The Dixie Chicks is a country music group, formed in 1989 in Dallas, Texas, USA.
The original members of the Dixie Chicks were the sisters Martie Erwin and Emily Erwin, Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy. Martie and Emily have married and their names are now Martie Maguire and Emily Robison.
Robin Lynn Macy left in late 1992, preferring a "purer" bluegrass sound. She joined Sara Hickman and Patty Lege to form the group Domestic Science Club, which issued two albums before disbanding. Macy later founded a group called Big Twang, which cut one CD before its band members went their separate ways.
Laura Lynch was replaced in 1995 by Natalie Maines, daughter of producer and steel guitar player Lloyd Maines. The new lineup had a massive hit with their album Wide Open Spaces on Sony's Monument label. This was followed by another smash hit CD, Fly. As of early 2005 these albums have sold over 12 million and 10 million copies respectively.
The group was involved in a dispute with their record label for two years, and their next album Home was an independent production, produced by Lloyd Maines and released in 2002 after the Chicks and Sony reconciled their differences. Despite having a "non-commercial" sound – unlike the two previous records, Home lacks drums and is dominated by very-up-tempo bluegrass and pensive ballads – it was also a major success and has sold over 6 million copies (which might have been more but for the political controversy).
