Brooks & Dunn are officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame

On Oct. 20, country music duo Brooks & Dunn were officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Medallion Ceremony was held in the CMA Theater of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. Other inductees that night included Jerry Bradley and Ray Stevens.

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn were both performing as solo artists in 1990 when music executive Tim DuBois advised them to team up. Their partnership quickly became successful. To date, they’ve had 20 No. 1 singles and more than 28 million in album sales. They also hold 46 CMA, ACM and Grammy Awards.

In tribute, a number of their country music peers performed some of the duo’s biggest hits. The Brothers Osborne sang their first No. 1 single, “Brand New Man.” Luke Bryan performed their 2003 song, “Red Dirt Road.” Trisha Yearwood performed a gospel-inspired version of their 2005 ballad, “Believe.”

Reba McEntire officially inducted the musicians and presented them with a plaque. McEntire and Brooks & Dunn often perform together in Las Vegas and have a longstanding relationship marked by good-natured ribbing.

“Oh, paybacks are hell,” McEntire said in her introduction. “Do you remember when we started touring together in the ’90s and y’all were pulling all those pranks? And I said, ‘No pranks!’ And they went, ‘Uh huh!’ [being] real cute.”

For their part, Brooks & Dunn were humbled by the honor.

“Have you ever been invited to a really cool party that you just can’t believe you’re there?” Brooks asked during his acceptance remarks. “And you walk in there’s some really cool people in there and maybe even some people that are really your heroes? It’s like you’re not one of your heroes, but they’re there and you were invited. So you belong here and they make you feel real welcome and it’s just really cool to be in the room. That’s just kind of how I feel right now.”

Dunn echoed his partner’s sentiments.

“I’ve never been so proud and humbled,” he said. “If you don’t believe that, step into my heart right now.”

Congratulations to Brooks & Dunn and the other 2019 inductees!