The Dixie Chicks have explained why the band changed its name to The Chicks.
The women claimed they wanted to change the band name years ago in an interview published Wednesday by The New York Times. Natalie Maines, Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Strayer claimed the name for the band originally came as a reference to the song “Dixie Chicken.”
“We were literally teenagers when we picked that stupid name,” Maguire said.
The women were reportedly over the band name by 2003.
“We wanted to change it years and years and years ago,” Maines said. “I just wanted to separate myself from people that wave that Dixie flag.” (RELATED: The Dixie Chicks Change Name To Exclude The Word Dixie Amid Heightened Discussions Of Racism)
The Dixie Chicks finally got around to changing the name in June. The band made no announcement, but the social media accounts were changed to reflect the new name. As previously reported, the band reached out to another band already existing with the name “The Chicks.”
“A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes out to ‘The Chicks’ of NZ for their gracious gesture in allowing us to share their name,” the band said in a statement to Pitchfork at the time. “We are honored to co-exist together in the world with these exceptionally talented sisters. Chicks Rock!”