The Chicks

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The Dixie Chicks: Martie, Natalie and Emily

The Dixie Chicks are an American country music all-female trio. They started their group in 1989 in Dallas, Texas, and achieved large-scale country and then pop commercial success starting in the late 1990s. They are known for their lively group persona, instrumental virtuosity, and political outspokenness.

Group history

The original members of the Dixie Chicks 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.

Robin Lynn Macy left in late 1992, preferring a "purer" bluegrass sound. She joined Sara Hickman and Patty Lege to form the group Domestic Science Club, which issued two albums before disbanding. Macy later founded a group called Big Twang, which cut one CD before its band members went their separate ways.

Laura Lynch was replaced in 1995 by Natalie Maines, daughter of producer and steel guitar player Lloyd Maines. The new lineup had a massive hit with their album Wide Open Spaces on Sony's Monument label. This was followed by another smash hit CD, Fly. As of early 2005 these albums have sold over 12 million and 10 million copies respectively.

In September 2001 the Dixie Chicks debuted their song "I Believe in Love" on the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

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. Despite having a "non-commercial" sound – unlike the two previous records, Home lacks drums and is dominated by very-up-tempo bluegrass and pensive ballads – it was also a major success and has sold over 6 million copies (which might have been more but for the political controversy to come). Home dominated the 2003 Grammy Awards, winning four of them, including Best Country Album. Tickets for the associated Top of the World Tour often sold out within hours.

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 April 2006. According to the magazine, the Dixie Chicks do not expect that country radio will play their music. As of the week of March 4th, 2006, further information, including a delayed release date, has been released. Their upcoming album, titled Taking The Long Way, is to be released on May 23rd, 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 sound

The current line-up consists of group leader Martie (fiddle, mandolin, and vocals), Emily (guitar, dobro, banjo, and vocals), and Natalie (lead vocals and in concert, guitar). While Martie and Emily are accomplished musicians, Natalie has a strong and distinctive voice. The Chicks write or co-write about half the songs on their records, while using outside songwriters for the rest; for Home they solicited personal songs that the writers might think uncommercial. The group's mixture of bluegrass and mainstream country music appeals to a wide spectrum of record buyers. The group's visual image ranges from pretty to jokey to fiery, which further enhances their general appeal.

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, and then later in their cover of Stevie Nicks' "Landslide". 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). In contrast, a key track from Home was a rendering of Patty Griffin's "Top of the World" (for which the subsequent tour was named), which features a startingly unusual point of view and seeks to portray an almost unbearable sense of regret.

Political controversy

On March 10, 2003, during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq (which would take place on March 20), Natalie Maines stated during a concert in London that the band was "ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." (Maines is a native of Lubbock, Texas.) This 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 Tea, 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.

The original controversy was launched when a Guardian review of the group's London concert was picked up by U.S. media. (For the Guardian's summary of the controversy, see [1].)

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..." [2]

At the first concert of their nation-wide 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.) At their August 3rd, 2003 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.

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.

In the fall of 2003 the Dixie Chicks starred in a broadcast TV commercial for Lipton Ice 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 George W. 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 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 has not had any significant promotion or new material out since the controversy, so it is difficult to assess the lasting impact of these events.

In 2006, the Dixie Chicks revealed the first single from their new album, Taking The Long Way, to be released May 23rd 2006 and produced by Rick Rubin, entitled "Not Ready To Make Nice." Debuting exlcusively on MSN.com on March 16, 2006, the lyrics are co-written by all 3 members (as are all 14 album tracks), alongside Dan Wilson, and are 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 girls (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, Robinson 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." The album also features "I Hope," as performed at the Hurricane Katrina telethon, featuring a guitar solo from John Mayer. The group will tour Taking The Long Way later in 2006.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Release date Song Highest Billboard position
US Country Chart US Pop Chart
From Wide Open Spaces
10/27/97 "I Can Love You Better" #7 #77
4/14/98 "There's Your Trouble" #1 (2 weeks) #36
7/28/98 "Wide Open Spaces" #1 (4 weeks) #41
1/18/99 "You Were Mine" #1 (2 weeks) #34
5/07/99 "Tonight The Heartache's On Me" #6 #46
??/??/?? "Let 'er Rip" #64 -
From Fly
7/16/99 "Ready To Run" #2 #39
11/08/99 "Cowboy Take Me Away" #1 (2 weeks) #27
2/29/00 "Goodbye Earl" #13 [Gold] #19
5/07/00 "Cold Day in July" #10 #65
??/??/?? "Sin Wagon" #52 -
8/09/00 "Without You" #1 (1 week) -
2/12/01 "If I Fall You're Going With Me" #3 #38
6/25/01 "Heartbreak Town" #23 -
9/21/01 "Some Days You Gotta Dance" #7 #55
From Home
5/23/02 "Long Time Gone" #2 #7
8/20/02 "Landslide" #2 #7
11/25/02 "Travelin' Soldier" #1 (1 week) #25
5/21/03 "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)" #44 -
??/??/?? "White Trash Wedding" #56 -
??/??/?? "Tortured Tangled Hearts" #58 -
??/??/?? "Top Of The World" ? ?
From Taking The Long Way
5/23/06 "Not Ready To Make Nice" Yet to chart Yet to chart
Digital downloads
09/27/2005 "I Hope" #54 -

DVDs

Awards

Actual set list from Dixie Chicks concert on the Top of the World Tour: Madison Square Garden, June 20, 2003.

2005 Awards

2004 Awards

2003 Awards

2002 Awards

2001 Awards

2000 Awards

On Tour

As an opening act

Benefits

Festivals

Headlining tours

Further reading

  • Dickerson, James L. (2000). Dixie Chicks: Down-Home and Backstage. Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 0878331891.

See also

External links

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