Before there was pop, rock, or R&B, there was country. And Beyoncé—the Houston-born child of Destiny—is not new to it, contrary to popular belief. In 2016, the singer released the critically acclaimed visual album Lemonade. On it? “Daddy Lessons,” track six of 12, a brass-banded, clap-handed ditty about a girl, her daddy, his whiskey, and a gun. It was a sleeper hit on an album brimming with some of her best work (although, at the time, the quality of the music was overshadowed by the cheating scandal she detailed in many of the songs), but “Daddy Lessons” did not receive the recognition it deserved at that year’s Grammys. (It was rejected by the Recording Academy’s country music committee after being submitted in the best-country-song and solo-country-performance categories.)
Fast forward seven years, and Beyoncé is country once again. Cowboy Carter, her eighth studio album, is due to drop on March 29. Two lead singles from the album have already been released—one, the somber “16 Carriages,” the other, the banjo-led, chart-topping “Texas Hold ’Em.”
Yesterday, the 42-year-old stoked further anticipation around her album release when she unveiled the artwork: a painterly image of her on a horse, brandishing a flag in a very patriotic display. Bey—and her mount, Chardonneigh (not to be confused with Reneigh, the disco ball horse on the cover of Renaissance)—has had a star-spangled makeover. And despite being a woman of few public words, she penned a surprisingly long caption to go with the visuals on Instagram, part of which read: “This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed… and it was very clear that I wasn’t.”
For the uninitiated, this might sound cryptic. But for a Beyhiver such as myself, Beyoncé could only have been referring to one thing. And so: a recap.
First, let’s travel back to 2003. That year, the Dixie Chicks (now known simply as “The Chicks”) were on top of the world. The Texan trio—Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Strayer—had number one singles and albums under their belts, multiple Grammy Awards, and brands falling at their feet. A lawsuit with their record label, Sony, had finally been settled; they’d just sung the national anthem at the Super Bowl; and they were about to embark on a world tour promoting their critically acclaimed LP, Home. Critics and fans alike knew the power they wielded: they were bridging the gap between pop and country with a sprinkle of politics, revitalizing the genre for a new era.
On March 10, 2003, a little over a week before the United States invaded Iraq, the band performed to a crowd of adoring Londoners in the Bush Theatre. As reported in Betty Clark’s Guardian review at the time, Natalie Maines, the lead singer, had some choice words for then-US President George W. Bush. Maines said to the crowd: “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.” It was met with roaring applause from the crowd, but patriots back home were not happy.
The members of the band were branded traitors and “Saddam’s Angels”; their songs were banned from the radio; and Maines’s comments were the topic of every right-wing talk show across America. They were sent death threats, and Maines needed 24-hour security outside of her house. Were they the first real victims of cancel culture? Very possibly. But, in very punk-rock fashion, they remained unapologetic. In May 2003, the trio posed for Entertainment Weekly dressed in nothing but the slurs that had been leveled at them.
What’s Beyoncé got to do with all of this? More than a decade later, in 2016, The Chicks embraced Beyoncé’s foray into country music with “Daddy Lessons.” They covered the song at their shows and, eventually, the band joined Bey for a performance on the Country Music Awards stage—a stage The Chicks hadn’t taken since they were blacklisted. Even before the duet, some country fans were incandescent with rage over the fact that Beyoncé, famous as a pop/R&B act, was on the line-up for the ceremony at all. Country music legend Alan Jackson reportedly walked out during their performance.
Whilst Beyoncé has made clear that Cowboy Carter “ain’t a country album, it’s a “Beyoncé album,” at least we all know the lore behind it.