Bix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn have certainly established themselves as a force in country music. They've sold 22 million albums, scored 18 #1 hits, heard their names called as Entertainer of the Year three times and become one of the most consistent country music headliners today. They've also sponsored race cars, appeared on the front of Corn Flakes boxes and pioneered a torqued up brand of honky tonk music that brought the bars into a much more aggressive sonic place. "My mother and father listened to hillbilly music all the time," concedes Ronnie Dunn of his familial introduction to music he didn't always understand. "He was a hillbilly singer, too, and man, I didn't always know what the words meant, but I knew something was going on when I'd hear those Marty Robbins, those Jerry Lee (Lewis) records'They just didn't rock enough for me. If the music hit as hard as the feelings, it'd've been perfect. "So, when it was our turn, I was intent on making country rock. When we did that first album, it was coming off 15 years in clubs with real people -- we wanted to give them what they wanted, and we knew they wanted someone to turn the honky tonk up a little louder and really make it punch."