Never let it be said that the Dixie Chicks are afraid of a little controversy. The Texas-rooted country trio made headlines with their criticism of President George W. Bush during a show in London in 2003, but that was by no means the band’s only brush with controversy. Since lead singer Natalie Maines’ comments regarding the U.S. president, the Dixie Chicks have had to battle the criticism of a portion of the music and radio industry, as well as a segment of their own fans. The band has also withstood the outspoken criticism of a few of their country music colleagues. But then, the Dixie Chicks’ non-traditional country sound has always made the band a bit of an outsider on the Nashville scene.

The Dixie Chicks got their start as far back as 1989, when banjo player Emily Erwin and sister Martie, a fiddler, began performing on street corners with guitarist Robin Lynn Macy and bassist Laura Lynch. They soon drew club dates with their largely bluegrass sound and classic cowgirl look. By 1995, after two independent releases, Lynch and Macy had left, and Maines had joined the trio in working toward a more contemporary sound.

With the addition of Maines came a revamped Dixie Chicks, and the audience liked what it heard. The band’s major-label debut, 1998’s “Wide Open Spaces,” was a great success, spawning a Top Ten hit with its first single, “I Can Love You Better.” The record went quadruple platinum within a year, and the Chicks won numerous country music awards. “Wide Open Spaces” snagged a Grammy for Best Country Album and became the best-selling album by a duo or group in country music history.
The Dixie Chicks followed with “Fly” in 1999, and the album featured several more smash hits, including “Ready to Run,” which appears on the “Runaway Bride” soundtrack. It, like its predecessor, went multi-platinum.

In 2002, the band participated in the VH1 Divas Live show in Las Vegas, and three months later, “Home” came out on the Chicks’ own Sony imprint, Open Wide Records. The album won four Grammy awards, and Dixie Chicks concert tickets were in high demand, with the group selling out large venues in just hours.

The Chicks’ popularity seems to have weathered the storm of the controversy unleashed in 2003, despite attempts by some corporate sponsors, industry insiders, and radio stations to keep the group’s music from being bought or played. But, the real test will come in the spring of 2006, when the band releases its next album.