If you haven’t hummed along to a Brooks & Dunn song sometime in the last 17 years, chances are you’ve been living under a rock. The near-ubiquitous “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” and “Neon Moon” elevated country music to rock ‘n’ roll levels of popularity, and turned line-dancing into a craze that swept the nation in the early 1990s.

Those two songs from the duo’s 1991 debut, Brand New Man, in addition to countless other hits, propelled Kix Brooks (the showman/guitarist) and Ronnie Dunn (the lead vocalist) up the crossover charts, where they’ve resided ever since.

Success stories like Brooks & Dunn’s typically begin humbly, as is the case with this country pair. The two musicians were strangers prior to 1990, making meager livings playing local bars and ski resorts until a record executive heard songs from both Brooks and Dunn and suggested they link up to record an album together. The rest is history.

After Brand New Man was released and people around the world embraced country music, the pair set out to record and release hit after hit. “Rock My World (Little Country Girl),” “She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind,” “My Maria” and “Red Dirt Road” are just a few of the smash singles that have made Brooks & Dunn the second most successful duo in the history of music (after Simon & Garfunkel, of course). Maybe one day, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn will surpass the folk legends—only time will tell.

Brooks & Dunn perform at the Las Vegas Hilton December 5, 6 and 7. Tickets are $126.50 and $148.50.

By Caitlin McGarry