There’s one thing for certain, and that’s The Chicks are not afraid, and never have been afraid, to voice their opinion.
With that being said, we’re gonna spin in back all the way back to 2003, when the group was the Dixie Chicks, and they were blazing trails in the country music industry, until one comment by lead singer Natalie Maines changed the trajectory of the group forever.
The group was coming off back to back to back critically acclaimed albums, with their 1998 Wide Open Spaces, 1999 Fly, and 2002 Home album.
The group was on top of the world, until they played a show in London on this date back in 2003.
The country was in the early stages of the War in Iraq, as President George W. Bush was sending troops overseas to fight in Iraq after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
The Dixie Chicks were heavily opposed President Bush’s decision, and Natalie Maines, a fellow Texan, was sure to let that London crowd know exactly 19 years ago today.
Performed at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire theater in London, England, she said:
“We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”
Initially, the statement drew a ton of applause from the crowd, and needless to say, the group had no idea what kind of weight their words held back in the United States.
Next thing you know, their music was being stripped from country radio stations across the U.S. the following week, and a ton of country music fans were destroying Dixie Chicks albums left and right. They received death threats, and ultimately issued an apology, with Maines call her statement “disrespectful.”
“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.”
The group was relatively quiet for a few years, but bounced back with their 2006 Taking The Long Way album, which won a number of Grammys. They also released their Shut Up & Sing documentary in 2006, as well as the popular song “Not Ready To Make Nice.”
And then in 2006, when the group returned to the Shepherd’s Bush Empire theater in London, England, she doubled down.
The band went on hiatus shortly after, to spend more time with their children and their families.
