50 Fun Facts About The Chicks

The Chicks were founded in 1989 in which Texas city?

The Erwin sisters were raised in nearby Addison and had played in a bluegrass group called Blue Night Express.

Which sisters founded the band and remain its two original members?

Both married and changed their names twice, ending up as Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer.

Besides vocals, what instrument did Natalie Maines mainly bring when she joined the band in 1995?

Unlike her predecessor she was not an acoustic bassist, playing acoustic and electric guitar and occasionally electric bass instead.

The name Dixie Chicks was taken from an album by which musician?

The album was Dixie Chicken; the band later called it 'that stupid name' they picked as teenagers.

What was the title of the band's self-produced 1990 debut album?

Named after the singing cowgirl actress, the 14-track record cost the band $5,000 to make.

Wide Open Spaces and Fly gave the band a distinction no other female band of any genre holds. What is it?

Fly debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and sold more than 10 million copies.

Which record label signed the trio in 1995, making them the first new artist on the revived imprint?

Their debut single 'I Can Love You Better' reached No. 7 on the country chart in late 1997.

At which London venue did Natalie Maines say in 2003 that the band was ashamed the US president was from Texas?

Country radio dropped the band and members received death threats; she returned to the same stage in 2006 and repeated the line to laughter.

Which 2006 single, co-written with Dan Wilson, won both Song and Record of the Year?

Emily Strayer said writing it became the band's 'therapy' after three years of stored emotion.

Which producer, better known for Johnny Cash and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, made Taking the Long Way?

The Chicks co-wrote every song, some with Neil Finn of Crowded House.

At the 2007 Grammys the band won how many awards, sweeping every category in which they were nominated?

It had been 14 years since any artist swept Song, Record and Album of the Year.

Which social-media description of the Confederate flag helped prompt the band's 2020 name change?

They also got the blessing of a New Zealand duo already called the Chicks to share the name.

Which producer made Gaslighter, the band's first album in 14 years?

Columbia released it in July 2020, weeks after the name change and the protest single 'March March'.

'Cowboy Take Me Away' was written by Martie to celebrate whose wedding?

The wedding took place three months before Fly was released; Emily and Robison divorced in 2008.

Which actor played the murdered abusive husband in the 'Goodbye Earl' video?

Some radio stations pulled the black-comedy song, along with 'Sin Wagon' and its 'mattress dancing' line.

'Ready to Run' appeared on the soundtrack of which 1999 Garry Marshall film?

The soundtrack also carried the band's cover of the Supremes' 'You Can't Hurry Love'.

'Landslide', a top-ten hit from Home, was a cover of a song by which band?

It fell from No. 10 to No. 43 in a single week after the 2003 remark on stage.

Who co-produced the 2002 album Home with the band?

Natalie later joked about checking how many fathers and daughters had won Grammys together.

Before Home, the band sued Sony over royalties. What imprint did they win in the settlement?

They alleged fraudulent accounting had underpaid them at least $4 million over three years.

Which documentary filmmaker made Shut Up and Sing, about the three years after the London remark?

NBC and the CW refused to run ads for it, citing policies on 'public controversy'.

What was the name of the 2010 duo formed by Martie and Emily during the band's hiatus?

Emily sang lead; their second album, Amelita, followed in 2013.

At the 2016 CMA Awards the band performed 'Daddy Lessons' with which star?

A studio version was released the next day; three years later they sang on Taylor Swift's 'Soon You'll Get Better'.

On which Taylor Swift album do the Chicks appear, on 'Soon You'll Get Better'?

The 2019 collaboration came ahead of the band's own comeback album.

Which original member, the band's upright bassist, died in a road collision in December 2023?

She had taken over lead vocals when Macy left in 1992 and departed herself before the Sony signing.

Founding guitarist Robin Lynn Macy left in 1992 for what reason?

Little Ol' Cowgirl had moved the band toward contemporary country with session musicians and bigger arrangements.

Martie placed in the national championships for her instrument at which Kansas event in 1987 and 1989?

She took second and then third; the band later won 'best band' at Telluride in 1990.

Emily Strayer's main instruments are banjo and Dobro. What is Martie Maguire's primary instrument?

Martie also plays mandolin and viola, and won national placings on her main instrument as a teenager.

Whose $10,000 gift in 1990 paid for the band's first album?

Penny Cook was the daughter of Texas senator John Tower.

Wide Open Spaces was certified how many times platinum in March 2020?

It also went quadruple platinum in Canada, where all five singles made the top ten.

Which 1998 Country Music Association prize for new artists did the band win?

The same season Wide Open Spaces won the Grammy for Best Country Album.

Taking the Long Way made the Chicks the first female band in chart history to do what?

It sold 526,000 copies in its first week despite country radio's ongoing boycott, going gold within seven days.

Tickets for the 2006 Accidents & Accusations Tour never went on sale in which Texas city after radio refused the ads?

The tour was re-routed toward Canada, where Taking the Long Way had gone five-times platinum.

Natalie Maines was sued for defamation in 2008 after voicing support for which convicted trio?

Terry Hobbs, stepfather of one victim, brought the case; a federal judge dismissed it in 2009 for lack of actual malice.

Which band did the Dixie Chicks join for a 2010 stadium tour?

Keith Urban appeared at selected shows.

Whose 2011 bluegrass album Rare Bird Alert featured the Dixie Chicks singing 'You'?

The comedian was backed by the Steep Canyon Rangers.

What was the Chicks' first performance at the 2020 Democratic National Convention?

It came a month after Gaslighter's release.

Manager Simon Renshaw, who had guided the band since 1995, retired in which year?

They then signed with Ian Montone and Rick Yorn, and later named John Silva as manager alongside the name change.

Which country legend joined the band on 'I Believe in Love' and 'Tortured, Tangled Hearts'?

'I Believe in Love' was debuted on the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon after 9/11.

Fly produced how many singles in total?

Six of them made the top ten of the Billboard country singles chart.

Which all-woman touring festival did the band join in the late 1990s with Sarah McLachlan?

Their own first headlining tour was the Fly Tour, with Joe Ely and Ricky Skaggs guesting at every show.

Which protest song did the Chicks release alongside their June 2020 name change?

Its video, directed by Seanne Farmer, paid tribute to social justice movements, and the band introduced a new manager, John Silva, the same day.

Which network refused an ad for the 2006 documentary Shut Up and Sing, citing 'public controversy'?

The CW also rebuffed the ads, though local affiliates in New York and Los Angeles ran them anyway, prompting Harvey Weinstein to cry blacklisting.

Before becoming the Chicks, the band got the blessing of a same-named duo from which country?

The band said they had picked their original name as teenagers and had wanted to change it for years before finally doing so in 2020.

Which Crowded House frontman was among the co-writers on Taking the Long Way?

The three Chicks co-wrote every song on the 2006 album, which sold 526,000 copies in its first week and went gold within days.

What was the band's debut single with Natalie Maines, released in October 1997?

It reached No. 7 on the Hot Country Songs chart, a warm-up for the three chart-toppers that followed from the same album.

Natalie Maines recorded a solo 'God Only Knows' in 2011 for the finale of which HBO series?

The Beach Boys cover arrived during the band's hiatus, four months before the sisters confirmed that new music with her was in the works.

What was the title of the band's second album, released independently in 1992?

Its move towards a more contemporary country sound, with session musicians and bigger arrangements, prompted guitarist Robin Lynn Macy to quit.

The band's first three albums came out on which local independent label?

The debut cost the group $5,000 to make and featured covers of Patsy Montana and Sam Cooke alongside a couple of originals.

'Long Time Gone', the lead single from Home, was a cover of a song by which songwriter?

It climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on Hot Country Songs, outperforming many of the band's radio-era hits.

Before founding the band, the Erwin sisters played in which bluegrass group?

Their bandmates included country singer Sharon Gilchrist and her brother Troy; the sisters were raised in Addison, Texas.