| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [1] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[3] |
| Houston Chronicle |  [4] |
| Los Angeles Times | [5] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[6] |
| Q | [7] |
| Rolling Stone |  [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
Fly is the fifth studio album by American country music band Dixie Chicks, released in 1999. The album was very successful for the group, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. It has received diamond status by the RIAA on June 25, 2002, in the United States, for shipments of 10 million units.[10]
The tracks "Ready to Run", "Cowboy Take Me Away", "Without You", "Goodbye Earl", "Cold Day in July", "Heartbreak Town", "Some Days You Gotta Dance" and "If I Fall You're Going Down with Me" were all released as singles; "Sin Wagon" also charted without officially being released. "Some Days You Gotta Dance" was previously recorded by The Ranch, a short-lived country trio founded by Keith Urban in the late 1990s. Urban plays guitar on the Dixie Chicks' rendition.
The album earned four Grammy nominations in 2000, and the group won two: Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for Ready to Run and Best Country Album. It was also nominated for Album of the Year and the writers of Ready to Run, Marcus Hummon and Martie Seidel were nominated for Best Country Song. In 2020, the album was ranked at 224 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.[11]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ready to Run" |
| 3:52 |
| 2. | "If I Fall You're Going Down with Me" |
| 3:05 |
| 3. | "Cowboy Take Me Away" |
| 4:47 |
| 4. | "Cold Day in July" | Richard Leigh | 5:12 |
| 5. | "Goodbye Earl" | Dennis Linde | 4:19 |
| 6. | "Hello Mr. Heartache" |
| 3:49 |
| 7. | "Don't Waste Your Heart" |
| 2:49 |
| 8. | "Sin Wagon" |
| 3:37 |
| 9. | "Without You" |
| 3:32 |
| 10. | "Some Days You Gotta Dance" |
| 2:27 |
| 11. | "Hole in My Head" | 3:22 | |
| 12. | "Heartbreak Town" | Darrell Scott | 3:53* |
| 13. | "Ain't No Thang But a Chicken Wang" | 0:01* | |
| 14. | "Let Him Fly" | Patty Griffin | 3:07 |
| Total length: | 48:02 | ||
Note
- Track 13 is unlisted on the back cover and disc, though it is listed as "Ain't No Thang But a Chicken Wang" in the booklet. On some pressings of the CD, "Heartbreak Town" lasts 3:47 on track 12 and fades into track 13, which plays the last six seconds of the song. On other pressings of the CD, track 12 lasts for the full 3:53 seconds, and track 13 contains no audio, only lasting for 0:01. Digital versions of the album remove the blank track completely, bumping "Let Him Fly" up to track 13.
Personnel
Compiled from liner notes.[12]
Dixie Chicks
- Natalie Maines – lead vocals, background vocals, handclapping
- Emily Robison – acoustic guitar, banjo, background vocals, dobro, handclapping, lap steel guitar
- Martie Seidel – fiddle, viola, background vocals
String section on "Without You"
- Strings conducted and arranged by Dennis Burnside.
- Violins – Martie Seidel, Carl Gorodetsky, Pamela Sixfin, Lee Larrison, Connie Ellisor, Alan Umstead, David Davidson, Mary Katherine Van Osdale, David Angell, Janet Askey, Karen Winkelman, Cate Myer, Catherine Umstead
- Violas – Kris Wilkinson, Jim Grosjean, Gary Van Osdale, Monisa Angell
- Cellos – Bob Mason, John Catchings
Additional musicians
- Pat Buchanan – electric guitar
- Blake Chancey – handclapping
- Steve Conn – accordion
- Mike Henderson – electric guitar on "Hole in My Head"
- Marcus Hummon – acoustic guitar on "Ready to Run"
- Dennis Linde – acoustic guitar on "Goodbye Earl"
- Lloyd Maines – steel guitar
- George Marinelli – electric guitar on "Cold Day in July" & "Hello Mr. Heartache"
- Bob Mason – cello
- Terry McMillan – percussion
- John Mock – concertina, bodhrán, tin whistle
- Greg Morrow – drums
- Steve Nathan – Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards
- Michael Rhodes – bass guitar
- Tom Roady – percussion
- Charlie Robison – handclapping
- Matt Rollings – Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards
- Randy Scruggs – acoustic guitar
- Adam Steinberg – acoustic guitar on "Let Him Fly" & "Without You"
- Bryan Sutton – acoustic guitar on "Sin Wagon"
- Keith Urban – electric guitar on "Some Days You Gotta Dance"
- Billy Joe Walker Jr. – acoustic guitar on "Ready to Run" & Without You"
- Paul Worley – acoustic guitar, background vocals
- "Iffy harmony" vocals on "Goodbye Earl" performed by the "Do-Wrongs": Blake Chancey, Paul Worley, Charlie Robison.
Production
- Producers: Blake Chancey, Paul Worley
- Engineers: Tony Castle, Mark Martin, Chris Rowe, Clarke Schleicher, Billy Sherrill
- Assistant engineer: Tony Castle
- Mixing: John Guess, Patrick Murphy
- Mastering: Denny Purcell
- Assistant mastering engineer: Jonathan Russell
- Editing: Tony Castle
- Art direction: Tracy Baskette-Fleaner, Bill Johnson
- Design: Gina R. Binkley
- Photography: Ed Rode, Albert Sanchez
- Photo consultant: Dari Marder
- Stylist: Renee Fowler
- Hair stylists: Jennifer Davis, Alex Dizon, Daniel Erdman, Melanie Shelley, Michael Silva
- Make-up: Debra Ferullo, Stacey Martin, Maital Sabbon
- Cover lettering from Butterfly Alphabet by Kjell Bloch Sandved.
Charts and certifications
Accolades
Grammy Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Fly | Best Country Album |
| 2000 | "Ready to Run" | Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal |
See also
References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Fly – Dixie Chicks". AllMusic. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Dixie Chicks: Fly". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ Nash, Alanna (September 10, 1999). "Fly". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ Hildebrand, Lee (August 29, 1999). "Dixie Chicks Let Emotions 'Fly'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (August 29, 1999). "Stand-Up CD From Dixie Chicks; Travis Meeks Aims High". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ Zeltner, Mark (October 31, 1999). "Dixie Chicks: Fly". PopMatters. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ "Dixie Chicks: Fly". Q (158): 118. November 1999.
- ^ Sheffield, Rob (September 16, 1999). "Dixie Chicks: Fly". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 31, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ Harris, Keith (2004). "Dixie Chicks". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 245. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ RIAA Bestsellers Archived August 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rolling Stone (September 22, 2020). "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- ^ Fly (CD booklet). Dixie Chicks. Monument Records. 1999. 69678.
- ^ "Dixie Chicks, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ "Dixie Chicks, CLP". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Dixie Chicks – Fly". Music Canada.
- ^ "International Latvian Certification Awards from 1998 to 2001". Latvian Music Producers Association. 1999. Retrieved September 19, 2019 – via Directupload.
- ^ "British album certifications – Dixie Chicks – Fly". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Fly in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ Paul Grein (October 30, 2013). "Katy Perry Knocks Miley Cyrus Down a Couple Pegs". Chart Watch. Yahoo.
- ^ "American album certifications – Dixie Chicks – Fly". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.