Chicks go blue, not red

Byline: Phil Gallo

Country radio has pretty much ignored the first two singles from the Dixie Chicks’ “Taking the Long Way.” First album from the Chicks since their George W. Bush brouhaha in 2003 was released Tuesday.

First single “Not Ready to Make Nice,” which directly addresses the Bush situation, cracked the top 30 in its inaugural week but quickly dropped; the second single fared worse.

Texas newspapers have been reporting that country radio programmers in the home state of the Chicks and Bush have been reluctant to add the tune due to statements from the Chicks’ Natalie Maines and a belief that the tracks fit in more with the adult contemporary format.

A veteran Midwest radio personality said the situation in Kansas City is typical: The three country stations are pretty much uninterested in the band, a point reinforced when one received negative feedback after testing the new singles. In Kansas City, only the two AC stations play Dixie Chicks, and the tracks they play are the hits that put the band on the map in 1999.

“Taking the Long Way” will debut at No. 1 next week nevertheless. Sales projections, which started below 300,000, are now topping 400,000, and big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy were reportedly selling out of their on-hand stock.

And though Bush bashing clearly doesn’t win any friends in country radio, the Chicks and their marketing/management teams look prescient in circumventing red state airwaves.

The Dixie Chicks campaigns for “Taking the Long Way,” not to mention the musicmaking, are going after an audience different from the one on which they built their career. For starters, Rick Rubin produced the album, and the band’s songwriting partners were culled from the rock world: Sheryl Crow, Neil Finn, Pete Yorn, the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris and Semisonic’s Dan Wilson. Backing musicians included Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench from Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, Bonnie Raitt, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and John Mayer.

Columbia Records’ promotional effort behind the album looks more like the treatment a major pop act would receive (e.g., the band’s on the cover of Time magazine) rather than anyone making their living in Nashville.

Their song “Lullabye” was featured in Monday’s episode of NBC’S “Medium”; that same night the Chicks appeared on “Late Show With David Letterman.”

And today they kicked off the ABC “Good Morning America” concert series in New York.

Indeed, the adult contemporary format is where a number of country acts are finding a second home.

Rascal Flatts, which has sold 1.5 million copies of disc “Me and My Gang” since its release April 4, is the latest to try to cross over to the adult contemporary field. “What Hurts the Most” is attempting to join songs from country acts such as Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes and Faith Hill currently in the top 10 on Radio and Records’ national AC airplay list.

Besides releasing the album Tuesday, the Chicks launched a presale for concert tickets at 38 arena venues in the U.S. They will also play five shows in Canada, but those have no presale. Tour opens July 21 in Detroit and ends Nov. 11 in Tacoma, Wash.

PHIL GALLO HOLLYWOOD