Friday, October 7, 2011

Country Radio Blames It On The Dixie Chicks

I was interested in reading how country music radio was reacting to the Hank Williams controversy, and I discovered something surprising in this article.

They aren't upset with Hank at all. That's not surprising. The surprising part is that they're really upset at the Dixie Chicks again. This time because Natalie Maines tweeted about Hank.

I'm not kidding. Read her tweets (which are totally innocuous again), and read the reaction from the country music hosts.

Unbelievable.

You know, I interviewed US-99's Ray Stevens for Chicago Radio Spotlight a few years ago and I asked him about the original Dixie Chicks reaction. This is what he said: "We had just come through this tumultuous time as a country, we had just gotten kicked in the balls, and then the Dixie Chicks said what they said, and it felt like we were getting kicked in the balls again."

I suppose that makes sense. Not burning their records and banning them forever sense, but okay, I'll extend the benefit of the doubt.

What's the explanation this time?