Network. Both are owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media ...

to host ''Steak Out with Kix Brooks'', in which he travels around America in search of the best

steakhouse A steakhouse, steak house, or chophouse is a restaurant that specializes in steaks and chops. Modern steakhouses may also carry other cuts of meat including poultry, roast prime rib, and veal, as well as fish and other seafood. History Choph ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

As a featured artist

Music videos

Filmography

Film

Television

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Kix Louisiana Tech University alumni American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American radio personalities Grammy Award winners American mandolinists Louisiana Republicans Tennessee Republicans Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana 1955 births Living people Brooks & Dunn members Country musicians from Louisiana Capitol Records artists Arista Nashville artists Male actors from Shreveport, Louisiana Singer-songwriters from Louisiana