Fly (1999)

Fly is the second major label studio album (and fifth overall) by American country music band the Dixie Chicks, released on August 31, 1999 through Monument Records. Compared to their previous album and breakthrough Wide Open Spaces (1998), the group had a stronger hand in writing, co-writing five of the fourteen tracks. The album was produced by Blake Chancey and Paul Worley, both of whom had previously produced Wide Open Spaces.

The album was widely praised, even more so than their prior album and has been regarded as one of the best country albums of the 1990s. The album was a massive commercial success for the group, debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums with 341,000 copies sold first week, becoming the most successful country album of 2000 and making the group the first ever country group in history to debut at number one on the former chart. The album was also moderately successful internationally, debuting atop the Canadian country albums chart and peaking at number six on the Canadian Albums Chart, while also peaking within the top 40 in the album charts in Australia, Finland, and the United Kingdom.

Eight singles were released from Fly, including the Hot Country Songs number one hits "Cowboy Take Me Away" and "Without You", along with their then-highest charting entry on the Billboard Hot 100, "Goodbye Earl", which peaked at number 19. Other successful hits from the record include country top ten hits "Ready to Run" from the Runaway Bride soundtrack, "Cold Day in July", "If I Fall You're Going Down with Me", and "Some Days You Gotta Dance", with the latter having been originally recorded by The Ranch for their only studio album. Original member Keith Urban plays guitar on the Dixie Chicks's version.

The album earned four Grammy nominations in 2000: Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Ready to Run", Best Country Album, Album of the Year, and Best Country Song also for "Ready to Run" and its two writers Marcus Hummon and member Martie Maguire (then Martie Seidel), with the group winning Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Album.

On June 25, 2002, the album was certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling ten million copies, making the Chicks the only country group to have two diamond albums after Wide Open Spaces. In 2020, the album was ranked at number 224 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

Commercial performance

Fly debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart the week of September 18, 1999, selling 341,000 copies in its debut week, giving the Dixie Chicks the second biggest opening week for any country act in the 90's only behind Garth Brooks and the third overall in any week behind Brooks and LeAnn Rimes. Fly would go on to spend 131 weeks on the former chart, being the group's second consecutive album to spend more than two years on the chart after Wide Open Spaces (1998) spend 134 weeks. Internationally, the album performed decently well. Fly debuted at number six on the Canadian Albums Chart and topped the RPM Canada Country Albums chart. The album was also successful in Australia, debuting the week of September 19, 1999 at its peak position of number 16 and spent eight weeks in total. The album performed poorly in the United Kingdom, where country music already isn't that popular. It debuted on September 11, 1999 at its peak position of number 38 and only spent five weeks on the chart in total. However, Fly performed much better in the UK's country albums chart, where it peaked at number two and would go on to spend 70 weeks in the top ten.

Personnel

Compiled from liner notes.

• 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
• Production