Dixie Chicks – Dixie = Chicks
• The Dixie Chicks have officially changed their name to “The Chicks,” after public discussions arose over the appropriateness of the Civil War-era term “Dixie” as part of their moniker. A statement on the group’s rebranded website says, simply, “We want to meet this moment.” The move became official Thursday morning on all their social media accounts and in a press release announcing their new single.
As Variety reports, the Dixie Chicks had always been unofficially referred to as simply “The Chicks” by fans and associates, but losing the “Dixie” is still a surprise, albeit a pleasant one to some supporters who had been quietly uncomfortable with the name and its historic connotations.
The Chicks’ move follows that of Lady Antebellum, who recently underwent a similar crisis of social conscious and shortened their name to Lady A.” Interestingly, Variety had published a June 17 guest column by Jeremy Helligar titled, “After Lady Antebellum, Is It Time for the Dixie Chicks to Rethink Their Name?”, which questioned the wisdom of using a name associated with the Confederacy, in light of Lady Antebellum recently changing its name to Lady A. Although, to be fair, that column did point out that the Dixie Chicks had originally taken their name from the 1973 Little Feat album, Dixie Chicken, a title that on its face was free of any overt politicizing. “Its subtext, however, is a different story,” the column stated.
And, just as the newly rebranded Lady A quickly found out they were sharing their new name with an established blues singer who had been using it for more than 20 years and have come to an agreement, The Chicks found themselves in the same boat — in an additional statement, the group added, “A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes out to ‘The Chicks’ of NZ for their gracious gesture in allowing us to share their name. We are honored to co-exist together in the world with these exceptionally talented sisters. Chicks Rock! — Emily, Natalie and Martie.”
The Chicks’ first album in 14 years, Gaslighter, will be released on July 17.
