At the Grammys, Making Very Nice

The Dixie Chicks Take Five, Including Album of the Year

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 The Dixie Chicks got the last laugh Sunday night. Rejected by the country establishment, the polarizing group was tickled to find itself in the warm embrace of the broader Recording Academy, which honored the Chicks with five Grammy Awards — including the three biggest: album of the year, record of the year and song of the year.

The Texas trio also won for best country group vocal and best country album. The latter award was especially surprising, since they were excommunicated from the church of country music in 2003 after singer Natalie Maines popped off about President Bush and the war in Iraq. Upon bouncing to the podium after the result was announced, Maines said what just about everybody inside Staples Center was probably thinking: “That’s interesting.” She closed her gaping mouth just long enough to grin mischievously, then said, “Well, to quote the great Simpsons, ‘HA HA!’ “

“Not Ready to Make Nice,” the group’s defiant answer to the angry country fans who’d criticized the group for criticizing Bush, won song of the year, the industry’s top songwriting award. “I am, for the first time in my life, speechless,” Maines said. …

Congratulations to the Dixie Chicks, who stood up for what they believed and weathered the nasty storms.