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Dixie Chicks Complete Discography: The Hits (and Misses) Page 2
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Fly -
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Unauthorized Story -
Star Profile -
Pickin' On -
Big Mon -
Future/Rumored (including Big Twang) -
Karaoke!
This page details the releases and appearances by the Dixie Chicks and related artists after the release of their
fifth album, Fly, their second major-label release. Fly spawned a
top 40 hit ("Ready To Run") months before its release... and a big miss that led to another Dallas group's
departure from their label.
Other sections of the Dixie Chicks Complete Discography:
Dixie Chicks - "Fly" (August 31, 1999)
Tape and CD available at CDnow
Sound samples of 9 songs (out of 13)
The hottest buzz on the Discussion List is about
the Chicks' next release. They've been in and out of the studio since March 1999 (during breaks in the middle of their tour with the
George Strait
Country Music Festival) to record their second major-label release, which will actually be the Dixie Chicks'
fifth album. Natalie has mentioned her fear of the "sophomore scare thing,"
but for Martie and Emily, this is "post-graduate" work.
The originally proposed title of the disc comes was Sin Wagon, from a song the Chicks have been doing in concert.
Here's an article that was posted to the mailing list on January 8, 1999... unfortunately, the source is unknown.
Dixie Chicks Go Sinful
The Dixie Chicks have set up camp in Nashville while they record a sequel to their debut album,
Wide Open Spaces. The new album sports a lot of creative style for the girls, and
they're thinking about calling it Sin Wagon, after one of the songs they've got for
the record. Group member Natalie Maines told us a little about the song:
"Emily and I wrote a song with Stephanie Smith that we played New Year's Eve, Sin Wagon,
which, right now, you know, is in our minds to be the name. Of course everyone's going 'You're going
from Wide Open Spaces to Sin Wagon?'"
And according to an article in the UK's
BIRDpages
(1/17/1999),
the Dixie Chicks have been collaborating again with I Can Love You Better co-writer
Kostas and with
Matraca Berg,
the songstress behind
Reba McEntire's
The Last One To Know and
Trisha Yearwood's
Wrong Side Of Memphis
(this info from the All-Music Guide).
You may have heard Berg on the radio singing her own song,
Back In The Saddle.
Singles (in order of release)
- Ready To Run (6/22/1999)
Martie Seidel and Marcus Hummon
Natalie's vocals are great, and have the sort of unchained edge that made their version of
Bonnie Raitt's
Give It Up Or Let Me Go fun to listen to. But that
wasn't the first thing I heard when the song played for the first time on the radio in the car.
What I heard over the noisy kids in the back seat was Martie's fiddle.
The next thing I heard was something I haven't heard since Little Ol' Cowgirl -- voice,
fiddle, and by golly Emily's banjo turned loose with no NashVegas
clutter in the background!
The light percussion (and maybe a little keyboard) is in its proper place,
behind the girls. Natalie wails to beat all, the fiddle is sparkling,
and not only is the banjo audible, it even got its own section in the
bridge. I haven't heard that since the instrumental Beating Around The
Bush in Little Ol' Cowgirl -- even Shouldn't A Told You That didn't
include as good a banjo solo that I can recall.
And the lyrics are post-Tarabay Natalie all the way. "Who cares about
love? I'm Ready To Run!"
The song hit big. Sony had the guts to push it, and if
the Program Directors at the radio stations had the guts to play a song
with a (gasp!) banjo in it. The best news about the positive response was that
it came while the Chicks and the label were still tweaking Fly.
With the fans falling for Ready To Run, the Chicks were free to keep all the
rockin' bluegrass sound that was in the early summer demo copy of Fly --
a return to the "Old Chicks" roots, with a "New Chicks" attitude.
The song debuted at #37. In its fourth week, it hit #15! And that was before the
video debuted on July 28, 1999, two days before the movie hit the theatres. While other strong songs kept
Ready To Run out of the #1 spot, it spent several weeks at #2... then dropped all the way from the top 20 to
out of the top 40 when the label attempted to release Goodbye Earl the first time.
- Goodbye Earl (10/1999?)
Dennis Linde
If Sony didn't want to release this track as a single, they wouldn't have "parted ways" with
Sons Of The Desert,
over it, would they? See the track list for more details.
So they tried... and it flopped. It only hit the 50s on the Billboard charts, so Sony yanked it in favor of something sweeter:
- Cowboy Take Me Away (11/8/1999)
Martie Seidel and Marcus Hummon
Written by Martie (SonicNet) for little sister Emily's wedding. Word on the mailing list,
based on the Chicks' statements in concert, was that this would be the first single released after
Ready To Run. It wasn't, but the controversy surrounding Earl forced the label
to go back to the original plan.
Good idea. The song moved steadily up the charts, spending two weeks at #1 among strong competition.
- Goodbye Earl - again! (2/29/2000)
Dennis Linde
By the start of the new year, the
Sons Of The Desert
had signed with a new label -- breaking with Sony over the rights to issue a single of
Goodbye Earl, the song they'd been performing in concert for years before letting the Chicks
record it. So there was no reason for Sony to go ahead with the original plan out of loyalty to a group
that was no longer even on the label. Maybe someone at Sony decided that they should do what they said they would?
Not likely, but whatever the reason was, the label went all out after Earl's late-1999 fiasco.
They lined up A-list Hollywood talent for a video, casting hard-boiled TV detective Dennis Franz
as the abusive Earl. They selected the inflammatory track as the song the Chicks would perform during the Grammy Awards
in March. And in a move reminicent of the old days, they actually issued a retail CD single -- something they hadn't done
since the title track from Wide Open Spaces, the group's third hit.
The strategy worked. Proving "there's no such thing as bad publicity", the Chicks and the label faced the criticism
of the track's violent storyline head-on, even securing an endorsement from the
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. They got enough press
to drive retail CD sales of the single to the top of the sales graphs, and that translated into #40 on the
Billboard charts despite still-light airplay.
Once the track hit the charts, radio stations were stuck. The consolidation of the radio and music industry
has straightjacketed all but a handful of country stations into playing the charts, and Earl was on the
chart. Stations that had resisted the track found themselves playing it, then justifying their decision with "listener polls"
and other made-up excuses.
What really happened was proof that radio is being led by the nose by the charts. Sony knew (or guessed) that the
song would sell, and forced its way onto the charts by going over the heads of the radio program directors -- directly to the
fans. The label is to be commended for seeing past the big-hit trap that Nashville has built for itself... now, can they turn
the same trick for other artists, like
Charlie Robison,
who are languishing on the fringes of Music Row?
When the smoke cleared, "Goodbye Earl" peaked at #13 on the Billboard charts in April, 2000, earning the dubious distinction
of being the only single not to make it to the top 10. But it should be noted that "Cowboy Take Me Away" remained
in the top 20 the whole time "Earl" was climbing the chart -- stations like Dallas' KSCS 96.3
that wouldn't play "Earl" instead played "Cowboy" and other Dixie Chicks tracks.
For an alternative take on the "Goodbye Earl" scenario, you've got to visit this darkly humorous site:
The Goodbye Earl Handbook.
Subtitle: "First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes poisoned black-eyed peas." Also includes a rare
photo of the Dixie Chicks' only release on 8-Track Tape.
- Cold Day In July (4/25/2000)
Richard Lee
In late April, members of the discussion list reported that "Cold Day In July" had suddenly appeared on radio, and this was
reportedly confirmed by Radio & Records. Back in early 1999, long before Fly was released,
Yahoo! reported (in their Discography) that this song would be the B-side of the first single off the upcoming
album, with "Wherever You Are" as the main track. It was scheduled for a June 30, 1999 release... but plans changed when
"Ready To Run" was selected for the Runaway Bride soundtrack and
Deryl Dodd
went in the hospital. Word on the list is that Dodd wanted to lay down another set of vocals on "Wherever You Are", but was
way too sick. For details on this song, see the Track-by-Track Reviews.
Now, almost a year later, the song is about to make the long trip up the charts as the follow-up to "Goodbye Earl", a song
that didn't break the top 10 but sparked more buzz than any other release. "Cold Day In July" is about as different from "Earl"
as any song on Fly -- a slow, soulful "cry when your man is gone" song. It's also a long song -- over five minutes on
the early summer demo.
I picked it as a non-radio album song, but another top 10 may not be the Chicks' goal with "July". "Goodbye Earl" threw the
country world into a tizzy, and may have kept Fly at the top of the album charts for several weeks more than
expected. But it's time to switch gears, and that's what "July" does. Even if it doesn't crack the top 10, it will set the stage
for the Chicks' next release.
Full Track List
For complete details (including exclusive
reviews from an early summer internal demo CD), see the Track-by-Track Reviews.
The Groobees (October 5, 1999)
Tape and CD available at CDnow
Sound samples of 5 songs (out of 10, but not "Wide Open Spaces")
The publicity (and the royalties) from singer-songwriter Susan Gibson's "Wide Open Spaces"
allowed her Amarillo-based band, The Groobees
(two O's, two E's) to move up a rung on the ladder of fame. But as the schedule on their web site
(groobees.com) will attest, they are still working their butts off on the
honky-tonk and high school cafeteria circuit where the Dixie Chicks spent their first ten years.
This self-titled release, their first on the Blix Street label (blixstreet.com),
seems to represent a small step, rather than a big leap. Originally titled Central Standard Songs in early
promos and on radio shows (including a spring 1999 show on Dallas' 99.5 The Wolf),
the album doesn't include some of the group's most provocative songs. But the group may simply be biding its time -- in fact,
during the radio interview, they played some very good songs that they said would be available "after two or three more
releases".
Even if they're holding back, though, the ten tracks on The Groobees are excellent. "Take Care Of You" has
echoes of the independence featured in "Wide Open Spaces", a few years down the road:
"I'll take care of me, you just take care of you." And as an extra treat for Dixie Chicks fans, the group included one track
from their independently released album Wayside: the song that started it
all, "Wide Open Spaces".
Soundtrack for a Century - "Country-American Tradition" (October 12, 1999)
Tape and CD available at CDnow
Sound samples of 10 songs (out of 53 on two discs)
Sony Music has assembled what they describe as
"The Most Comprehensive Collection of Popular Music Ever Assembled!" (the exclamation point is Sony's),
and they've included the #1 title cut from the Dixie Chicks' Wide Open Spaces as the capper
of the century, at least in the "Country-American Tradition" category. But it'll be hard to say they left anything
out to make room for the Chicks, as "Country-American" is a two-disc set that in turn is part of the 26-disc
547-song "Soundtrack for a Century". It even has its own website:
millennium.sonymusic.com.
The release was momentous enough to be profiled on National Public Radio's
Morning Edition on October 7, 1999. The 9-minute profile, which starts with the first commercially sold
recording (on Columbia, a Sony predecessor, in 1890), is featured on the NPR site in RealAudio -- quite a feat, since
segments featuring music are often "blacked-out" due to copyright issues. Kudos to Sony for giving permission...
and for seeing that it's in their best interest to let NPR rebroadcast the spot. Try
this link,
or go to the NPR Site and do a search for "Soundtrack for a Century".
Note: the report, while good, does not mention the Dixie Chicks.
A look at the track list provides another surprise. Wide Open Spaces, the newest track on the
set, is the last track of the second disc. There's another Dixie Chicks link, though on the first disc.
I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart -- the
Patsy Montana
version -- is on disc 1. The Chicks covered that cowgirl track on their first release,
Thank Heavens For Dale Evans. Unfortunately,
CDNow sound samples aren't available for either track on this release -- but check out the sample available on
Montana's
discography.
Keith Urban (October 19, 1999)
Tape and CD available at CDnow
Sound samples of 10 songs (out of 12, including "I Wanna Be Your Man")
This self-titled album by Australian native Keith Urban is the first US solo effort by
the former lead singer of country party trio
The Ranch.
According to information originally posted on Nici's list, Emily Robison and Martie Seidel
sing backup on the track I Wanna Be Your Man (Forever). Unfortunately, this album has not been taken
seriously by some music critics, with VH1 describing Emily and Martie's track as "Cajun-Lite".
They see the entire album as just another attempt by Nashville to co-opt the teen market, saying Urban has
been "repackaged as a sensitive beau-hunk."
But didn't VH1 try to get the fiddle and banjo taken out of Wide Open Spaces?
Kind of cuts their credibility on the country side, I'd say.
Interestingly, one of the songs on the 1997 self-titled release by
The Ranch
is Some Days You Gotta Dance -- a song that made it onto the Dixie Chicks' Fly.
Check it out at the group's
CDnow Discography --
I like their acoustic guitar version better than the Chicks' more polished (read:
Shania-esque)
version.
For more information on Keith Urban and the other members of The Ranch, see Abbey Lillie's
The Ranch: Unofficial Webpage
Sheryl Crow - Live From Central Park (December 7, 1999)
Tape and CD available at CDnow
Sound samples of 6 songs (out of 14, includes one of the Chicks' tracks)
In late summer 1999, the Dixie Chicks were part of a big outdoor concert in New York City's Central Park,
organized mostly by
Sheryl Crow.
Fresh off the Lilith Fair tour (which also featured Crow), the Chicks did a few sets,
though hardly enough to satisfy hardcore fans. The
Live From Central Park compilation includes a live version of the Dixie Chicks singing
Crow's Strong Enough (from her 1993 album,
Tuesday Night Music Club). The Chicks are also included on the final track,
Bob Dylan's
Tombstone Blues, where Crow and all the guests close out the disc with an
all-star jam.
By the way... the news about this album broke on mailing list owner
Nici's
local rock station.
Unauthorized Story (December 14, 1999)
CD available at CDnow
No sound samples
Michael Curtis (curtis28t@msn.com), from Nici's Dixie Chicks Discussion List,
supplied me with this information:
I have a copy of this CD, and it's called Compact Dixie Chicks Unauthorized.
Some online retailers just call it Compact Dixie Chicks, some call it Minimum Dixie
Chicks & some Unauthorized. However, they all have the same cover, so I
guess they're all the same.
The CD has 5 tracks, is 30 minutes 55 seconds, and it features cheesy, annoying "muzak"
throughout.
Errors include:
- 2nd indie CD is called "Little Ol' CowBOY" [should be Cowgirl]
- Claims that Laura "left" the Chicks because she wanted to stay home with her
daughter instead of touring in a pink RV & using "childish gimmicks".
- Claims that Michael Tarabay was "THEIR bass player" [Natalie's ex-husband played for fellow Texan
Pat Green]
- Emily played STEEL GUITAR and banjo on "Sin Wagon"
- Talks about their single "THAT'S Your Trouble" ["There's Your Trouble" spent two weeks at #1 in 1998]
- Calls the forthcoming Chicks tour "Chicks OR Picks"
Other than that, it seems to be pretty accurate. :-)
By the way, is Martie's natural hair color red? I always thought it was
brown-ish blonde, but the Chicks Unauthorized CD claims she's naturally a
redhead.
[Editor's Note: The pictures from the early days are not very revealing
on this issue, either.]
Thanks, Michael, for the great information!
Star Profile (March 28, 2000)
CD available at CDnow
Sound samples of all 5 (spoken) tracks
Michael Curtis (curtis28t@msn.com) gave the following review of this release on
Nici's Dixie Chicks Discussion List:
Well, I just got the Dixie Chicks' Star Profile CD today. Wow!
The 100-page booklet alone was worth what I paid for the "Profile" CD -
although after I'd already bought mine, I saw it for $3 cheaper somewhere
else. The CD is cool although Emily's the only Chick that's on it, and there
are several "inaccuracies" such as wrong song titles, etc. The only
pictures I hadn't seen before were apparently taken during their '99
European tour.
The CD has 5 tracks & is 24min, 36sec long.
The booklet seems pretty accurate aside from the fact that it sugar-coats
the story of Laura's departure. But there are some errors on the CD:
- LP title - "Shouldn't A Told You" (no "That")
- "Til I See You" was listed on Wide Open Spaces.
[Editor's Note: They played it in concert, but did not include it
on the album. See the Summer Lights Festival sound sample on the Special Treats Page.]
- Song title errors: "Tonight The Heartache", "Once You've Loved Someone" (should be "..Somebody").
- There may be a couple of other factual
errors on the CD, but those are the ones that I heard & automatically
thought "huh!?" lol
Thanks again, Michael!
Pickin' On The Dixie Chicks (March 28, 2000)
Tape and CD available at CDnow
Sound samples of 5 songs (out of 12, includes one "Old Chicks" track)
CMH Records (http://www.cmhrecords.com/) has produced a long line of
tribute CDs, featuring bluegrass instrumental versions of songs by artists
from
Patsy Cline and
Merle Haggard to
Tom Petty and
The Beatles.
The latest installment in the "Pickin' On" series features songs from all
five Dixie Chicks CDs -- one song from each of the three indie releases,
plus nine selections from the group's two multi-platinum Sony discs.
Here's the blurb from the back cover:
Blazing fiddle, tender mandolin and furious pickin' on the 5-string banjo
and guitar create an all-instrumental sensation on this tribute to the
goddeses of bluegrass. Dedicated to the quality performances of old-time
country's sweethearts, this collection of classic favorites and
chart-topping hits strikes a chord and pulls heartstrings. The passion of
the Dixie Chicks is captured by the powerful playing of America's hottest
bluegrass performers. Pickin' On The Dixie Chicks is rooted in bluegrass
tradition while it soars to the heights of modern country.
The music itself is wonderful. It's not the hard-edged sort of bluegrass
you'd find on CMH's non-tribute bluegrass CDs (like "The 3 Tenors of
Bluegrass", another CMH release)... rather, it's a soothing blend of
acoustic sounds. It's great for relaxing to some familiar tunes -- their
musicians have really captured the spirit of the songs and turned them into
much more than just background music. On the other hand, I think radio
stations may find these tracks very useful for playing behind ads, PSA's,
or other announcements.
There's one other special thing about this release. Here is a line from the liner notes:
Special Thanks To:
Robert Brooks (http://www.dixie-chicks.com/)
and to D'Addario String Co.
The Project Coordinator for this Pickin' On project used the information from this site
to help decide which tracks from the Chicks' indie releases would be the most appropriate for
this tribute release. I'm happy and proud to have been a small part of the project!
Various Artists - "Big Mon" (August 29, 2000)
Not yet listed at CDnow
See Bill Monroe's
Bluegrass 1950-58
(disc 1) for a sample of "My Little Georgia Rose"
It's confirmed -- the Dixie Chicks will be joining bluegrass legend
Ricky Skaggs
in a tribute to the "Father of Bluegrass",
Bill Monroe.
The album, titled Big Mon after the legendary
bluegrass pioneer's nickname, will be produced by Skaggs, who was a friend and protegé of Monroe's.
Since Monroe died in 1996, Ricky Skaggs has devoted his career to continuing the bluegrass tradition, forsaking
the Nashville pop machine in favor of hardcore bluegrass releases like 1997's
Bluegrass Rules.
Not that Skaggs was a new convert to the traditional sound -- his 1982 hit
"Highway 40 Blues" broke all the Nashville rules of song structure and instrumentation.
Ricky Skaggs has brought a variety of artists together for this tribute, from
Bruce Hornsby
and
John Fogerty,
to
Dolly Parton
and
Charlie Daniels,
to
Mary Chapin Carpenter
and
Patty Loveless.
Skaggs will be playing with the Dixie Chicks on "My Little Georgia Rose",
a song Bill Monroe recorded in the 1950s. For more information about Bill Monroe, visit the detailed bio at
CyberGrass (banjo.com).
The album will be released by Skaggs Family Records, but further information is not currently available.
The web site (skaggsfamilyrecords.com) can not be accessed
without the Flash plug-in. It looks like Skaggs' web design team doesn't understand the concept: stick to the traditional
roots and leave the "Flash" to the NashVegas kiddies.
Ricky Skaggs'
bluegrass-tinged tracks like "Heartbroke" and "Highway 40 Blues" went out
of style with the dawning of the
Garth Brooks
era in the early 1990s, and Columbia Records (now part of Sony Music) dropped him in 1992. But Skaggs didn't give
up... he just returned to his bluegrass roots. Timing is everything, and by the time the Dixie Chicks brought banjos
back to the mainstream, Skaggs had become the successor to Bill Monroe in bringing full-bore bluegrass to the masses.
This tribute promises to be a great return to the roots of Country... and to the roots of the Dixie Chicks.
Future/Rumored Releases
Not all of these may ever come about... in fact, some are known to be hoaxes! Keep that in mind as you read on...
Big Twang (Summer 2000)
After the breakup of the Domestic Science Club (see their Discography
entry), Robin Lynn Macy stayed active in the music community -- even working briefly as a DJ at public radio station KERA 90.1
(kera.org) before they killed off all their local music shows. But eventually, Robin
left Dallas for the wheat fields of southern Kansas -- close to Winfield, home of the annual Walnut Valley Festival
(wvfest.com).
She continued to be surrounded by music, and married bassist and vocalist Mark Bennett. They and three
members of the Theobald family formed a bluegrass group called Blue Plate Special. This group toured the
Wichita-area coffeehouse circuit, and even made an appearance at the Walnut Valley Festival in 1999 (see their
Performer's Page on the festival's site). This was familiar ground for
Robin -- she played Winfield with both Danger In The Air and the early Dixie Chicks
in the late '80s and early '90s.
Eventually, though, the active folk music scene in the Wichita area shook things up. In early 2000, Robin left
Blue Plate Special, and joined four other members of the Kansas folk/bluegrass community
to form Big Twang. The new group started out on the same folk circuit as Blue Plate Special -- in
fact, both groups took part in
the Kansas Bluegrass Association's (kansasbluegrass.org)
Winter Bluegrass Festival in February 2000.
But the two groups' paths appear to be diverging. Blue Plate Special (still featuring Robin's husband) appears
to be staying local -- in fact, if they were to expand outside Kansas, they might have some trouble from an LA-based
swing band
with the same name and several albums to its credit.
On the other hand, Big Twang may be about to hit the trail that Robin blazed -- several times -- over the past
two decades. According to information that has come across the Winfield-L mailing list, Big Twang
is working on an album due to release in Summer 2000. Meanwhile, the group has posted three full-length
songs at MP3.com.
Two of these will be very familiar to fans of Domestic Science Club and the pre-Sony Dixie Chicks:
MP3.com - Big Twang
- Blame
A new version of "I've Only Got Myself To Blame", from the Chicks' Shouldn't
A Told You That A little slower, perhaps a little darker... the contrast between Robin's vocals and Laura's
is facinating! Both are beautiful, but Robin's version is available (legally!) right now.
- Stealing Away
With Darren Wilcox on lead vocals and Robin on harmony, this track sounds very similar to the
light bluegrass harmony on the Danger in the Air releases. Indications are that Wilcox is also
the songwriter behind this tune.
- Reserved For The One I Love
This song was included on the second Domestic Science Club release, Three Women.
But while the DSC version was strongly influenced by folk diva
Sara Hickman,
this version is all-Robin.
Bluegrass and other traditional country music forms are making a big comeback, thanks to groups like the
Dixie Chicks and internet radio outlets like KHYI 95.3 The Range
and TwangCast. Look for
Big Twang to make a big splash in bluegrass and folk circles with their first album...
and watch for the ripples to travel as far as Nashville.
One more note: along with Robin Macy (vocals, guitar) and Darren Wilcox (vocals, bass), the band also
includes Ken White (vocals, mandolin), Jeff Scroggins (banjo), and Troy Gilchrist (resophonic guitar).
Troy Gilchrist, along with sister Sharon, joined Emily and Martie Erwin in the '80s to form
Blue Night Express when all four were teenagers. Things come full circle, again.
Bat Out Of Nashville (Proposed)
The May 8, 2000 issue of CDnow's allstar News
led off with the headline,
"Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell Goes Country."
It turned out that the Dixie Chicks are among the country artists on the "wish list"
to cover songs from Meat Loaf's '70s smash disc Bat Out Of Hell.
Tentatively titled Bat Out Of Nashville, the producer aims high:
[Writer/Producer Jim] Steinman's wish list for the album is long --
Garth Brooks,
Dwight Yoakam,
Dixie Chicks,
George Jones,
Vince Gill,
Randy Travis,
Merle Haggard,
Tim McGraw,
Faith Hill,
Brooks & Dunn,
Willie Nelson,
Trisha Yearwood,
Shania Twain,
Wynonna,
Leann Rimes,
Clint Black,
Alabama,
and many others.
"I always dreamed of being a country singer," explains Steinman in a
release about the album. "But, this big fella named Meat Loaf auditioned
for me for a part in a musical I wrote at the New York Shakespeare Festival
and I thought he'd be perfect to sing stuff from my more rock and roll
side. But, like me, he had a lot of country in him."
Meat Loaf, who is from Dallas, was born Marvin Lee Aday. He changed his
name, so the story goes, to keep from embarassing his silver-spoon family.
Perhaps the local tie will entice the Chicks into contributing to the
album... but it'll be tough to do, since they're going to be touring almost
nonstop throughout 2000.
What song should the Chicks do? I only like two tracks on the Meat Loaf
album... and "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" would be my pick.
Ain't no doubt about it, we were doubly blessed,
'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed...
Cledus T. Judd (in concert and maybe a future album)
Proudly wearing the mantle of "the
"Weird" Al Yankovic
of Country Music",
Cledus T. Judd
(no relation) has crafted a sendup of the hit title track to Wide Open Spaces... his version is
called "NASCAR Races". According to a Chicks mailing list member, Judd played the song at the
1999 Swampstock concert in Louisiana... and said that the Dixie Chicks were "pissed off about him doing that song."
It should be noted, though, that to publish a derivative work (such as a song parody), Judd needs the permission of the
copyright owner. That's not the Chicks... it's
The Groobees,
whose lead singer Susan Gibson wrote and originally recorded the song before letting the Chicks use it.
See The Groobees' own Discography entries on this page and
in the Indie Releases section.
Will they let Judd record his version? Keep your eye out for the next
Cledus
release.
Various Artists - "How Sweet It Was" (Late 1999 or later - rumored)
The Dixie Chicks and Korn? That's what the
Dallas Observer says we'll be seeing in an upcoming
James Taylor
tribute. Here's a clip from the
May 6, 1999
Out There section. But I wouldn't put it past Robert Wilonsky to make it up...
[...] the reformed
Pixies
are recording a song for How Sweet It Was, the
James Taylor
nod scheduled to include
Korn
backing the
Dixie Chicks,
and the
Toadies with
Bush.
Shower the people indeed.
Wayne Newton - "Duets" (September, 1999)
It got reported everywhere: the Dixie Chicks were going to be one of the artists featured on
an album of duets with
Wayne Newton,
a hitmaker in the '60s who is better known now as a Las Vegas fixture -- the highest-paid
nightclub performer in history (according to the All-Music Guide).
But it was all a hoax... yet another bit of humor by Natalie and the girls at our expense.
Here's what Angie McIsaac had to say about it in her
Cyber-Country.com Nashville Inside Reporter column
on September 19, 1999:
I spoke to Maura Mooney at Front Page Publicity last week. Maura is the
publicist for The Dixie Chicks. Maura is a great gal and she and I had a
good laugh. I had called to follow up on an item I read in Country Music
People. The magazine had reported that the Chicks were going to be included
in an upcoming duet album with
Wayne Newton.
I also saw this item plastered
all over the Internet on Insider pages like my own. Anyway, the rumor is
not true. Maura confirmed that the Chicks have no plans to do any work with
Wayne Newton. I asked her if she had any idea how such a rumor was started.
She told me that the Chicks' new hobby is starting rumors about themselves.
I guess they get a kick out of seeing how many "respected" media will
report bogus information without so much as a phone call to confirm it. One
recent example of their efforts was a rumor about Natalie being pregnant with
Deryl Dodd's
baby. Maura says Natalie started that one herself!
Gotcha!
Tom Jones - untitled (sometime in 2000?)
Before you say, "Oh no, not again!", read the note that appeared on the
Young Country Gossip page
on October 6, 1999:
The Dixie Chicks going to record a duet with
Tom Jones -- maybe.
Tom Jones just released a CD called Reload that features him singing with young British pop
and rock stars. According to "Q" magazine,
the plan is that if this CD does well, he'll do another one that will feature him singing with
American stars. And "Q" magazine reports that the Chicks are, quote, "already lined up
for a recording session." Since Reload has just hit #1 on the British album charts, the
American album may become a reality. For their part, the Chicks just love Tom, because
when they went to see him in Vegas, he let them come backstage. "We threw our bras
at Tom Jones!" laughs Natalie Maines. (Westwood One)
Reload has now shown up in the Imports section of Jones'
CDnow discography
(4/2000). But the album notes say that the CD is not scheduled for release in the US...
Tom Jones, like
Wayne Newton,
still has a hard time being taken seriously in the US (outside of Las Vegas).
Completely non-Chick related: Tom Jones was my favorite artist when I was a toddler.
I made my grandparents play "What's New, Pussycat" on the 8-track in the Cadillac
over and over and
over and over and
over and over and...
(you get the idea). How they survived, I don't know.
Karaoke!
Yep, it's your turn to sing along with the Dixie Chicks. Karaoke compilations including arrangements of
the Dixie Chicks hits started appearing in mid-1999 on CDnow, with a release on the Priddis label called simply
Sing-A-Long.
Unfortunately, CDnow does not include sound samples, or even a track list for this Karaoke release.
Another source that looks pretty reliable is Pocket Songs (pocketsongs.com),
a company that boasts over 12,000 releases since 1985.
Their Dixie Chicks Hits collection (with an incongruous picture of a duckling on the cover) includes
eight tracks from Wide Open Spaces, including good album cuts like "Loving Arms" and
"Let 'Er Rip".
For More Information...
For full details of the Dixie Chicks releases before they hit the big time, see the
Dixie Chicks Complete Discography: The Indie Releases.
You'll also find a little history about these pages, and an explanation of why you see so many
CDnow links on my site.
To keep up with the absolute latest info on the Dixie Chicks, visit the Chicks' favorite web stop,
the very first Dixie Chicks fan page
ever: Nici's Unofficial Dixie Chicks Site.
There, you'll find the latest info, some of it directly from the Chicks themselves. And you'll certainly
want to join the discussion on her Dixie Chicks E-mail List. With 300 members, there's never a shortage
of discussion. Add your two cents or just lurk -- send a blank email to
dixiechicks-subscribe@egroups.com.
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