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CNN Live At Daybreak

Dixie Chicks Back on Stage

Aired May 02, 2003 - 05:57   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Dixie Chicks went from a best selling country music group to a lightning rod for controversy in just seven words. Now, for the first time since their comments created such a firestorm, they are back on the stage again.
Our David Mattingly was there to check out the crowd reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's enough to make a young Dixie Chick's fan want to sing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cause if I fall, you're going down with me. You're going down with me baby if I fall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You go into five rooms.

MATTINGLY: Tickets for the Dixie Chicks' concert went on sale months ago and sold out in a matter of minutes. Now, the wait is over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband loves Natalie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I love the Dixie Chicks, you know? Everybody does, you know, makes mistakes, you know?

MATTINGLY: But these South Carolina fans has no idea that the show they were paying to see would end up becoming much more than a concert.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I think everybody has a right to their opinion. So, I mean even though they're in the spotlight, why shouldn't they?

MATTINGLY: Outside the arena, the unusual side of a small group of protesters. More than country music, this show is now also about free speech and patriotism and the 12 now infamous words uttered by lead singer Natalie Maines on behalf of the group in London. "We are ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how they could say I'm ashamed that the president's from Texas? Come on, man. It's crazy. That's just not right.

MATTINGLY: After the remarks, there were some angry protests. Irate listeners prompted radio stations to pull the Chicks off the air. UNIDENTIFIED DIXIE CHICKS MEMBER: Took my love and I took it down.

MATTINGLY: Their new single dropped off the charts. Their number one album, however, dropped to number three, but then bounced back to the top spot, leaving observers to wonder just how angry Chicks' fans really were.

WADE JESSEN, "BILLBOARD" MAGAZINE: If we didn't look at what was happening with the controversy and we plugged our ears and closed our eyes to the controversy, the sales erosion that they saw might have just been taken in stride.

UNIDENTIFIED DIXIE CHICKS MEMBER: Well, it wasn't two weeks after she got married...

MATTINGLY: And if Greenville fans of the Dixie Chicks had any political issues on their minds, they apparently checked them at the door. From the first note of the concert, the crowd was on its feet. For the sake of free speech, the band gave everyone 15 seconds to boo if they needed to. Instead, everyone cheered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Awesome concert.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They always put on a great show and we had the best time, as always.

MATTINGLY: The Dixie Chicks are also returning to the air waves as complaints to radio stations subside, another sign that public anger is waning.

(on camera): But broadcasting companies report that many stations in Texas are still reluctant to play their records. Texas, the home state that the Dixie Chicks share with the president they criticized.

David Mattingly, CNN, Greenville, South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired May 2, 2003 - 05:57   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Dixie Chicks went from a best selling country music group to a lightning rod for controversy in just seven words. Now, for the first time since their comments created such a firestorm, they are back on the stage again.
Our David Mattingly was there to check out the crowd reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's enough to make a young Dixie Chick's fan want to sing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cause if I fall, you're going down with me. You're going down with me baby if I fall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You go into five rooms.

MATTINGLY: Tickets for the Dixie Chicks' concert went on sale months ago and sold out in a matter of minutes. Now, the wait is over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband loves Natalie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I love the Dixie Chicks, you know? Everybody does, you know, makes mistakes, you know?

MATTINGLY: But these South Carolina fans has no idea that the show they were paying to see would end up becoming much more than a concert.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I think everybody has a right to their opinion. So, I mean even though they're in the spotlight, why shouldn't they?

MATTINGLY: Outside the arena, the unusual side of a small group of protesters. More than country music, this show is now also about free speech and patriotism and the 12 now infamous words uttered by lead singer Natalie Maines on behalf of the group in London. "We are ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how they could say I'm ashamed that the president's from Texas? Come on, man. It's crazy. That's just not right.

MATTINGLY: After the remarks, there were some angry protests. Irate listeners prompted radio stations to pull the Chicks off the air. UNIDENTIFIED DIXIE CHICKS MEMBER: Took my love and I took it down.

MATTINGLY: Their new single dropped off the charts. Their number one album, however, dropped to number three, but then bounced back to the top spot, leaving observers to wonder just how angry Chicks' fans really were.

WADE JESSEN, "BILLBOARD" MAGAZINE: If we didn't look at what was happening with the controversy and we plugged our ears and closed our eyes to the controversy, the sales erosion that they saw might have just been taken in stride.

UNIDENTIFIED DIXIE CHICKS MEMBER: Well, it wasn't two weeks after she got married...

MATTINGLY: And if Greenville fans of the Dixie Chicks had any political issues on their minds, they apparently checked them at the door. From the first note of the concert, the crowd was on its feet. For the sake of free speech, the band gave everyone 15 seconds to boo if they needed to. Instead, everyone cheered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Awesome concert.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They always put on a great show and we had the best time, as always.

MATTINGLY: The Dixie Chicks are also returning to the air waves as complaints to radio stations subside, another sign that public anger is waning.

(on camera): But broadcasting companies report that many stations in Texas are still reluctant to play their records. Texas, the home state that the Dixie Chicks share with the president they criticized.

David Mattingly, CNN, Greenville, South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com