A country band that achieved mainstream success while maintaining musical credibility, the Dixie Chicks even overcame death threats, hate mail and the outrage of middle America after publicly opposing the Iraq War and saying they were ashamed to share the same home state as US President George Bush in 2003. Originally coming to attention playing bluegrass events in Texas, they hit the big time when they encompassed poppier styles in the late 1990s; resulting in the album Wide Open Spaces and hit singles “I Can Love You Better” and “There's Your Trouble”. Distancing themselves from the traditional conservatism of country music, the Dixie Chicks won over the masses with witty lyrics, Natalie Maines' compelling vocals and the fiddle and banjo skills of sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison. 1999’s The Fly produced the massive hit “Goodbye Earl” and, though their career was threatened by their Iraq War comments, their 2006 album Taking The Long Way won multiple Grammys and proved they were still a commercial force with the hit “Not Ready To Make Nice”. After some time off, they toured occasionally throughout the next decade, but did not return to the studio until 2018. The resulting album, Gaslighter, their first in fourteen years, was released in July of 2020. At that time, the group stood firm on their political beliefs yet again, dropping “Dixie” from their names and becoming simply The Chicks.
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