The NPR Network will be reporting live from Chicago throughout the week bringing you the latest on the Democratic National Convention.
The Chicks — formerly known as The Dixie Chicks — will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night. That performance, and the group’s presence, will provide the latest chapter in The Chicks’ long and complicated political history.
The Chicks were once one of the biggest names in country music, as the band’s breakthrough albums — 1998’s Wide Open Spaces and 1999’s Fly — each achieved the Recording Industry Association of America’s coveted diamond status, signifying sales of more than 10 million copies each.
Then, in 2003, during the run-up to the U.S. war with Iraq, singer Natalie Maines told a crowd in London that the band opposed both the war and then-President George W. Bush.
“We do not want this war, this violence,” Maines said at a Chicks concert, adding, “and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.”
The moment sparked backlash against The Chicks in the U.S., spearheaded by many of the country radio stations whose playlists the group had once dominated. Though Maines issued an apology — which she rescinded a few years later — the band remained largely alienated from the country-music industry, whose collective sentiment toward the war tended toward songs that expressed belligerence (Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue [The Angry American]”), called for action (Darryl Worley’s “Have You Forgotten?”) or reflected mournfully on the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks (Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You [When the World Stopped Turning]”).
The Chicks’ 2006 album Taking the Long Way addressed the controversy, most pointedly in the song “Not Ready to Make Nice.” Though the album was a commercial and critical success — it won album of the year at the 2007 Grammy Awards, while “Not Ready to Make Nice” was named both song and record of the year — it would be the group’s last album together until 2020.
That year, The Chicks dropped the word “Dixie” from their name, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. The group released a comeback album titled Gaslighter and, though plans for a large-scale tour were dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Four years later, The Chicks will again perform the National Anthem — this time before a packed crowd at Chicago’s United Center. And, once again, their performance will carry significant cultural weight: In recent weeks, “Not Ready to Make Nice” has been co-opted by conservative TikTok influencers, who’ve used the song to signal their opposition to Kamala Harris’ candidacy.
On Thursday night, though they’re not slated to perform “Not Ready to Make Nice,” The Chicks will look to reclaim their own narrative once again.
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