The Dixie Chicks are an American Country band in 1989 in Dallas , Texas was founded. The sisters Emily Robison ( guitar , dobro and banjo ) and Martie Maguire ( fiddle and mandolin ) are versatile musicians, the lead singer Natalie Maines has a distinctive voice. Typical of the band is the vocal harmonies of the three women.

Their mix of bluegrass and mainstream country music spoke broad spectrum of country music fans to one, has become the group more toward rock or pop music developed. The Dixie Chicks have to date more than 30.5 million albums sold in the U.S., which it most successful female band of the country to make.

1989 joined in Dallas four Texas street musicians, consisting of the sisters Martie Maguire (born October 12, 1969) and Emily Robison (born 16 August 1972, both born Erwin), and Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macey to bluegrassorientierten together country band. The first three albums for the ” Dixie “(a synonym for the U.S. Southern states ) and “Chicks” (literally, chicken or chicken, often used derogatory term for young women) appointed new band appeared at an independent label. During these early years musicians laid the next to the Blue Grass also value her cowgirl image, which is only in the cover design was expressed not: Their first album Thank Heavens for Dale Evans (1990) contains among other things, Patsy Montana classic I Cowgirl Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart, and after Roy Rogers wife Dale Evans named, in addition to Montana as one of the great female pioneers of Western Music is. This was followed by Little Ol ‘Cowgirl (1992) and Shouldn’ta Told You That (1993).

Robin Lynn Macy left the band in 1992 because they preferred a “purer” bluegrass sound. 1995 was also replaced Laura Lynch. Your role as a lead singer took over Natalie Maines (born 1974), the daughter of, inter alia, for artists such as Terri Hendrix and Robert Earl Keen active producer and guitarist Lloyd Maines. This had the Dixie Chicks in 1991 while recording their Christmas Single Home on the Range met radar.
After a contract with the major label Sony BMG managed the Dixie Chicks, is a promising and successful artists of the New Country to establish. Sony BMG and the two subsequent albums Wide Open Spaces (1998) and Fly (1999) achieved top rankings in the charts, from Wide Open Spaces, 12 million copies sold around. Her next album, which bluegrasslastige Home built in 2002, Lloyd Maines produced by and released following a two-year dispute with her record company, first as an independent production. After the Dixie Chicks subsequently settled their differences with Sony BMG had been in, including home sales in the catalog of the media giant officially launched. Despite relatively low promotion in the initial phase also scored the sixth official album of the band over time, good sales.

Political controversies

The Dixie Chicks take and socially controversial themes in her songs. Irritation with conservative country fans already saw for Goodbye Earl, a piece from their CD Fly, the successful revenge of two friends at a pummeling husband describes.
For a sustainable scandal Natalie Maines finally saw in the spring of 2003, when on the 10th during a concert March in London , said the band is “ashamed that the President of the United States come from Texas.” Maines is from Lubbock , Texas . This caused outrage, and it subsequently to boycotts by conservative country music fans and in the U.S. media came, especially from the media company Clear Channel , which determines the “Air Play” of country music in the United States is. [3] the singer attempted, 12 to smooth the waters in March 2003, by said among other things “I think the President ignores the opinion of many Americans and alienated the rest of the world.” [4] But this was their critics do not enough, and two days later added she added:
“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 was in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to. While a viable option was may remain, 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. ”
“As concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I think that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and see the huge anti-American sentiment that is probably a consequence of the military move made after the European perception of the U.S. government in Iraq. Although war remains an option, but as a mother I want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and the lives of American soldiers lost. I love my country. I am a proud American. ”

Many fans were angry and began a boycott of the Dixie Chicks and the radio stations that played their music away. As a sign of their rejection of fans were former Dixie Chicks called their CDs jointly by a bulldozer to make niederwalzen. Other of her fans were disappointed that the singer had apologized. As a result of the media uproar, the others, anonymous death threats result was under, had artists including their safety and that of their families fear the. The group learned but also support from colleagues such as Bruce Springsteen and Madonna , which publicly the right to freedom of expression entered. Even President Bush himself commented on the effect noticed but at the same time that free speech for critics of the Dixie Chicks is true as well.

On 24 April 2003 started the Dixie Chicks a media campaign to explain their positions. During a prime time interview with Diane Sawyer was in Maine, to be proud of her original statement. On 2 May appeared the band naked (with covered genitals) on the cover of the magazine Entertainment Weekly, painted with slogans such as “Traitors” (traitor), “Saddam’s Angels” (Saddam’s Angels), ‘Dixie Sluts “(Southern slut or bitch),” Proud Americans “(proud American),” Hero “(hero),” Free Speech “(free speech) and” Brave “(brave).

The first concert of the next tour was held on 1 May 2003 in Greenville, South Carolina , instead, was sold out with 15,000 visitors and received good reviews. The musicians had already made on the resistance in focus, and Natalie Maines invited those who had come to boo them, to do so too, but the audience cheered.

Nevertheless, the views of the band remained controversial. On 6 May 2003 released a radio station in Colorado two of its disc jockeys, the music of the Dixie Chicks had played despite the ban. [9] On 22 May boos came during the awards ceremony of Academy of Country Music (ACM) in Las Vegas , as the group for the prize “Entertainer of the Year has been nominated.” The winner is the price finally Toby Keith , an outspoken critic of the band. The Dixie Chicks had in interview statements openly song Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American) (2002) have criticized. This song about the terror attacks of 11th September 2001 – a passionate and patriotic commitment to the United States and the policies of the Bush administration felt – the Dixie Chicks as a plump, stateness and thus justifying the planned war against Iraq. After prolonged exchange of blows between the medial strip and Natasha Keith Maines wore during a television appearance a T-shirt with the inscription “FUTK” which was interpreted as “Fuck You, Toby Keith.”

In the fall of 2003 were the Dixie Chicks in a TV commercial for Lipton Ice Tea on. In it, the band, the game bans on U.S. channel fun of: during a stadium concert, there is a power failure, the band succeeds, however, by an a cappella version of Cowboy Take Me Away to the cheers of the crowd, the stadium again to electrify. The musicians went so aggressively deal with the criticism that they are less conceal their personal views and always made, for example on the tour on video screens images of same-sex pairs showed a very controversial in the conservative area occupied topic. They also participated in the “Vote for Change” part tour of the presidential campaign 2004th
2006 saw the documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (Shut up and sing) the directors Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck about the reactions of conservative fans on Maines’ Bush-critical remarks.