Biography
Known foremost for fronting the Dixie Chicks as lead vocalist, Natalie Maines later developed an independent career as a singer and songwriter. She joined the ensemble in 1991, stepping in for founding member Laura Lynch. Before entering a hiatus in 2007, the group accumulated 13 Grammy Awards and 10 Country Music Association honors.
Daughter of Lloyd Maines—the producer, multi-instrumentalist, and Americana architect often described as a musician’s musician—she enrolled at several colleges after high school. At the Berklee School of Music she received a scholarship for Voice Studies yet withdrew short of graduation to pursue professional work. Her voice can be heard on recordings by Texas songwriters Pat Green and Charlie Robison as well as on tracks by pop and rock artists that include Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, Neil Diamond, Pete Yorn, and Yellowcard.
A very public 2002 dispute with Toby Keith centered on his song “Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue,” which Maines called ignorant and said made Americans appear the same. Following exchanges in the tabloids, the conflict reached a climax when she took the stage at the Academy of Country Music Awards wearing a shirt printed with the letters F.U.T.K. during a Dixie Chicks performance; Keith has reportedly refrained from speaking her name ever since.
Long outspoken on political and social-justice questions, including the Iraq war, Maines addressed then-President George W. Bush from the stage at a 2003 Dixie Chicks concert in England. Objecting to the conflict, she said the band was ashamed he was from Texas. The comments ignited widespread controversy and resulted in the group’s blacklisting by country radio. Redemption followed when the 2006 album Taking the Long Way—on which Maines wrote every song—entered the Billboard Top 200 at number one and surpassed two million copies sold.
Her first solo release, Mother, appeared in May 2013. Largely a set of covers, the album was co-produced with Ben Harper.
Daughter of Lloyd Maines—the producer, multi-instrumentalist, and Americana architect often described as a musician’s musician—she enrolled at several colleges after high school. At the Berklee School of Music she received a scholarship for Voice Studies yet withdrew short of graduation to pursue professional work. Her voice can be heard on recordings by Texas songwriters Pat Green and Charlie Robison as well as on tracks by pop and rock artists that include Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, Neil Diamond, Pete Yorn, and Yellowcard.
A very public 2002 dispute with Toby Keith centered on his song “Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue,” which Maines called ignorant and said made Americans appear the same. Following exchanges in the tabloids, the conflict reached a climax when she took the stage at the Academy of Country Music Awards wearing a shirt printed with the letters F.U.T.K. during a Dixie Chicks performance; Keith has reportedly refrained from speaking her name ever since.
Long outspoken on political and social-justice questions, including the Iraq war, Maines addressed then-President George W. Bush from the stage at a 2003 Dixie Chicks concert in England. Objecting to the conflict, she said the band was ashamed he was from Texas. The comments ignited widespread controversy and resulted in the group’s blacklisting by country radio. Redemption followed when the 2006 album Taking the Long Way—on which Maines wrote every song—entered the Billboard Top 200 at number one and surpassed two million copies sold.
Her first solo release, Mother, appeared in May 2013. Largely a set of covers, the album was co-produced with Ben Harper.
Albums
Singles
