The Dixie Chicks spent a decade preparing to become the biggest overnight sensation in country music in the late '90s. Sisters Emily Erwin and Martie Seidel, both of whom grew up mastering acoustic instruments and playing in bluegrass bands, were about to give up dreams of making it in Nashville when they hired Austin singer Natalie Maines to replace the group's longtime lead singer, Laura Lynch.

Until Maines arrived, the Dixie Chicks had been a spirited revivalist band, combining Western swing, cowboy songs and Andrews Sisters-style harmonies. With the arrival of the new singer, however, the group took on a more contemporary sound. An exploratory session with producer Blake Chancey of Sony Records led to the Dixie Chicks becoming the first act signed to a revitalized Monument Records, an historic Nashville record label that had been dormant for several years before being brought back to life by Sony.

Though Sony originally saw the Dixie Chicks as an alternative-country group, radio stations immediately embraced the band. More importantly, once listeners heard the fresh interpretation of roots music styles featured in such songs as "I Can Love You Better" and "There's Your Trouble," the Dixie Chicks exploded, becoming one of the few breakthrough new country acts of the late '90s.

The trio got past early skepticism brought on because of their attractiveness by proving that they were talented musicians as well as personable performers. In other words, they had chops to back up their brash attitude, which earned them respect from their peers and led to their winning prestigious awards at the 1999 Grammys and the 1998 Country Music Association Awards. The honors came within a year of the release of Wide Open Spaces, their huge-selling Monument debut, which which spent 118 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and spawned three number one singles.

In fall of 1999, the Chicks followed up with Fly, which was an even bigger smash, spawning the crossover hit singles "Ready To Run," "Goodbye Earl," and "Cowboy Take Me Away." Fly spent 32 weeks at number one on Billboard's Country Albums chart--beating out Alabama's previous record of 28 weeks.

In August 2002, the trio made a long-awaited return with Home. The album's folksy, drums-free lead single, "Long Time Gone," became their fastest-rising single to date, indicating that the Chicks' phenomenal success would continue unabated.

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