1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,500 JUDY WOODRUFF: They remain the bestselling female band of all time in the U.S., 2 00:00:04,500 --> 00:00:09,500 and the bestselling country group since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking in 1991. 3 00:00:11,466 --> 00:00:14,966 But the group formerly known as the Dixie Chicks may be best known for a 4 00:00:14,966 --> 00:00:19,966 single comment the lead singer made in London in 2003 during the lead-up to the Iraq War, 5 00:00:21,433 --> 00:00:25,366 which led to death threats and a virtual ban from country radio. 6 00:00:27,333 --> 00:00:31,033 Fourteen years after their last album, The Chicks are back, with new music and a new name. 7 00:00:32,166 --> 00:00:33,700 Jeffrey Brown has our story. 8 00:00:33,700 --> 00:00:37,266 It's part of our ongoing arts and culture series, Canvas. 9 00:00:37,266 --> 00:00:42,233 JEFFREY BROWN: 10 00:00:44,300 --> 00:00:48,066 A gaslighter is someone who sows seeds of doubt to make others question their own 11 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,266 perceptions or sanity. And The Chicks are back to call out a few, this time without the Dixie, 12 00:01:05,933 --> 00:01:10,266 but still with all the trappings of the group that once dominated the country music charts, 13 00:01:11,666 --> 00:01:15,066 three-part harmony, powerhouse vocals by Natalie Maines, 14 00:01:15,066 --> 00:01:19,700 backed by sisters Martie Maguire on fiddle and Emily Strayer on banjo. 15 00:01:19,700 --> 00:01:24,700 This is the first album in 14 years, and I wonder why. I mean, what took so long? 16 00:01:26,633 --> 00:01:28,566 NATALIE MAINES, The Chicks: Well, we have nine kids between the three of us. 17 00:01:28,566 --> 00:01:30,833 EMILY STRAYER, The Chicks: And then once they got to be teenagers, 18 00:01:30,833 --> 00:01:35,700 I think we were all like, I think it's time to go on the road, do music again. 19 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:37,233 (LAUGHTER) MARTIE MAGUIRE, The Chicks: Then we finally had 20 00:01:38,633 --> 00:01:40,466 some more baggage to write about, I guess you could say. 21 00:01:40,466 --> 00:01:45,433 JEFFREY BROWN: 22 00:01:47,266 --> 00:01:51,100 Much of "Gaslighter" is a deeply personal reflection on life, 23 00:01:51,100 --> 00:01:55,166 loss and resilience after divorce, which all three have experienced. 24 00:01:55,166 --> 00:02:00,200 EMILY STRAYER: We found that, almost the more personal you are with a song, 25 00:02:02,233 --> 00:02:05,666 the more it relates to more people, because you think your story might just be your own. But 26 00:02:07,633 --> 00:02:10,866 most things that people go through in life are universal to everybody in one way or another. 27 00:02:12,300 --> 00:02:14,233 JEFFREY BROWN: With the help of producer Jack Antonoff, 28 00:02:14,233 --> 00:02:17,300 The Chicks stretched well beyond their country and bluegrass roots. 29 00:02:19,466 --> 00:02:23,466 Maguire is still on the fiddle, Strayer still on the banjo, but: 30 00:02:23,466 --> 00:02:27,533 MARTIE MAGUIRE: There are a lot of layers in there, and they're not as, like, up-front. And 31 00:02:27,533 --> 00:02:32,533 so that is hard for me, because I certainly love to -- a good fiddle solo up in the spotlight. 32 00:02:34,666 --> 00:02:39,300 But I definitely am a believer that you do what's right for the song. 33 00:02:39,300 --> 00:02:44,300 JEFFREY BROWN: The new sound is the latest twist in one of the wildest rides in music history. 34 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:51,500 The Dixie Chicks formed back in 1989, when Maguire and Strayer, still teenagers, played Western swing 35 00:02:53,566 --> 00:02:58,300 and bluegrass in Dallas with two other women. Maines, also from Texas, stepped in as lead 36 00:03:00,900 --> 00:03:04,466 singer six years later, as the group shifted to mainstream country and climbed the charts with a 37 00:03:06,900 --> 00:03:10,233 long string of hits, including "Wide Open Spaces," "Goodbye Earl," and "Cowboy Take Me Away." 38 00:03:19,633 --> 00:03:23,300 They sold out stadiums and sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl. 39 00:03:25,333 --> 00:03:29,433 And then, in 2003, as they began a tour called "Top of the World," it all came 40 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,533 crashing down with one statement at a London concert made amid the run-up to the Iraq War. 41 00:03:36,500 --> 00:03:38,633 NATALIE MAINES: We're ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas. 42 00:03:38,633 --> 00:03:39,633 (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) 43 00:03:40,233 --> 00:03:41,833 JEFFREY BROWN: 44 00:03:41,833 --> 00:03:43,733 After that, their number one song "Travelin' Soldier" was pulled 45 00:03:43,733 --> 00:03:48,533 from country radio nationwide, as seen in the 2006 documentary "Shut Up and Sing." 46 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:51,833 WOMAN: Good morning, 61 Country. 47 00:03:51,833 --> 00:03:55,500 MAN: They should send Natalie over to Iraq, strap her to a bomb and just drop her over Baghdad. 48 00:03:55,500 --> 00:03:57,766 JEFFREY BROWN: Does that bother you, that that is always the 49 00:03:59,900 --> 00:04:03,333 lead, and will probably be in the obituary? Not that I'm trying to put you there anytime soon. 50 00:04:03,933 --> 00:04:05,466 (LAUGHTER) 51 00:04:05,466 --> 00:04:07,933 NATALIE MAINES: No, no, I mean, I'm proud of how we handled it, 52 00:04:07,933 --> 00:04:12,933 for the most part. I'm proud that we stuck to our guns. I think it freed us up musically. 53 00:04:14,266 --> 00:04:18,833 JEFFREY BROWN: In the years that followed, 54 00:04:18,833 --> 00:04:23,833 country radio shifted toward so-called bro country, drinking and party anthems. 55 00:04:25,466 --> 00:04:27,433 Do you ever think that country radio would have been -- would be better 56 00:04:27,433 --> 00:04:31,766 today if The Chicks were played and if you had stayed really in that world? 57 00:04:31,766 --> 00:04:34,566 MARTIE MAGUIRE: That's a -- that's a loaded question. 58 00:04:36,533 --> 00:04:41,033 I am a country fan. You know, it really has not grown over the years and broadened itself. 59 00:04:44,566 --> 00:04:48,666 And I think that's -- it's important 60 00:04:50,133 --> 00:04:53,133 for that to happen. I want that to happen, because I do love it. 61 00:04:53,133 --> 00:04:58,133 JEFFREY BROWN: This summer, as the group prepared to release "Gaslighter," 62 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,066 they came under new pressure, this time for their name, evoking the Confederate South. 63 00:05:04,233 --> 00:05:06,500 As the Black Lives Matter protest grew, 64 00:05:06,500 --> 00:05:10,333 they announced the name change, and release their song "March March." 65 00:05:10,333 --> 00:05:12,900 EMILY STRAYER: As time went on, we did get uncomfortable with it. 66 00:05:12,900 --> 00:05:16,733 It's like a huge weight off my shoulders, our shoulders, really. 67 00:05:16,733 --> 00:05:21,066 JEFFREY BROWN: 68 00:05:21,066 --> 00:05:26,066 Most recently, Maines has been plenty vocal on social media about her views of President Trump. 69 00:05:28,033 --> 00:05:31,733 NATALIE MAINES: Do you care about the foundation of America and what it means 70 00:05:33,733 --> 00:05:37,833 to be free in this country? Because it will be taken from us if Donald Trump gets reelected. 71 00:05:39,633 --> 00:05:43,666 JEFFREY BROWN: In August, they performed at the Democratic National Convention. 72 00:05:46,500 --> 00:05:51,500 MARTIE MAGUIRE: Band or individual, I feel like we have a responsibility to be engaged in 73 00:05:56,166 --> 00:05:59,233 what's happening in our world, in our country. 74 00:05:59,233 --> 00:06:02,033 JEFFREY BROWN: So what's next, and for how long? 75 00:06:02,033 --> 00:06:07,033 NATALIE MAINES: I'm open to doing it as long as it stays fun and we have something to say, and 76 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:13,033 we're not hobbling up there with a walker. 77 00:06:19,866 --> 00:06:21,900 (LAUGHTER) 78 00:06:21,900 --> 00:06:23,633 JEFFREY BROWN: For a band that's always refused to just shut up and sing, 79 00:06:26,333 --> 00:06:29,466 finding something to say hasn't been an issue so far. 80 00:06:30,566 --> 00:06:33,866 For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown. 81 00:06:33,866 --> 00:06:38,866 JUDY WOODRUFF: 82 00:06:40,333 --> 00:06:42,666 Still making beautiful music, The Chicks are. 83 00:06:42,666 --> 00:06:43,466 Thank you, Jeff.