Ironically, A Big Ol’ Patriotic Country Hit Debuted the Same Day as the Chicks’ Infamous London Concert
Sure everyone remembers that infamous London concert that the Chicks -- then known as the Dixie Chicks -- performed on March 10, 2003. It was the one where front woman Natalie Maines uttered 12 little words — "We're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas" -- that led to a massive backlash against the group, ultimately leading to them getting banned from country radio and booed at that year's ACM Awards.
The Chicks' burgeoning arc towards superstardom took a nosedive. They've never truly recovered at country radio, though they made a pretty epic comeback in 2020 with their Gaslighter album, a project that soared to No. 1on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart upon its release.
But ironically enough, the comment that brought the Chicks' career to a screeching halt wasn't the only political thing to come out of country music on March 10, 2003. That very same day, Darryl Worley released "Have You Forgotten?" to country radio.
With lyrics like "Have you forgotten about our Pentagon? / All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on? / Don't you tell me not to worry about Bin Laden / Have you forgotten?", the song was a clear and specific missive about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and a call to action to fight back against terrorism and support the war that the U.S. was, at the time, mere days away from entering into.
"Have You Forgotten?" was a smash hit: It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, where it remained for seven weeks, and also made waves on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, too. It would be the biggest hit of Worley's career.
These days, the Chicks have put several years — and a career comeback — between themselves and their political controversy, and the group can even laugh at some aspects of what transpired back in 2003. During Donald Trump's presidency, Maines joked on Bravo's Watch What Happens Next Live that next to Trump, Bush was looking pretty good to her as a president.
"You know, I joke that today I might actually make out with George Bush," Maines quipped during her appearance on the show.
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