Ronnie Dunn and Parker McCollum joined forces for a brand-new duet on Dunn’s new solo album, 100 Proof Neon.
On Friday (July 29), the Brooks & Dunn singer and McCollum released their highly-anticipated “Road To Abilene” duet.
During a recent interview with Billboard, Dunn shared the story behind the song, which was solely penned by Dunn.
“I went to college in Abilene, Texas, and we used to call it the belt buckle of the Baptist belt of West Texas, which is a superconservative, cowboy world,” Dunn shared. “I just got into painting this picture of the music scene in Abilene and dodging the religious, church ethos of the school I went to — and trying to paint pictures of that eternal wind that blows, tumbleweeds and a young guy leaving town and his girlfriend to go chase that six-string dream.”
The song begins with Dunn singing the first verse and chorus on his own before McCollum sings the second verse and the super pair join together to sing the final chorus.
“Oh, the road to Abilene / Way off out there beyond the bright-light beams / I was wild-high crazy on a six-string dream / Like a song in my heart she still sings / I miss that girl in Abilene,” Dunn and McCollum sing on the track’s chorus.
Listen to Ronnie Dunn and Parker McCollum’s “Road To Abilene” duet below.
Earlier this year, Parker McCollum chatted with Whiskey Riff Raff about the collaboration with Dunn.
“He sent me the song, I listened to it and I was like yeah, I’m all about that. Dude, I mean, it could’ve been the worst song ever and I’d have still done it, you know? But it’s a really good song,” McCollum told the outlet.
He then revealed that the craziest part of his experience recording the tune with Dunn was the tips he was offered in the studio.
“He sat there [in the studio] and I sang my parts and he’d like punch in, you know, and be like ‘Hey, what about this?’” McCollum explained. “And it’s so weird, and he’d sing it, and I’m like, ‘Holy shit, that’s Ronnie Dunn’s voice right there on the other side of the door. But super cool guy, but I wasn’t there but like an hour and a half or so. We cut it super quick, and he was really nice. He was like, ‘Man, you sing great.’ And that was it.”
In November 2021, McCollum revealed that he “cut a song with Ronnie Dunn on his new album,” calling the collaboration an “absolute dream come true.”
Dunn’s new album, 100 Proof Neon, arrived on Friday (July 29). The 11-track project features the McCollum duet as well as another collaboration with Jake Worthington and a stunning rendition of Ashley Monroe’s “The Blade.”
Dunn wrote seven songs on the album, which marks his fifth solo record, including the two self-penned tracks “Road To Abilene” and “Two Steppers, Waltzes and Shuffles.”
“This is an album I’ve wanted to make for a long time. I purposely reached for late 80’s / 90’s Country… honky tonks, whiskey, neon lights, lost love, looking for love… twin fiddles, steel guitars, and string bending telecasters,” Dunn shared of the project on social media.
100 Proof Neon is out everywhere now and can be picked up HERE.
