“Boot Scootin’ Boogie”
Brooks & Dunn
Written by Ronnie Dunn
Billboard
#1 (4 weeks)
August 1- August 22, 1992
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
July 31, 1992
Brooks & Dunn kick off the line dance craze.
The Road to No. 1
Brooks & Dunn’s first three singles were chart-toppers. The fourth release was originally a B-side, but it ended up their longest-running No. 1 hit from Brand New Man.
The No. 1
Full disclosure.
Ever since I knew I was writing about “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” it’s been stuck in my head. Non-stop. On a loop.
So it’s not surprising to me at all that this catchy hit launched their already hot career into the stratosphere. It was aided by a line dance and a countrified remix that started the trend of uptempo country songs getting line dances and remixes.
It has enough specificity in its description of the dancehall tavern to be more than just a novelty number. It needn’t shoulder the blame for the mediocrity that its massive success inspired. It’s the perfect country dance number and worthy of its classic status.
The Road From No. 1
After “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” Brooks & Dunn scored an additional top ten hit from their debut album, with Kix Brooks taking lead vocalist duties on “Lost and Found.” The duo then previewed their sophomore set, going top five with the title track of Hard Workin’ Man. That set would also produce some chart-toppers, including its second single, which we’ll cover when we get to the summer of 1993.
“Boot Scootin’ Boogie” gets an A.
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Definite earworm of a song. Once again Radio & Records’ Spin-O-Rama charts disguise just how big a hit was this song.
I agree with the assessment of this song and I’m glad to not have to feel guilty for liking it.:)
Any pioneering song is significant. That “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” is a commendable and exciting dance song of significance is even more noteworthy.
I still love the energy of the song and the lyrical details give it legs.
I, probably along with everyone else, always thought the lines “I see outlaws, inlaws/ crooks and straights” should have been written as “Brooks and Strait.”
I agree that this is a classic.
I pretty much agree with this assessment, as well. Like “Friends In Low Places,” radio overplay and overexposure over the years nearly killed this one for me, but now I find myself enjoying and appreciating it once again because it’s simply still a fun and enjoyable record after all these years. It still sounds very fresh today thanks to Ronnie Dunn’s spirited performance (love his growls and falsetto) and the high energy production. Also, it’s got the whole early 90’s nostalgia thing going for it, as well.
My step dad was actually just about sold on this song before we’d both even heard it. When we were in the music store at the mall earlier in 1992, B&D’s debut album caught both our eyes, and as he was looking at the track list, “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” was one of the titles that immediately jumped out at him and I remember him being excited to check out that track just based on that title alone. Needless to say, neither one of us was disappointed when it finally got down to that track as we played the cd for the first time! It wouldn’t be too long after that in which this song was suddenly all over the radio and almost everywhere we went. I even remember it playing at the place where we rented the U-Haul truck we used to move our things into our new house. I specifically remember hearing Ronnie Dunn exclaim “I want a shot of that redhead yonder looking at me!” while my step dad was talking to the old man working there, lol. This song, along with the Brand New Man album in general, also brings to mind when he and I slept in our new house together for the first time before we had moved all of our stuff in there. Although my step dad is now gone, it’s actually where my mom and I still live today, and that album will always have a special place for me with all the great memories it brings back of our earliest times in this house.
I also agree with Kevin in that I don’t really put the blame on this song for all the mediocre/corny knock offs that would follow it in the next few years, because this song is simply much better than most all of those. Although the line dance craze produced some tunes that have aged terribly, this is definitely not one of them. And to tell the truth, line dancing seemed like a pretty cool thing to be into during that time. Sometimes I wish I was old enough at the time to getting in on that fun. :)
Btw, I also really enjoy Asleep At The Wheel’s original version from their 1990 Keepin’ Me Up Nights album. Both versions are so different from each other in style and approach that it’s almost like hearing two completely different songs.
a very good song, but they had several better songs some of which are badly underrated, suck as “Why Would I Say Goodbye” and “Lost and found.”