Laura Lynch, Founding Member Of The Dixie Chicks, Dies In Car Crash
Laura Lynch, one of the founding members of the Dixie Chicks, died in a tragic car accident on Dec. 22 outside of El Paso, Texas. She was 65.
The Chicks shared the news in a social media post, saying that Lynch “was a bright light…her infectious energy and humor gave a spark to the early days of our band.”
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Upright basist and vocalist Lynch co-founded the band, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, in 1989 with guitarist Robin Lynn Macy and multi-instrumentalist sisters Martie and Emily Erwin.
In 1990, the group released their first studio album Thank Heavens for Dale Evans. Their Texas-bluegrass sound and cowgirl imaging earned The Chicks performance slots on bills with Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire and George Strait, and their growing fan-base led them to earn the title of “best band” at 1990 Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The Chicks even appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, but they didn’t receive much airplay.
After releasing their second studio Little Ol’ Cowgirl, the band moved towards a more contemporary country sound, leading co-founder Macy to exit the group in late 1992.
1993’s Shouldn’t a Told You was the last album to feature singer-bassist Lynch. At the time of her exit, sisters Martie and Emily shared with the Dallas Observer that Lynch had been considering leaving the band for over a year and was hoping to spend more time with her daughter. However in a later interview with Lynch, she shared, “It can’t really be characterized as a resignation. There are three Dixie Chicks, and I’m only one.”
In 1995, a 21-year-old Natalie Maines—whose demo tape had earned her full scholarship to Berklee College of Music—joined The Chicks as lead vocalist. The group signed with Monument Records Nashville in 1997 and went on to release multiple Platinum albums and notch No. 1 hits with “There’s Your Trouble,” “Wide Open Spaces,” “You Were Mine,” “Cowboy Take Me Away,” “Without You” and “Travelin’ Soldier.” The Chicks have since won 13 Grammy Awards and 10 CMA Awards, and released their most recent album, Gaslighter, in 2020. This year they held a residency in Las Vegas, “The Chicks: Six Nights in Vegas.”
After leaving the band, Lynch spent much of her time raising her daughter, and became a PR officer with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. In an interview with the Associated Press in 2003, Lynch shared that she had no regrets about leaving the band and that she enjoyed being part of the beginnings of The Chicks, despite its wear on her. “It was worth it,” she said in the interview. “I’d get anemic all over again to do it.”
