Throwback To Tim McGraw’s Heartbreaking Cover Of Brooks & Dunn’s “That Ain’t No Way To Go”
(Right) Kevin Winter/ACMA2010 / Contributor / Getty Images / (Left) Christopher Polk/ACMA2010 / Contributor / Getty Images
Remember When Tim McGraw Performed For Brooks & Dunn’s Last Rodeo?
Country music duo Brooks & Dunn announced their retirement on August 10, 2009. They went on one last tour, fittingly called The Last Rodeo.
Months later, the ACM honored the duo with a tribute special named after the tour. ACM Presents: Brooks & Dunn – The Last Rodeo was taped at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Performers included Taylor Swift, Jennifer Nettles, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, and Carrie Underwood. They all took turns performing some of Brooks & Dunn’s signature hits.
Another one of the performers was Tim McGraw. He paid tribute to Brooks & Dunn by singing their #1 song from 1994, “That Ain’t No Way to Go.”
The Story & Stats Behind “That Ain’t No Way To Go”
“That Ain’t No Way to Go” was co-written by Brooks & Dunn’s Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, as well as Don Cook. Its lyrics detail the end of a relationship after the women leaves without warning. Her former lover is heartbroken, and sings:
“That ain’t no way to go, girl, it just ain’t right. Don’t you think that I deserve to hear you say goodbye? That ain’t no way to go, was it all a lie? After all this time, that ain’t no way to go.”
The song was released as the fifth and final single off of their album Hard Workin’ Man. Upon its debut, “That Ain’t No Way to Go” appeared at the 55th spot on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart (now the Hot Country Songs chart). It eventually claimed the #1 spot on the chart, and was Brooks & Dunn’s sixth number one single overall.
By the end of 1994, “That Ain’t No Way to Go” ranked at the 11th spot on the year-end Country Songs chart.
Watch Tim McGraw Perform “That Ain’t No Way To Go” On The Last Rodeo Show
Before McGraw honored Brooks & Dunn with his own version of “That Ain’t No Way to Go” during the Last Rodeo special, he shared a few words:
“I remember hearing Brooks & Dunn on the radio back in 1991,” he said, prompting a smile from Kix and Ronnie. “And I got really excited because I knew they were the new direction of country music…I’m just an old boy from Louisiana who was lucky enough to be a country singer during the era of the greatest duo that’s ever sang a song.”
From there, McGraw kicked off his cover of “That Ain’t No Way to Go.” He poured himself into the performance, and it was captivating from start to finish.
If you missed the Last Rodeo special when it aired in 2010, no need to worry. We’ve included a YouTube video of the performance below.
Brooks & Dunn reunited in 2015 to perform with Reba McEntire in a Las Vegas residency. They’ve since released a new album( 2019’s Reboot), regularly tour together again, and were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
