Shoulda Been a Hit: Brooks & Dunn’s “Indian Summer” [Video]

I couldn't really have picked any better timing for this installment of Shoulda Been a Hit.  It's December and we have had highs in the 60's nearly all week long.  We are truly experiencing an Indian Summer here in the tri-state and that got me thinking about one of my favorite Brooks and Dunn hits.  Yep!  "Indian Summer."  You guys are quick.  It's hard to believe, but this song was the duo's second-to-last chart single.  And, back in 2009, it stalled at a mere #16 on the Billboard Country Chart.  But, truly, it should have been a hit.

'"Indian Summer," for me, did what all my favorite Brooks and Dunn songs did.  It showcased, beautifully I might add, Ronnie Dunn's voice, which, for my money, is one of the best in the country music biz.  The man can sing.  And he floats HUGE notes in this song that'll make the hair on your arms stand like you've been struck by lightning.

But "Indian Summer" just didn't take.  At the time, Brooks and Dunn were coming off back-to-back Top 5's . . . with "Put a Girl in It" and "Cowgirls Don't Cry," their duet with Reba.  "Indian Summer" was the lead-off single of their 3rd greatest hits album and the 49th single of their career.

And, during that career, they didn't miss the top of charts much.  Brooks and Dunn burst onto the country music scene in 1991 and scored 4 #1 hits right out of the gate: "Brand New Man," "My Next Broken Heart," "Neon Moon," and "Boot Scootin' Boggie."  I suppose after two decades of #1's, Top 5's and Top 10's, the love affair just wore off some.

It certainly did for the duo.  After "Indian Summer" stalled at #16, Brooks and Dunn would just release one more song, the also under-performing "Honky Tonk Stomp," as a duo.  They would then go their separate ways.

Thankfully, though, they left us a catalog of country hits . . . and a handful of songs, like "Indian Summer" that should have been!