Has it really been 13 years?
On this date in 2011, the country girl band supergroup Pistol Annies made their debut on the Academy of Country Music’s Girls’ Night Out: Superstar Women of Country on CBS.
Consisting of country powerhouses Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, they officially joined forces on national television during the event to sing their fan-favorite song, “Hell on Heels.”
The tune would ultimately become the title track to their debut album, and the three ladies were the only writers on the entire album (aside from Miranda’s ex-husband Blake Shelton on “Family Feud”). Since this day, they’ve released a total of four studio albums (including a Christmas album), and for my money, are probably still the most underrated band in all of country music.
Their songwriting is exceptionally clever and witty, and as a trio, no topic or statement is ever too obscure or taboo, as is evidenced on some of my favorite songs like “Trailer for Rent” and “Sugar Daddy.”
Miranda introduced her band for the first time this night, saying:
“I do have a surprise. Since it’s girls night out, I gotta new band called Pistol Annies so I wanna bring out the members.
This is our very first debut ever, so please welcome to the stage my good girlfriends, Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe.”
I mean, the opening verse of the song pretty much says everything you need to know:
“I’m hell on heels
Say what you will
I done made the devil a deal
He made me pretty
He made me smart
And I’m gonna to break me a million hearts
I’m hell on heels, baby, I’m comin’ for you”
It’s hard to believe there can even be so much talent in one band… and I’m hoping and praying that sometime in 2024, we might get another Pistol Annies album because it has been way too long.
And they came out absolutely swinging with this performance, and left nothing to the imagination in terms of who they were and what they wanted to say as one of country music’s few girl groups. Check it out:
The studio version:
