Kix Brooks, born Leon Eric "Kix" Brooks III in Shreveport, Louisiana, on May 12, 1955, became one half of Brooks and Dunn, the most successful duo in country music history. While attending Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, he began performing at clubs in New Orleans and elsewhere, then moved to Nashville in 1979 to write songs for other artists. He cowrote three number one country hits, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Modern Day Romance," Highway 101's "Who's Lonely Now," and John Conlee's "I'm Only in it for the Love," and also wrote songs recorded by the Oak Ridge Boys and others. After releasing a solo album for Capitol Records in 1989, he joined Ronnie Dunn at the suggestion of Arista Nashville head Tim DuBois, and in 1990 Brooks and Dunn signed with Arista. Their first four singles, "Brand New Man," "My Next Broken Heart," "Neon Moon," and "Boot Scootin' Boogie," reached number one on the country charts. Brooks and Dunn sold more than 30 million albums, their debut album Brand New Man was certified six times platinum, nearly all of their studio albums were certified platinum, twenty of their singles topped the country chart, and nearly all reached the Top 20. They won the Country Music Association award for Duo of the Year every year but one between 1992 and 2006, won two Grammy awards for Best Country Record by a Duo or Group, and earned more than 80 industry awards. In 2006 Brooks became host of the syndicated radio program American Country Countdown, then won the CMA National Broadcast Personality of the Year Award in 2009, 2011, and 2013, becoming the first person to win a CMA Award in both the artist and broadcaster categories. In 2021 the Academy of Country Music named him National On-Air Personality of the Year. Outside music, he entered film production with Team Two Entertainment, raised Beefmaster cattle near Nashville, became a founding partner of Arrington Vineyards, and became prominent in charity, advocacy, and philanthropy, receiving the Country Music Association's Humanitarian Award in 2014. After a five-year hiatus, Brooks and Dunn reunited in 2015 for a Las Vegas residency with Reba McEntire titled Reba + Brooks and Dunn: Together in Vegas. Their style blended honky tonk music with mainstream rock and country, emphasized the contrast between their voices and personalities, and became known for energetic live shows anchored by rock and roll styled guitar riffs and special effects including pyrotechnics. In 2019 Brooks and Dunn were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.