Dixie Chicks vocalist Natalie Maines` criticism of the 43rd President of the United States notwithstanding, the Dixie Chicks have enjoyed phenomenal popularity among lovers of country music since their formation in 1989. From their inauspicious debut as Dallas street-corner performers, the Chicks overcame a male dominated country music industry with their listener-friendly amalgamation of country and pop, and with the aid of several personnel changes that found the band positioning itself to appeal to a more youthful market, soon became one of the best-selling groups in country music history. Published before Maines`s controversial remarks made the Dixie Chicks a byword for political ambivalence, James L. Dickerson`s equally reader-friendly biography, DOWN-HOME AND BACKSTAGE, recounts the band`s story in a suitably light-hearted manner, retelling numerous anecdotes from their early years courtesy of ex-lead singer Laura Lynch, and interviewing a cross-section of Chicks fans, whose effusive comments are indicative of the loyalty the group obviously inspires. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.