The Dixie Chicks are the highest-selling female band of all time, with over 36 million albums sold world wide, but their success hasn’t come without struggle. The Chicks were thrust into a whirlwind of controversy when Natalie Maines made the now infamous comment, at a 2003 concert in London, “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” Criticism from the media, fans and other musicians, and even hate mail, wasn’t enough to keep the Dixie Chicks down. In fact, they took a phrase from one of the threatening letters, “shut up and sing”, and turned it into a hit single! Their most recent album, 2006’s Taking the Long Way, was certified multi-platinum, but they haven’t released a studio album since. That was several years ago, and fans are hoping that they’ve got another album coming out soon. In the meantime, they’re touring with The Eagles in what is sure to be the biggest tour of the summer. Snap up your tickets now to see The Eagles and the Dixie Chicks live in concert!
In 1998, only a handful of people outside of Dallas, Texas knew who the Dixie Chicks were; today, it's an altogether different story as the Chicks are one of the most popular acts in contemporary country music. The complete story began nearly a decade earlier -- in 1989 -- when fiddler Martie Seidel and her banjo-playing sister Emily Erwin formed the group in Dallas with bassist Laura Lynch and guitarist Robin Lynn Macy; they got an enormous boost when Seidel earned third place honors at the National Fiddle Championships. Originally, the Dixie Chicks (their name inspired by the Little Feat song Dixie Chickens) promoted a cowgirl image, complete with a sound inspired by traditional country, folk and bluegrass; the title of their 1990 indie-label debut was Thank Heavens for Dale Evans.
Home, their long-awaited third album, was delayed indefinitely as Sony Records sued the Dixie Chicks for breach of contract after the trio tried to leave Sony over a royalties dispute. In August 2002, Home was released on Open Wide Records, a joint imprint between Sony and the Dixie Chicks, who have sold nearly 20 million albums since 1997 and earned Grammys for both their 1998 major-label debut Wide Open Spaces and their 1999 follow-up, Fly.
