Martie and Emily, both née Erwin, founded the band in 1989, with bassist Laura Lynch and vocalist and guitarist Robin Lynn Macy.

They reunited one year later for another Columbia album before they took a second hiatus in 2008; Martie and Emily recorded as a duo called Court Yard Hounds.

The original lineup consisted of El Paso native Laura Lynch on upright bass, Californian Robin Lynn Macy on guitar, and the multi-instrumentalist sisters Martie and Emily Erwin, respectively born in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and raised in Addison.

Later that year, the Dixie Chicks released their debut studio album Thank Heavens for Dale Evans on a local independent label called Crystal Clear Sound.

[14] The Dixie Chicks began building a fan base, winning the prize for "best band" at the 1990 Telluride Bluegrass Festival and opening for established country music artists, including such names as Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, and George Strait.

He thought his daughter would be a good replacement for Macy, and had passed her demo tape, which had won her a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, to the Erwin sisters.

Their manager, Simon Renshaw, approached the executive Scott Siman, best known for his work with Tim McGraw, and he signed them to a developmental deal with Sony Music Entertainment's Nashville division.

"[23] Within the next year, Sony Music Nashville came to Austin to see the revamped band and signed them as the first new artist on the newly revived Monument Records label.

The source of the Dixie Chicks' commercial success during this time came from various factors: they wrote or co-wrote about half of the songs on Wide Open Spaces and Fly; their mixture of bluegrass, mainstream country music, blues, and pop songs appealed to a wide spectrum of record buyers, and where the women had once dressed as "cowgirls" with Lynch, their dress was now more contemporary.

[1] "Cowboy Take Me Away" from Fly became another signature song, written by Maguire to celebrate Emily's marriage with country singer Charlie Robison, which took place three months before the album's release.

[38] The Dixie Chicks responded with their own $4.1-million lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment on August 27,[39] which added clout to claims made by singers Courtney Love, Aimee Mann, and LeAnn Rimes against the recording industry.

[27][41] During the time that they worked with Sony to reconcile their differences, the Dixie Chicks debuted their quiet, unadorned song "I Believe in Love" on the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon following the September 11 attacks.

The three women found themselves home, in Texas, each happily married, planning families, and writing songs closer to their roots, without the usual pressures of the studio technicians from the major labels.

[24] Unlike the Dixie Chicks' two previous records, Home is dominated by up-tempo bluegrass and pensive ballads; and Emmylou Harris added her vocals to "Godspeed".

In addition, the text of the opening track and first single, "Long Time Gone", was a pointed criticism of contemporary country music radio, accusing it of ignoring the soul of the genre as exemplified by Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and Hank Williams.

"[44] By 2002, the Dixie Chicks were featured on three television specials: An Evening with the Dixie Chicks, which was an acoustic concert primarily composed of the material from Home; VH1 Divas Las Vegas alongside Cher, Céline Dion, Shakira, Anastacia, Stevie Nicks, Mary J. Blige, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston and host Ellen DeGeneres; and a CMT three-hour television special, the 40 Greatest Women of Country Music.

[46] Maines told the audience the band did not support the imminent Allied invasion of Iraq and were ashamed that President George W. Bush was from Texas.

[52][53][54] In October 2004, the Dixie Chicks joined the Vote for Change tour, performing at concerts organized by MoveOn.org in swing states, raising funds for political groups opposing Bush.

The album was produced by Rick Rubin who had worked with hard rock acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and System of a Down, as well as idiosyncratic singers such as Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond.

In June 2006, Emily noted the lack of support from other country music performers: "A lot of artists cashed in on being against what we said or what we stood for because that was promoting their career, which was a horrible thing to do.

When the Dixie Chicks performed again at Shepherd's Bush Empire, site of "The Incident", Maines joked that she wanted to say something the audience had not heard before, but instead said, "Just so y'all know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas," to much laughter and applause.

The documentary follows the Dixie Chicks over the three years since the 2003 London concert remark and covers aspects of their musical and personal lives in addition to the controversy.

"[72] At a December 2007 rally in Little Rock, Arkansas, Maines expressed support for the West Memphis Three, three men convicted of a 1993 triple murder who many believe innocent.

[73] Maines cited a recent defense filing implicating Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of one of the victims, and posted similar comments in a letter on the Dixie Chicks website.

[75] A proposed April 2008 commercial spot to promote Al Gore's "We Campaign" involving both the Dixie Chicks and Toby Keith was eventually abandoned because of scheduling conflicts.

They sang "You" on the March 2011 release of Rare Bird Alert, a Steve Martin bluegrass album, accompanied by the Steep Canyon Rangers.

[81] In March 2011, Maines made a solo recording of the Beach Boys hit "God Only Knows" for the final episode of the HBO series Big Love.

That month, the band replaced Lady Antebellum as headliners at Canada's Craven Country Jamboree, and later performed at the Ottawa Bluesfest and the Cavendish Beach Music Festival.

[89] On the 50th anniversary of the Country Music Association Awards on November 2, 2016, the Dixie Chicks performed alongside Beyoncé on her song "Daddy Lessons".

[103] The Chicks issued a statement saying Lynch was "a bright light" whose "undeniable talents helped propel us beyond busking on street corners to stages all across Texas and the mid-West".