The Surprising Reason Brooks & Dunn Were Afraid of Hit “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”

Brooks & Dunn’s 1991 smash hit “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” is one of the country duo’s most iconic tracks, but before they released the album it was on, Brand New Man, the song gave the band (and their management) significant pause. They purposefully pushed the song further into the album’s tracklist to try and hide it, in a way, behind their other singles.

Of course, country music history would show that their fears were entirely unfounded.

Brooks & Dunn Were Afraid To Release “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”

Establishing the tracklist for a debut record is no small order. Pick the right songs in the right order, and you’re likely to make a strong first impression with your audience. Failure to do so naturally does the opposite. When the time came for country music duo Brooks & Dunn to organize their debut record, Brand New Man, they weren’t sure “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” would fit.

“We were afraid of ‘Boot Scoot,’ and the label was, to release it,” Ronnie Dunn told Taste of Country Nights host Evan Paul in November 2024. “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?” Crazy indeed—the song ended up being a smash hit, topping the country music charts right away.

The country song even broke into the Billboard Hot 100, albeit at a modest No. 50. Still, with its chart-topping positions on U.S. and Canada country charts, the song instantly became a Brooks & Dunn classic.

The Song They Shared In Secret

Despite being one of their most iconic songs, Brooks & Dunn interestingly had a tentative approach to “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” since its creation. Not only were they hesitant to include the song on their debut album. But they also would try to sneak the song into their live performances so that the audience wouldn’t catch on. It was only after they started to notice that Ronnie Dunn realized they might have a hit on their hands. 

In a 2018 interview with Songwriter Universe, Dunn recalled writing “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” during the Urban Cowboy movement. “I was playing a huge club in Tulsa and there would be 2,500 a night that would show up. There would be waves across the dance floor of people dancing. It wasn’t written as a line dance. We just sat back as guys in the band and go, ‘What the heck are they doing? What is that?’”

“We had to sneak them in back then if you had an original song,” he continued. “I started playing [“Boot Scootin’ Boogie”]. People would come up and ask to hear the song again later in the night. That was a first for me—just the simplicity of whatever it was that resonated with the audience out there.”

Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images