Chicks row looms large for country music liberals
From Pat Harris

NASHVILLE (Tennessee)—Ever since the Dixie Chicks were boycotted by radio stations for insulting President George W. Bush in 2003, country music liberals have felt under siege but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any in Nashville. With 75 million country albums sold a year, and 2,000 radio stations devoted to it, country music is more than hillbillies in cowboy hats line dancing and singing “Stand by Your Man” — it’s big business, and it encompasses a broad range of fans and musicians, across the political spectrum.
The difference is some shout louder than others, and those who might agree with the Dixie Chicks often keep quiet. “I had one artist manager tell me, ‘We might have artists who feel that way, but they’re not going to put a record out and see it get ‘Dixie Chicked,”’ said Wade Jessen, director of the country charts for Billboard magazine.
The Dixie Chicks controversy stems from lead singer Natalie Maines’ March 2003 comments in London that the band was “ashamed” of fellow Texan Bush. Many country radio stations dropped them from their playlists. Tammy Genovese, chief operating officer of the Country Music Association, plays down the furore over the Dixie Chicks, saying “I just don’t see that it’s been a big issue.”
“I don’t know what causes the decision to play them or not (on the radio), whether it’s (pressure from) the station or the fans,” Genovese said. Asked how many stations were involved, she said it was “significant” but could not give specifics. Jessen said patriotic, support-the-troops songs had been a mainstay of the genre since World War Two, partly because the armed forces recruit heavily in poor, rural areas.
But country also includes anti-establishment figures like Willie Nelson, who recorded a song this year about gay cowboys. A group of writers, producers and other professionals started a group called Music Row Democrats in 2003 that has posted political songs on a Web site to raise campaign funds. Jessen said after 9/11 country-music radio took on a much more political bent, nearly always conservative. Now, even though the Iraq war is increasingly unpopular and Bush’s personal ratings are low, critical statements are still rare in country music, he said.
CMA SNUBS CHICKS
Though their album “Taking the Long Way Round” has been one of the biggest country hits this year, the Dixie Chicks were noticeably absent from the Country Music Association’s annual awards nominations announced on Wednesday. “Apparently there’s been a complete divorce from the country community,” said Peter Cooper, senior music writer for The Tennessean. “The CMA awards tend to go to people who are successful on country radio and the Dixie Chicks right now are not. They’ve not gotten play for this album.”
The band was not immediately reachable for comment. Robert Oermann, a prominent author of country music books, said the Dixie Chicks controversy had an impact on others, particularly emerging acts who depend on radio to make their name.