The Grammy award-winning country group The Dixie Chicks are now just The Chicks.
The band’s social media accounts and website were changed on Thursday (US time) to the refer to their new name.
The Chicks – Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines and Emily Strayer – also recognised that their new name had already been used by a band in New Zealand.
“A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes out to ‘The Chicks’ of NZ for their gracious gesture in allowing us to share their name. We are honored to co-exist together in the world with these exceptionally talented sisters,” they said in a statement.
The Kiwi version of The Chicks had a string of hits in New Zealand and Australia from 1965-1970.
The term “Dixie” refers to Southern US states, especially those that belonged to the Confederacy. The Texan group is the latest to drop terms or change branding considered offensive as the Black Lives Matter movement gains traction.
“We want to meet this moment,” The Chicks said on their website.
It comes as former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth has also reportedly changed his name. He announced via Twitter this week that he wants to be called “David L. Roth” or “El Roth”.
Roth posted a piece of artwork showing a giant frog and a tiny human, with the accompanying words:
“David ‘Lee’ Roth changes name! Diamond Dave, following Lady Antebellum’s (now ‘Lady A’) example, will be dropping the ‘Lee’ from now on. He wants us all to call him ‘David L. Roth’ or simply ‘El Roth’.”
Earlier in June, country album chart-topping group Lady Antebellum said it would change its name to Lady A after acknowledging the word’s association to slavery.
The move backfired somewhat after a black singer revealed she had been performing as Lady A for years.
“El Roth” didn’t go into details about why he had decided to remove the “Lee” from his name. But there is speculation it might be because it is linked to Confederate General Robert E. Lee – or that it is a joke.
Meanwhile, The Chicks will release their first album in 14 years in July. On Thursday, they also released a video for their new song, March March, which features videos and images from the recent Black Lives Matter rallies in the US.
-with agencies
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