JUDY WOODRUFF: They remain
the bestselling female band
of all time in the U.S.,

and the bestselling country
group since Nielsen SoundScan
started tracking in 1991.

But the group formerly
known as the Dixie Chicks
may be best known for a

single comment the lead singer
made in London in 2003 during
the lead-up to the Iraq War,

which led to death threats and a
virtual ban from country radio.

Fourteen years after their last
album, The Chicks are back,
with new music and a new name.

Jeffrey Brown has our story.

It's part of our ongoing arts
and culture series, Canvas.

JEFFREY BROWN:

A gaslighter is someone who
sows seeds of doubt to make
others question their own

perceptions or sanity.
And The Chicks are back
to call out a few, this
time without the Dixie,

but still with all the trappings
of the group that once dominated
the country music charts,

three-part harmony, powerhouse
vocals by Natalie Maines,

backed by sisters Martie
Maguire on fiddle and
Emily Strayer on banjo.

This is the first album in
14 years, and I wonder why.
I mean, what took so long?

NATALIE MAINES, The Chicks:
Well, we have nine kids
between the three of us.

EMILY STRAYER, The
Chicks: And then once
they got to be teenagers,

I think we were all like,
I think it's time to go on
the road, do music again.

(LAUGHTER) MARTIE MAGUIRE, The
Chicks: Then we finally had

some more baggage to write
about, I guess you could say.

JEFFREY BROWN:

Much of "Gaslighter" is a deeply
personal reflection on life,

loss and resilience
after divorce, which all
three have experienced.

EMILY STRAYER: We found
that, almost the more
personal you are with a song,

the more it relates to
more people, because you
think your story might
just be your own. But

most things that people go
through in life are universal to
everybody in one way or another.

JEFFREY BROWN: With the help
of producer Jack Antonoff,

The Chicks stretched
well beyond their country
and bluegrass roots.

Maguire is still on the fiddle,
Strayer still on the banjo, but:

MARTIE MAGUIRE: There are a lot
of layers in there, and they're
not as, like, up-front. And

so that is hard for me, because
I certainly love to -- a good
fiddle solo up in the spotlight.

But I definitely am a
believer that you do
what's right for the song.

JEFFREY BROWN: The new sound is
the latest twist in one of the
wildest rides in music history.

The Dixie Chicks formed back
in 1989, when Maguire and
Strayer, still teenagers,
played Western swing

and bluegrass in Dallas with
two other women. Maines, also
from Texas, stepped in as lead

singer six years later,
as the group shifted to
mainstream country and
climbed the charts with a

long string of hits,
including "Wide Open
Spaces," "Goodbye Earl,"
and "Cowboy Take Me Away."

They sold out stadiums
and sang the national
anthem at the Super Bowl.

And then, in 2003, as they
began a tour called "Top
of the World," it all came

crashing down with one statement
at a London concert made amid
the run-up to the Iraq War.

NATALIE MAINES: We're ashamed
that the president of the
United States is from Texas.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JEFFREY BROWN:

After that, their number
one song "Travelin'
Soldier" was pulled

from country radio nationwide,
as seen in the 2006 documentary
"Shut Up and Sing."

WOMAN: Good morning, 61 Country.

MAN: They should send
Natalie over to Iraq, strap
her to a bomb and just
drop her over Baghdad.

JEFFREY BROWN: Does that bother
you, that that is always the

lead, and will probably
be in the obituary? Not
that I'm trying to put
you there anytime soon.

(LAUGHTER)

NATALIE MAINES: No, no, I mean,
I'm proud of how we handled it,

for the most part. I'm proud
that we stuck to our guns. I
think it freed us up musically.

JEFFREY BROWN: In the
years that followed,

country radio shifted toward
so-called bro country,
drinking and party anthems.

Do you ever think that
country radio would have
been -- would be better

today if The Chicks were
played and if you had
stayed really in that world?

MARTIE MAGUIRE: That's a --
that's a loaded question.

I am a country fan. You know,
it really has not grown over
the years and broadened itself.

And I think that's
-- it's important

for that to happen. I want that
to happen, because I do love it.

JEFFREY BROWN: This summer,
as the group prepared
to release "Gaslighter,"

they came under new pressure,
this time for their name,
evoking the Confederate South.

As the Black Lives
Matter protest grew,

they announced the name
change, and release
their song "March March."

EMILY STRAYER: As time
went on, we did get
uncomfortable with it.

It's like a huge weight
off my shoulders, our
shoulders, really.

JEFFREY BROWN:

Most recently, Maines
has been plenty vocal on
social media about her
views of President Trump.

NATALIE MAINES: Do you care
about the foundation of
America and what it means

to be free in this country?
Because it will be taken from us
if Donald Trump gets reelected.

JEFFREY BROWN: In August,
they performed at the
Democratic National Convention.

MARTIE MAGUIRE: Band or
individual, I feel like
we have a responsibility
to be engaged in

what's happening in our
world, in our country.

JEFFREY BROWN: So what's
next, and for how long?

NATALIE MAINES: I'm open
to doing it as long as
it stays fun and we have
something to say, and

we're not hobbling up
there with a walker.

(LAUGHTER)

JEFFREY BROWN: For a band
that's always refused to
just shut up and sing,

finding something to say
hasn't been an issue so far.

For the "PBS NewsHour,"
I'm Jeffrey Brown.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

Still making beautiful
music, The Chicks are.

Thank you, Jeff.