Two members of the Dixie Chicks, sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison are preparing to release an album without lead singer Natalie Maines.
I hope this isn't an indication that the group is splitting up!!
The Dixie Chicks are the best-selling female group of all time (yes, more than Destiny's Child or TLC or the Supremes), selling over 30 million albums in the U.S. alone.
After Maines bashed former President George W. Bush in 2003, the Chicks saw a HUGE backlash, and fans started to boycott their albums and songs. The essentially were banned from country radio indefinitely.
In 2006 however, they released their album Taking the Long Way, a country tinged but definitely more rock/pop heavy album that addressed the controversy the band received over Maines' comments.
The album debuted at #1 and sold 3 million copies, solidifying the fact that the Chicks fans span the spectrum of musical taste. The album also went on the win Best Country Album AND Album of the Year at the 2007 Grammy Awards.
Who do you think had the last laugh?
Anyhooo, I think that country radio has changed since 2003, and that if they Dixie Chicks were to release another country record that they would be much more well received this time around.
(Image courtesy of www.abc.net.au)
I think we all know who had the actual last laugh there...
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought the Dixie Chicks did, but then I realized that it was really Bush for the giant practical joke he played on the US.