When people think of country duos, they likely think of Brooks & Dunn, Dan & Shay, or even Sugarland. But there are several more country duos, ones that were once popular but have since faded away.
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We found four country duos from the last 30 years that most people have already likely forgotten about.
The Kinleys
The Kinleys, made up of identical twin sisters Heather and Jennifer Kinley, started out strong, with their Just Between You And Me album, out in 1997 on Epic Nashville. The record includes “Please“, their first single, and only Top 10 hit.
The Kinleys released several more singles, and one more album on a major record label, before leaving the music industry entirely.
The Wreckers
The Wreckeres, made up of Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp, released one studio album, Stand Still, Look Pretty, in 2006, followed by their live Way Back Home: Live at New York City in 2007. They had one No. 1 single, with “Leave The Pieces”.
Branch and Harp ultimately decided they wanted to pursue solo careers, bringing an end to The Wreckers. But in a recent appearance on Bobby Bones’ Bobbycast podcast, Harp said they will not rule out a future collaboration together.
The Warren Brothers
The Warren Brothers is a duo made up of Brett and Brad Warren. They released a total of four albums on BNA Records, beginning with Beautiful Day In The Cold Cruel World in 1997. They also had several Top 40 singles, including “That’s The Beat Of A Heart”, featuring Sara Evans, and “Move On.”
The Warren Brothers stopped pursuing a career as a duo, but they are very much a part of country music. Together, the two have helped write some of country music’s biggest hits, including Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup“, Dierks Bentley’s “Feel That Fire”, Martina McBride’s “Anyway”, and many more.
They’ve written plenty of hit singles, which they credit to their former careers as artists, before making the switch.
“When we write with artists, we know what they’re trying to do because we were artists at one time,” Brett Warren tells Songwriter Universe. “We try. We don’t always nail it. They’re like, this is what we’re thinking sonically, lyrically. We want it to be a little more traditional, or we want it to be more progressive musically.”
The JaneDear Girls
The JaneDear Girls, made up of Susie Brown and Danelle Leverett, only released one album, The JaneDear Girls, in 2012. The two, signed to Reprise Nashville, had two Top 40 hits, with “Wildflower” and “Shotgun Girl”, before disbanding to pursue solo careers.
Leverett later joined the band Gone West, going by the name Nelly Joy. She also co-wrote Big & Rich’s Top 20 hit, “That’s Why I Pray”, out in 2012.
Photo by Chris Weeks/Liaison Agency
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