Dixie Chicks (Girl Band)

The Dixie Chicks are an American country music all-female trio. They started their group in 1989 in Dallas, Texas. After years of struggle and some personnel changes, they achieved large-scale country and then pop commercial success starting in the late 1990s, with hit songs such as “Wide Open Spaces”, “Cowboy Take Me Away”, and “Long Time Gone”. They are known for their lively group personae, instrumental virtuosity, and political outspokenness. Criticism of President George W. Bush in 2003 led to considerable controversy and a repudiation from some of their core country audience, the lasting effects of which remain to be seen.

Early incarnations

The original members of the Dixie Chicks when they formed in 1989 were the sisters Martie Erwin and Emily Erwin, Laura Lynch, and Robin Lynn Macy. (Martie and Emily have married and their names are now Martie Maguire and Emily Robison.) The sisters provided the instrumental firepower while the other two were the lead singers. The original members graduated from Greenhill School in Addison, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

The Dixie Chicks began with a largely bluegrass sound, and released their first album Thank Heavens for Dale Evans (named after the pioneering, multi-talented female performer Dale Evans) on independent label Crystal Clear Sound in 1990. The album included two instrumentals, an indicator from the beginning of the group’s strength; Martie had taken third place at the National Fiddle Championships the year before. The Chicks gained some positive notices, winning the best band prize at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and earning opening act spots in support of Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, George Strait, and others, but found no airplay outside of public radio.

In late 1991 the group released the Christmas single “Home on the Radar Range”, and followed it in 1992 with their second album, Little Ol’ Cowgirl. Steel guitar legend Lloyd Maines played on both of these, foreshadowing a personnel change to come. Some of the album contained a more contemporary country sound. The Chicks made appearances at various events in the Texas and Nashville areas, gaining good critical but sparing commercial success outside of some Dallas area radio airplay.

Robin Lynn Macy left in late 1992, preferring a “purer” bluegrass approach. She remained active in the music scene, joining Sara Hickman and Patty Lege to form the group Domestic Science Club, which issued two albums before disbanding. While still in Dallas, Macy played with an informal group named Round Robin, but she eventually moved to southern Kansas. There, she founded a group called Big Twang, which cut one CD before its band members went their separate ways.

Now a trio, in 1993 the Chicks released their third album, Shouldn’t a Told You That, with Lynch acting as the sole lead singer and bluegrass pushed to the background. Despite constant touring, and appearances at higher-profile events such as President Bill Clinton’s Inauguration and the national television show CBS This Morning, no hit emerged and a commercial breakthrough eluded them.

A new singer and massive commercial success

Laura Lynch was replaced in 1995 by Natalie Maines, daughter of producer, steel guitar player, and former Chicks session player Lloyd Maines. Around the same time, Sony scouted the Chicks and signed them to their newly-revived Monument Records label.

This new lineup consisted of group leader Martie (fiddle, mandolin, and vocals), Emily (guitar, dobro, banjo, and vocals), and Natalie (lead vocals and in concert, guitar). Natalie had added a strong and distinctive voice to the sister’s musicianship and harmony vocals, and the combination suddenly clicked.

A single “I Can Love You Better” was released in October 1997, and now with major label promotion. It climbed into the top ten of the country chart. The album Wide Open Spaces was released in January 1998, and over the space of a year the next three singles from it all hit #1 on the country chart: the bouncy “There’s Your Trouble”, the statement-of-purpose “Wide Open Spaces”, and the radio-pleasing ballad “You Were Mine”. Wide Open Spaces would go on to sell over 12 million copies, becoming one of the 50 best-selling albums in American history. In the summer of 1999 they served as the opening act for Tim McGraw on a popular concert tour.

The Dixie Chicks proved their hitmaking was no fluke by following it with another smash hit album, Fly, in 2000. Nine singles would emerge from it, including country #1’s “Cowboy Take Me Away” and “Without You”. Fly would go on to sell 10 million copies, a rare repeat visit to the diamond level of sales. The Chicks also staged the Fly Tour, their first as the headlining act and already now in arenas.

The source of the Dixie Chicks’ popularity came from various factors. They wrote or co-wrote about half the songs on these two records, while using outside songwriters for the rest; The group’s mixture of bluegrass and mainstream country music appealed to a wide spectrum of record buyers. The group’s visual image ranged from pretty to jokey to fiery, which further enhanced their general appeal.

Lyrically, the Chicks ethos struck a resonsance with the public:

“She needs wide open spaces. Room to make her big mistakes.”

This romantic, adventurous sense of independence is the major theme of the Maines-era Chicks; it is strongly evident too in “Cowboy Take Me Away”, another of their signature songs. But the Chicks can also deliver gleeful revenge epics such as “Goodbye Earl” (which led to their first mild brush with controversy when some radio stations shied away from playing it) or raucous, ribald numbers such as “Sin Wagon” (a concert staple rave-up).

Still successful with a “non-commercial” sound

In September 2001 the Dixie Chicks debuted their quiet, unadorned song “I Believe in Love” on the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon following the September 11, 2001 attacks. It was a harbinger of a change in musical direction.

The group was involved in a dispute with their record label for two years, and their next album Home was an independent production, produced by Lloyd Maines and released in 2002 after the Chicks and Sony reconciled their differences. For the tracks that came from outside songwriters, the group solicited personal songs that the writers might think “uncommercial”. Unlike the two previous records, Home was recorded without drums and is dominated by very-up-tempo bluegrass and pensive ballads. In addition to this “non-commercial” sound, the lyrics of the opening track and first single, “Long Time Gone”, explicitly attacked contemporary country music radio, accusing it of ignoring the soul of the genre as exemplified by Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and Hank Williams.

Despite all this, the single rose to #2 on the country chart and started the album off to become a major success; it ended up selling over 6 million copies in the U.S., which might have been still more but for the political controversy to come. “Long Time Gone” also became the Chicks’ first top ten hit on the U.S. pop singles chart.

The group’s sense of independent spirit was still alive and well in their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”, which duplicated the top ten country and pop achievements, but in one example of the album’s contrast with the past, a key track from Home was a rendering of Patty Griffin’s “Top of the World” (for which the subsequent tour was named), which featured a startingly unusual point of view and sought to portray an almost unbearable sense of regret.

Home dominated the 2003 Grammy Awards held on February 23, winning four of them, including Best Country Album. Tickets for the associated Top of the World Tour often sold out within hours. The Dixie Chicks had done it their way and won; they were on top of the music world.

Political controversy

A couple of weeks later, on March 10, 2003, during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq (which would take place on March 20), Natalie Maines (a native of Lubbock, Texas) said between songs during a concert at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire theatre in London:

“Just so you know, we’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.”

Once The Guardian’s review of this concert was picked up by U.S. media, controversy erupted. The remark sparked intense criticism from many Americans, on three different grounds: that Maines shouldn’t be criticizing the nation’s head of state while on foreign territory; that Maines shouldn’t be criticizing the military’s commander-in-chief while the country was on the verge of war; and that Maines shouldn’t be making political statements that would offend the Dixie Chicks’ culturally conservative audience base.

Following the uproar and the start of a boycott of their music, the singer attempted to clarify matters on March 12 with the statement “I feel the President is ignoring the opinions of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world.”

This statement failed to quiet her critics, and on March 14 she issued an apology stating “As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers’ lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American.”

Some fans remained angry and pressed on with a boycott of Dixie Chick music, stations that played their music, and their sponsor Lipton, while other fans were disappointed that she apologized. In one display of anti-Dixie-Chick publicity, former Dixie Chick fans were encouraged to bring their Dixie Chicks CDs so that they could be crushed by a bulldozer. The extent of the backlash resulted in the artists being concerned about their personal safety and that of their families. Bruce Springsteen and Madonna were among those who came out in support of the right of the women to express their opinion. Not one to back down from controversy, even Madonna herself was pressured to cancel the release of her anti-war video “American Life” which featured a Bush-double being murdered by a hand-grenade.

On April 24, the Dixie Chicks launched a publicity campaign to explain their position. During a prime-time interview with TV personality Diane Sawyer, Maines said she remained proud of her original statement. The band also appeared naked (with private parts strategically covered) on the May 2, 2003 cover of Entertainment Weekly magazine with slogans such as “Traitors,” “Saddam’s Angels,” “Dixie Sluts,” “Proud Americans,” “Hero,” “Free Speech,” and “Brave” printed on their bodies.

President Bush responded to the controversy surrounding the Dixie Chicks in an interview with Tom Brokaw on April 24:

“[T]he Dixie Chicks are free to speak their mind. They can say what they want to say…[T]hey shouldn’t have their feelings hurt just because some people don’t want to buy their records when they speak out…[F]reedom is a two-way street…I…don’t really care what the Dixie Chicks said. I want to do what I think is right for the American people, and if some singers or Hollywood stars feel like speaking out, that’s fine. That’s the great thing about America. It stands in stark contrast to Iraq…”
At the first concert of their nation-wide Top of the World Tour the Dixie Chicks received a very positive reception. The concert was held in Greenville, South Carolina on May 1 and was attended by a sell-out crowd of 15,000. The women had come prepared to face up to opposition ” and Natalie Maines invited those who had come to boo to do so ” but the crowd erupted in cheers. (Tickets for their concert tour had gone on sale well before the controversy erupted, meaning that a cross-section of all their fans was at the concert.)

Nevertheless, the band remained controversial. On May 6, a Colorado radio station suspended two of its disc jockeys for playing music by the Dixie Chicks in violation of a ban on their music. On May 22 at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) awards ceremony in Las Vegas there were boos when the group’s nomination for entertainer of the year awards was announced. However, the broadcast’s host, Vince Gill, reminded the audience that everyone is entitled to freedom of speech. The Academy made the award to Toby Keith, an outspoken critic of the group. By the time of their August 3 Atlanta show, Natalie remarked they had not heard any boos for a couple shows, but heard some that night, but that was okay, as the Dixie Chicks were all about freedom of speech.

In the fall of 2003 the Dixie Chicks starred in a broadcast TV commercial for Lipton Original Iced Tea which made a tongue-in-cheek reference to the corporate blacklisting and the grassroots backlash: in the tea spot, the Chicks are about to give a stadium concert when the electricity suddenly goes out – but they manage to electrify the stadium all by themselves, belting out a rousing a capella version of “Cowboy Take Me Away” to the raving cheers of the fans.

In a September 2003 interview, Maguire told Der Spiegel magazine: “We don’t feel a part of the country scene any longer, it can’t be our home any more.” She noted a lack of support from country stars, and being shunned at the 2003 ACM awards. “Instead, we won three Grammys against much stronger competition. So we now consider ourselves part of the big rock ‘n’ roll family.” However, in an open letter to fans on the Chicks’ website, Maines said that Maguire had been misquoted.

In October 2004, the Dixie Chicks joined the “Vote for Change” tour, playing a series of concerts in American swing states. These concerts were organized by MoveOn.org with the general goal of mobilizing people to vote for John Kerry and against Bush in that year’s Presidential campaign. The Dixie Chicks’ appearances were joint performances with James Taylor. This effort was unsuccessful in getting Kerry elected, and while the artistic collaboration with Taylor went very well (sharing the stage on many numbers), during the concerts Maines’ stage remarks revealed a certain amount of nervousness over what the Dixie Chicks’ future career path would be.

As of late 2005, CMT (though not CMT Canada) and country music radio in the United States still seemed to shy away from playing Dixie Chicks songs, but the group had not had any significant promotion or new material out since the controversy, so it was difficult to assess the lasting impact of these events.

Not Ready to Make Nice: The Chicks Return

In September 2005 the Dixie Chicks debuted their song “I Hope” on the Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast telethon following Hurricane Katrina, and subsequently made it available as a digital download single with proceeds to benefit hurricane relief.

In January 2006, Entertainment Weekly reported that the Dixie Chicks were going to release their new album in the coming Spring. According to the magazine, the Dixie Chicks did not expect that country radio would play their music. Their upcoming album, titled Taking the Long Way, is now to be released on May 23, 2006. The album was produced by Rick Rubin (who has worked with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, System of a Down, Neil Diamond, Beastie Boys, among others) and is publicized to be more rock-intensive than country-oriented.

The first single from their new album, entitled “Not Ready To Make Nice”, debuted exclusively on MSN Music on March 16, 2006. It was co-written by all three members (as are all 14 album tracks), alongside Dan Wilson, and is about the political controversy that has surrounded the group. The lyrics include: “I’m not ready to make nice/I’m not ready to back down/I’m still mad as hell and I don’t have time to go round and round and round/It’s too late to make it right/I probably wouldn’t if I could/˜Cause I’m mad as hell/Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should” and, in criticism of the death threats the women (particularly Maines) received, ” It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger/And how in the world can the words that I said/Send somebody so over the edge that they’d write me a letter sayin’ that I better shut up and sing or my life will be over.” In a press release, Robison said, “The stakes were definitely higher on that song. We knew it was special because it was so autobiographical, and we had to get it right. And once we had that song done, it freed us up to do the rest of the album without that burden.”

On March 23, 2006, Fox News reported that “according to Billboard’s Radio Monitor, the single ‘Not Ready To Make Nice’ jumped from 54 to 36 in one week, with 3,703 ‘spins’ on country radio alone. The single is also listed as a 94 percent probable success on the Hit Predictor chart.” A March 27 Associated Press story indicated that country radio reaction was so far mixed, with some major stations playing it, a few avoiding it, and others adopting a wait-and-see attitude. [7]. By April, the song was a hit on country radio and on country and Hot AC video television in Canada. American radio proved less receptive. However, due to digital sales, the single hit the Billboard Hot 100 at number 28, the week’s highest new entry for the week ending May 6, 2006. The following week in nudged up to #23.

The group will tour Taking The Long Way later in 2006.

Albums

• Thank Heavens for Dale Evans (1990)
• Little Ol’ Cowgirl (1992)
• Shouldn’t a Told You That (without Robin Lynn Macy) (1993)
• Wide Open Spaces (with Natalie Maines replacing Laura Lynch) (1998) (US Sales: 12 million; Country chart #1, Pop chart #4)
• Fly (1999) (US Sales: 10 million; Country chart #1, Pop chart #1)
• Home (2002) (US sales: 6 million; Country chart #1, Pop chart #1)
• Top of the World Tour: Live (live concert album) (2003) (CD US sales: ??; Country chart #3, Pop chart #27)
• Taking the Long Way (2006) (not yet released)

Source: Dixie Chicks . (2006, May 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:32, May 19, 2006.

Learn More

• Dixie Chicks Web Site