This female trio of Natalie, Emily and Martie rose from relative shadows of insignificance in 1998 to become one of the most popular acts in modern country music. Originally formed by the sisters Martie Erwin and Emily Erwin along with Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy shook up the contemporary scene of country music in the late 90s. Robin Lynn Macy left in the band late 1992, to play a "purer" bluegrass sound and joined Sara Hickman and Patty Lege to form the group Domestic Science Club. In 1995, Natalie Maines, daughter of producer and steel guitar player Lloyd Maines replaced Laura Lynch.

The Erwin sisters’ right from their adolescence were fond of country music and toured throughout the USA with the bluegrass group Blue Night Express. The band was named "Dixie Chicken" when the Erwin sisters with two other original members Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy strived to carve a niche for themselves in the country music scene. They performed at clubs and dance halls and released two bluegrass-orientated independent label albums and a Christmas single. With Lynch, the band recorded their last album in 1995 viz. Shouldn't A Told You.

With the release of Wide Open Spaces on Sony's Monument label the Dixie Chicks broke away from all things traditional. This hip version of a country act made them the new the new musical trendsetters. With more than 6 million in sales of Wide Open Spaces, the Dixie Chicks released their second album Fly in 1999, which featured five chartbuster songs that the band wrote or co-wrote themselves. The album featured the lead single, "Ready to Run" and "Goodbye Earl", which were a smash single for the group and also guaranteed the prominence of prima donnas. The controversial “Goodbye Earl" reflected the ladies view of abusive men. The people who attendee her concerts primarily featured young women in their early teens and twenties, middle age couples and entire families complete with pre-teen girls. In a year's time, they were honored with two Grammy Awards (Best Country Album and Best Country Vocal Performance Duo/Group), two Country Music Association Awards (Group of the Year and the Horizon Award), plus three Academy of Country Music Awards (including Album of the Year), one American Music Award and two TNN Music Awards.

After the release of Fly, the band was involved in a feud with their record label for two years. Due to which their next release “Home” came in 2002 after the Chicks and Sony sorted their differences. It was an independent production produced by Lloyd Maines. The album was a major success and sold more than 6 million copies. The sale could have sore even more had been the political controversy provoked by Natalie in did not have take place. She accused President Bush’s belongingness to Texas and made derogatory statements at a concert in London, which resulted in boycott of their music. However, Home won the 2003 Grammy Awards, winning four of them, including Best Country Album.