Fly is the fifth studio album (second major label) by American country music band the Dixie Chicks, released on August 31, 1999 through Monument Records. Compared to their previous album and breakthrough Wide Open Spaces (1998), the group had a stronger hand in writing, co-writing five of the fourteen tracks. The album was produced by Blake Chancey and Paul Worley, both of whom had already produced Wide Open Spaces.
The album was widely praised, even more so than their prior album and has been regarded as one of the best country albums of the '90s decade. The album was a massive commercial success for the group, debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums with 341,000 copies sold first week, becoming the most successful country album of 2000 and making the group the first ever country group in history to debut at number one on the former chart. The album was also moderately successful internationally, debuting atop the Canadian country albums chart and peaking at number six on the Canadian Albums Chart, while also peaking within the top 40 in the album charts in Australia, Finland, and the United Kingdom.
On June 25, 2002, the album was certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling ten million copies, making the Chicks the only country group to have two diamond albums after Wide Open Spaces.[10] In 2020, the album was ranked at 224 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.[11]
Commercial performance
Fly debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart the week of September 18, 1999, selling 341,000 copies in its debut week, giving the Dixie Chicks the second biggest opening week for any country act in the 90's only behind Garth Brooks and the third overall in any week behind Brooks and LeAnn Rimes.[12]Fly would go on to spend 131 weeks on the former chart, being the group's second consecutive album to spend more than two years on the chart after Wide Open Spaces (1998) spend 134 weeks. Internationally, the album performed decently well. Fly debuted at number six on the Canadian Albums Chart and topped the RPM Canada Country Albums chart. The album was also successful in Australia, debuting the week of September 19, 1999 at its peak position of number 16 and spent eight weeks in total. The album performed poorly in the United Kingdom, where country music already isn't that popular. It debuted on September 11, 1999 at its peak position of number 38 and only spent five weeks on the chart in total. However, Fly performed much better in the UK's country albums chart, where it peaked at number two and would go on to spend 70 weeks in the top ten.
Note
Track 13 is unlisted on the back cover and disc, though it is listed as "Ain't No Thang But a Chicken Wang" in the booklet. On some pressings of the CD, "Heartbreak Town" lasts 3:47 on track 12 and fades into track 13, which plays the last six seconds of the song. On other pressings of the CD, track 12 lasts for the full 3:53 seconds, and track 13 contains no audio, only lasting for 0:01. Digital versions of the album remove the blank track completely, bumping "Let Him Fly" up to track 13.
Strings conducted and arranged by Dennis Burnside.
Violins – Martie Seidel, Carl Gorodetsky, Pamela Sixfin, Lee Larrison, Connie Ellisor, Alan Umstead, David Davidson, Mary Katherine Van Osdale, David Angell, Janet Askey, Karen Winkelman, Cate Myer, Catherine Umstead
Violas – Kris Wilkinson, Jim Grosjean, Gary Van Osdale, Monisa Angell
