Brooks & Dunn‘s 1991 single “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” was actually the fourth single to be released from their Brand New Man album — it wasn’t the song to lead the album, and it wasn’t a sure hit by any stretch.

In fact, the duo didn’t think it would do much at all!

“We were afraid of ‘Boot Scoot,’ and the label was, to release it. That’s why they made it the fourth single on the first record,” Ronnie Dunn admits to Taste of Country Nights host Evan Paul.

“They were afraid that it was too, I don’t know — progressive is not the word — but just kinda pushing the limits, too much, isn’t that crazy?” he explains.

But fans demanded it, Kix Brooks says. They knew.

“The fans made that happen, too. We were playing clubs actually, that was our first year of touring,” Brooks recalls. Their first three singles had worked their way up the charts quickly, so the duo was gaining popularity, despite being newcomers at the time.

“By the time we got to ‘Boot Scoot,’ I just remember going to clubs and people having posters and stuff, I know they were lighting up radio stations,” Brooks says. “Finally, they said, ‘Hey, it’s time to put this one out.'”

“Boot Scootin’ Boogie” was a massive success — it peaked at No. 1 on Billboard‘s U.S. Hot Country Songs chart, and it went to No. 1 on Canadian country charts, too. Thirty years later, it is one of Brooks & Dunn’s signature songs.

The duo just released Reboot II, an album of their older songs, re-cut and re-imagined by today’s biggest country artists alongside the OGs. Brooks & Dunn just picked up another Vocal Duo of the Year win at the 2024 CMA Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 20).