The Chicks
| The Chicks (until 2020 Dixie Chicks ) |
|
|---|---|
 Dixie Chicks live in Austin, Texas (2006) |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Country , rock |
| founding | 1989 |
| Website | thechicks.com |
| Founding members | |
| Emily Robison | |
| Martie Maguire | |
| Laura Lynch | |
| Robin Lynn Macy | |
| Current occupation | |
| Emily Robison | |
| Martie Maguire | |
| Natalie Maines | |
The Chicks (until 2020 Dixie Chicks ) are an American country band that was formed in 1989 in Dallas . The group changed its name in June 2020.
The sisters Emily Robison ( guitar , dobro and banjo ) and Martie Maguire ( violin and mandolin ) are versatile musicians, the lead singer Natalie Maines has a concise voice. Typical for the band is the song singing of the three women.
Their mixture of bluegrass and country music appealed to a wide spectrum of country fans, meanwhile the group has developed more towards rock or pop music . The Dixie Chicks have sold more than 30.5 million albums in the US, making them the most successful women's band in the country.
history
In 1989, four Texan street musicians, consisting of the sisters Martie Maguire (born October 12, 1969) and Emily Robison (born August 16, 1972, both born Erwin) as well as Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy, formed a bluegrass-oriented country band in Dallas in 1989 . The first three albums of the new formation named after Dixie (a synonym for the US-American southern states ) and "Chicks" (literally: chick or chicken; often derogatory term for young women) were released by an independent label. During these early years, the musicians attached importance to their bluegrass as well as their cowgirl image, which was not only expressed in the cover design: their first album Thank Heavens for Dale Evans (1990) contains, among other things, Patsy Montana's cowgirl classic I. Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart and is named after Roy Rogers ' wife Dale Evans, who, along with Montana, is considered one of the great female pioneers of Western music . It was followed by Little Ol 'Cowgirl (1992) and Shouldn't a Told You That (1993).
Robin Lynn Macy left the band in 1992 because they preferred a purer bluegrass sound. In 1995 Laura Lynch was also replaced. Natalie Maines (* 1974), the daughter of producer and guitarist Lloyd Maines , who works for artists such as Terri Hendrix and Robert Earl Keen , took over her role as lead singer . The Dixie Chicks got to know him in 1991 when recording their Christmas single Home on the Radar Range .
After signing a contract with the major label Sony BMG , the Dixie Chicks managed to establish themselves as promising and successful artists of the New Country . The two subsequent Sony BMG albums Wide Open Spaces (1998) and Fly (1999) achieved top positions in the charts. From Fly copies were sold in the United States more than ten million, what is it with a Diamond record (10 times platinum) was excellent; of Wide Open Spaces around 12 million copies were sold, making it also state diamond (12 times platinum) won. Their next album, the bluegrass-heavy Home from 2002, was produced by Lloyd Maines and was initially released as an independent production due to a two-year dispute with their record company. After the Dixie Chicks had subsequently settled their differences with Sony BMG, Home was officially included in the media company's sales catalog. Despite comparatively little promotion in the initial phase, the band's sixth official CD also achieved good sales over time.
Political controversy
The Dixie Chicks also take up socially controversial topics in their songs. Goodbye Earl , a piece from their CD Fly , which describes the successful revenge of two friends on a beating husband , has already caused irritation among conservative country fans .
Natalie Maines caused a lasting scandal in the spring of 2003 when she said during a concert on March 10th in London that the band was "ashamed that the President of the United States was from Texas". Maines is from Lubbock , Texas . This caused outrage, with calls for boycotts among conservative country fans and in the US media, especially from the media company Clear Channel , which is decisive for the airplay of country music in the US. The singer tried to smooth things over on March 12, 2003 by saying, among other things: "I think the president ignores the opinion of many Americans and alienates the rest of the world." But this was not enough for her critics, and two Days later 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 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. "
“As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush for being disrespectful. I think whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and see the tremendous anti-American resentment that is probably a consequence of the hasty military action of the US government in Iraq according to the European perception. War remains an option, but as a mother, I want every possible alternative to be explored before the lives of children and American soldiers are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American. "
Many fans remained upset and continued to boycott the Dixie Chicks and the radio stations that played their music. As a sign of their rejection, former Dixie Chicks fans were called on to have their CDs rolled down by a bulldozer together . Other of her fans were disappointed that the singer had apologized. As a result of the media turmoil, which also resulted in anonymous death threats, the artists ultimately had to fear for their safety and that of their families. The group also received support from colleagues such as Bruce Springsteen and Madonna , who publicly advocated the right to freedom of expression . President Bush himself commented on this, but noted at the same time that freedom of expression also applies to the critics of the Dixie Chicks.
On April 24, 2003, the Dixie Chicks launched a media campaign to express their point of view. During a major evening interview with Diane Sawyer , Maines said she was proud of her original statement. On May 2nd, the band appeared naked (with hidden genitals) on the cover of Entertainment Weekly magazine , painted with slogans like “Traitors”, “Saddam's Angels”, “Dixie Sluts” (southern sluts or sluts) ), “Proud Americans” (proud Americans), “Hero” (hero), “Free Speech” (freedom of expression) and “Brave” (courageous).
The first concert of the next tour took place on May 1st, 2003 in Greenville, South Carolina , sold out with 15,000 visitors and received good reviews. The musicians had already prepared for resistance, and Natalie Maines urged those who had come to boo on them to do so, but the audience cheered.
Still, views of the band remained controversial. On May 6, 2003, a radio station in Colorado fired two of their disc jockeys for playing Dixie Chicks music despite the ban. On May 22nd, during the Academy of Country Music (ACM) awards ceremony in Las Vegas , there were boos when the group was nominated for Entertainer of the Year. The award eventually went to Toby Keith , an outspoken critic of the band. The Dixie Chicks had openly criticized his song Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) (2002) in interview statements . The Dixie Chicks found this song about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 - a passionate and patriotic commitment to the USA and the politics of the Bush administration - to be clumsy, state-supporting and thus justifying the planned war against Iraq. After a long media exchange between the band and Keith, Natalie Maines wore a T-shirt with the words "FUTK" on it during a television appearance, which was interpreted as "Fuck You, Toby Keith".
In the fall of 2003, the Dixie Chicks appeared in a television commercial for Lipton iced tea. In it, the band makes fun of the US broadcasters' ban on playing: There is a power outage during a stadium concert, but the band succeeds in closing the stadium again with an a cappella version of Cowboy Take Me Away to the cheers of the crowd electrify. The musicians were now increasingly offensive with the criticism and made less and less secret of their personal views. For example, during the tour they showed pictures of same-sex couples on video walls , a topic that is very controversial in the conservative field. They also took part in the “Vote for Change” tour in the 2004 presidential campaign.
In 2006, the documentary appeared Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing ( Shut up and sing ) the directors Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck about the reactions of conservative fans Maines' Bush-critical statements.
Name change
In 2020 the band changed their band name. The trio of women removes the " Dixie " - a synonym for the old south of the USA - from the name and is now only called The Chicks. The band does not give a reason for the decision, but this step is interpreted as a statement of solidarity with the protests against racism and discrimination against blacks in the USA and the nationwide anti-racism protests in response to the death of the black George Floyd . You are not the first musician to distance yourself from southern states in this way. The US country band Lady Antebellum had previously been renamed Lady A because their band name reminds of the time of slavery.
From country to rock / pop
Not only the controversial arguments about the Bush criticism by Natalie Maines ensured that it was temporarily a little quieter about the Dixie Chicks, but also that the three singers became mothers. The resulting changes in personal living conditions were the reason for the three women to subject the band concept to a thorough revision. The group responded to the arguments with various country media and broadcasters that followed the Bush criticism with a musical change of direction.
The Dixie Chicks were able to recruit Rick Rubin , who had made a name for himself in the country music scene primarily through the productions of the "American Recordings" albums by Johnny Cash, as the producer of the album Taking the Long Way , which was released in May 2006 . With the new concept - away from country music and more towards rock / pop, as Shania Twain or LeAnn Rimes had succeeded in doing - the Dixie Chicks tried, according to Natalie Maines, to finally achieve the commercial breakthrough in Europe, too seemed to work: The album, the lyrics of which were written for the first time by the Dixie Chicks themselves, achieved top positions in the charts right from the start: number one in the USA and number five in Germany.
On this album, too, they processed and demonstrated the open handling of the criticism, especially with regard to their statements at the London concert and the corresponding reactions to them. In the song Not Ready to Make Nice (for example: not yet ready for reconciliation ) it says, for example, […] it's a sad, sad story that 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 write me a letter, [and] say that I better shut up and sing or my life will be over [...] (for example: [...] it is a sad, sad story that a mother teaches her daughter to hate a total stranger; and why can the words I've said infuriate someone so much that they write me a letter telling me , I should shut up and just sing, otherwise my life would be over [...] ). In an interview with the German news magazine Der Spiegel in June 2006, singer Natalie Maines defended the band's stance and referred to the rebellious tradition of country music and civil rights, the defense of which has a tradition within this genre as well.
Taking the Long Way followed the socially critical tradition of country music with another track: I Hope - a song intended to encourage the victims of Hurricane Katrina , who, in Natalie Maines' opinion, were abandoned by their president were. The change in style of the Dixie Chicks was also registered by the trade press. Joe Levy of US Rolling Stone characterized the pop sound of Taking the Long Way as "music for soccer moms - for a female, adult audience".
Many fans of the band, who disliked the move to rock / pop level, expressed the opposite. The tour in summer 2006 was unsuccessful, many concerts had to be canceled because too few tickets were sold. At the 2007 Grammy Awards , the Dixie Chicks were the most award-winning artists, receiving five Grammys, including best album and best song.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1998 | Wide open spaces | - | - | - |
UK26th  (10 weeks)UK |
US4th   × 3
(134 weeks)US |
Country1 (134 weeks) Country |
First published: January 27, 1998
|
| 1999 | Fly | - | - | - |
UK38 (5 weeks)UK |
US1 (131 weeks)US |
Country1 (131 weeks) Country |
First published: August 31, 1999
|
| 2002 | Home |
DE11 (18 weeks) DE |
AT27 (11 weeks) AT |
CH26 (13 weeks) CH |
UK33 (14 weeks)UK |
US1 × 6
(56 weeks)US |
Country1 (91 weeks) Country |
First published: August 27, 2002
|
| 2006 | Taking the Long Way |
DE5 (21 weeks) DE |
AT7 (15 weeks) AT |
CH6th (44 weeks)CH |
UK10 (12 weeks)UK |
US1 × 2
(62 weeks)US |
Country1 (85 weeks) Country |
First published: May 23, 2006
|
| 2020 | Gaslighter |
DE14 (... weeks) DE |
AT21 (... weeks) AT |
CH5 (4 weeks) CH |
UK5 (... weeks) UK |
US3 (... weeks) US |
- |
First published: July 17, 2020
|
More studio albums
- 1990: Thank Heavens for Dale Evans
- 1992: Little Ol 'Cowgirl
- 1993: Shouldn't a Told You That
Live albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
Country
|
|||
| 2003 | Top of the World Tour: Live |
DE63 (5 weeks) DE |
- | - | - |
US27 (30 weeks)US |
Country3 (99 weeks) Country |
First published: November 25, 2003
|
| 2017 | DCX MMXVI Live | - | - | - | - | - |
Country43 (1 week) Country |
First published: September 1, 2017
|
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
Country
|
|||
| 2010 | Playlist: The Very Best of | - | - | - | - |
US115 (2 weeks) US |
Country27 (78 weeks) Country |
First published: June 1, 2010
|
| The essential | - | - |
CH58 (4 weeks) CH |
UK-  |
US179 (2 weeks) US |
Country40 (45 weeks) Country |
First published: August 24, 2010
|
|
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1997 | I Can Love You Better Wide Open Spaces |
- | - | - | - |
US77 (7 weeks) US |
Country7 (26 weeks) Country |
First published: October 20, 1997
|
| 1998 | There's Your Trouble Wide Open Spaces |
- | - | - |
UK26 (6 weeks) UK |
US36 (16 weeks)US |
Country1 (29 weeks) Country |
First published: April 14, 1998
|
| Wide Open Spaces Wide Open Spaces |
- | - | - | - |
US41 (20 weeks)US |
Country1 (27 weeks) Country |
First published: July 28, 1998
|
|
| You Were Mine Wide Open Spaces |
- | - | - | - |
US34 (20 weeks)US |
Country1 (25 weeks) Country |
First published: December 7, 1998
|
|
| 1999 | Tonight the Heartache's on Me Wide Open Spaces |
- | - | - | - |
US46 (16 weeks) US |
Country6 (20 weeks) Country |
First published: May 7, 1999
|
| Ready to run fly |
- | - | - |
UK53 (2 weeks) UK |
US39 (18 weeks)US |
Country2 (20 weeks) Country |
First published: June 22, 1999
|
|
| Cowboy Take Me Away Fly |
- | - | - | - |
US27 (20 weeks) US |
Country1 (41 weeks) Country |
First published: November 8, 1999
|
|
| 2000 | Goodbye Earl Fly |
- | - | - | - |
US19th (15 weeks)US |
Country13 (32 weeks) Country |
First published: February 29, 2000
|
| Cold Day in July Fly |
- | - | - | - |
US65 (10 weeks) US |
Country10 (20 weeks) Country |
First published: April 25, 2000
|
|
| Without you fly |
- | - | - | - |
US31 (20 weeks) US |
Country1 (32 weeks) Country |
First published: August 9, 2000
|
|
| 2001 | If I Fall You're Going Down with Me Fly |
- | - | - | - |
US38 (18 weeks) US |
Country3 (21 weeks) Country |
First published: February 19, 2001
|
| Heartbreak Town Fly |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country23 (16 weeks) Country |
First published: June 25, 2001
|
|
| Some Days You Gotta Dance Fly |
- | - | - | - |
US55 (19 weeks) US |
Country7 (27 weeks) Country |
First published: September 24, 2001
|
|
| 2002 | Long Time Gone Home |
- | - | - | - |
US7 (20 weeks) US |
Country2 (20 weeks) Country |
First published: May 17, 2002
|
| Landslide Home |
- | - | - |
UK55 (2 weeks) UK |
US7th (29 weeks)US |
Country2 (22 weeks) Country |
First published: September 2, 2002
|
|
| Travelin 'Soldier Home |
- | - | - | - |
US25th (10 weeks)US |
Country1 (25 weeks) Country |
First published: December 20, 2002
|
|
| 2003 | Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) Home |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country48 (9 weeks) Country |
First published: May 22, 2003
|
| 2005 | I Hope Taking the Long Way |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country54 (3 weeks) Country |
First published: September 27, 2005
|
| 2006 | Not Ready to Make Nice Taking the Long Way |
DE89 (2 weeks) DE |
- |
CH22 (20 weeks) CH |
UK70 (6 weeks) UK |
US4th × 2
(24 weeks)US |
Country36 (10 weeks) Country |
First published: March 20, 2006
|
| Everybody Knows Taking the Long Way |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country45 (9 weeks) Country |
First published: April 25, 2006
|
|
| 2007 | The Neighbor | - | - | - | - |
US74 (1 week) US |
- |
First published: February 2007
|
| 2020 | Gaslighter Gaslighter |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country20 (10 weeks) Country |
First published: March 4, 2020
|
| March March gaslighter |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country32 (2 weeks) Country |
First published: June 25, 2020
|
|
| The following songs did not appear as single, but were made available for download and streaming through the album and were thus able to achieve a placement: | ||||||||
| 1999 | Let's Rip Wide Open Spaces |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country64 (13 weeks) Country |
|
|
You Can't Hurry Love Runaway Bride OST |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country60 (11 weeks) Country |
||
| Sin Wagon Fly |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country52 (20 weeks) Country |
||
| 2002 | White Trash Wedding Home |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country56 (1 week) Country |
|
| Tortured, Tangled Hearts Home |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country58 (1 week) Country |
||
| 2020 | Sleep At Night Gaslighter |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country33 (1 week) Country |
|
More singles
- 2003: Top of the World
- 2006: Voice Inside My Head
- 2006: Easy Silence
- 2006: The Long Way Around
Guest Posts
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
Country
|
|||
| 2000 | Roly Poly Ride with Bob |
- | - | - | - | - |
Country65 (1 week) Country |
First published: April 23, 2016
Asleep at the Wheel feat. Dixie Chicks |
| 2016 | Daddy Lessons (Remix) Lemonade |
- | - |
CH73 (1 week) CH |
UK40 (2 weeks) UK |
US41 (2 weeks) US |
- |
First published: April 23, 2016
Beyoncé feat. Dixie Chicks |
| 2019 | Soon you'll get a better lover |
- | - | - | - |
US63 (1 week) US |
Country10 (4 weeks) Country |
First published: August 23, 2019
Taylor Swift feat. Dixie Chicks |
Video albums
- 2002: An Evening with the Dixie Chicks
- 2003: Top of the World Tour: Live
- 2007: Shut Up and Sing
- 2011: VH1 storytellers
- 2017: DCX MMXVI Live
Awards for music sales
|
|
|
Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.
| Country / Region |
silver |
gold |
platinum |
diamond
|
Sales | swell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources) |
||||||
 Australia (ARIA)
|
- |
gold1
|
27 × platinum27
|
- | 1,485,000 | aria.com.au |
 Canada (MC)
|
- | - |
15 × platinum15th
|
- | 1,500,000 | musiccanada.com |
 New Zealand (RMNZ)
|
- | - |
2 × platinum2
|
- | 30,000 | nztop40.co.nz |
|
Switzerland (IFPI)
|
- |
gold1
|
- | - | 15,000 | hitparade.ch |
|
United States (RIAA)
|
- |
4 × gold4th
|
22 × platinum22nd
|
2 × diamond2
|
41,300,000 | riaa.com |
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
silver1
|
4 × gold4th
|
- | - | 460,000 | bpi.co.uk |
| All in all |
silver1
|
10 × gold10
|
66 × platinum66
|
2 × diamond2
|
||
Artist awards
Awards 2000
- Country Music Association (CMA)
- "Album of the year" - FLY
- "Entertainer of the Year"
Awards 2001
- TNN / CMT: "Most Popular Band"
- American Music Awards: "Most Popular Band"
- Academy of Country Music (ACM)
- "Entertainer of the Year"
- "Singing Group of the Year"
- "Video of the Year" - Goodbye Earl
Awards 2002
- grammy
- "Best Country Album" - Home
- "Best Country Song in a Band" - Long Time Gone
- "Best Country Instrumental" - Lil 'Jack Slade
- "Best recording manager" - Home
- American Music Awards
- "Most Popular Country Band"
- "Most Popular Country Album" for Home
- Billboard Music Award: "Country Band of the Year"
- Country Music Association (CMA) Award: "Singing Group of the Year"
- CMT Flameworthy Award: "Video Visionary Award"
- People's Choice Award: "Most Popular Music Group or Band"
Awards 2005
- Grammy: “Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group” - Top Of The World
Awards 2007
- Grammy:
- "Best Album" - Taking The Long Way
- "Best Single" - Not Ready To Make Nice
- "Best Song" - Not Ready To Make Nice
- "Best country performance by a duo or a group" - Not Ready To Make Nice
- "Best Country Album" - Taking The Long Way
swell
- ↑ FAZ.net: Dixie Chicks take the south out of the name . June 25, 2020
- ^ Adelaide Mail (Australia): Not Ready to Make Nice ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), How the Chicks survived their scrap with Bush, The Telegraph, June 15, 2006
- ↑ http://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=top_tallies&ttt=TAA
- ↑ http://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=top_tallies&ttt=DA&col=artist&ord=asc#search_section
- ↑ Janko Röttgers : The culture war . In: Telepolis, March 27, 2003.
- ↑ http://www.stern.de/kultur/musik/protest-us-radiobann-gegen-die-dixie-chicks-3336646.html message on stern.de from March 16, 2003
- ↑ http://www.zeit.de/politik/irak_musiker “Tell me where the flowers are” by Claudia Pahlich. From Die Zeit 13/2006 (therein: Original English text plus translation)
- ↑ Uwe Schmitt: Cinema: The Protest Film - The Dixie Chicks and George W. Bush. In: welt.de . November 22, 2006, accessed October 7, 2018 .
- ↑ Interview with GW Bush, Tom Brokaw, NBC News (English)
- ↑ http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/dixie_chicks/bio.jhtml Online band biography on Country Music Television (English). Also given as evidence for the corresponding passage in en: Wikipedia
- ↑ http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/may2003/dixi-m09.shtml "Colorado disc jockeys suspended for protesting Dixie Chicks' ban". Article by Joanne Laurier on World Socialist Web Site and interview ( August 20, 2004 memento in the Internet Archive ). Interview May 8, 2003 on BuzzFlash.com with Nancy Skinner.
- ↑ a b c d e Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
Web links
- Official website of the Chicks
- "The All Inclusive Dixie Chicks" - information with discography (English)
- The band's channel on Youtube