In 1998, The Chicks Had No ‘Trouble’ Hitting No. 1: Chart Rewind

On Aug. 8, 1998, The Chicks’ “There’s Your Trouble” began a two-week reign on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, marking the trio’s first of six No. 1 hits.

The song, penned by Mark Selby and Tia Sillers, was released as the second single from The Chicks’ breakthrough album Wide Open Spaces, their first to feature lead vocalist Natalie Maines. Group founders and sisters Martie McGuire and Emily Strayer round out the threesome.

Wide Open Spaces became The Chicks’ first of five No. 1s on Top Country Albums, ruling for seven frames. It included five Hot Country Songs top 10s, with three reaching No. 1: “There’s Your Trouble,” “Wide Open Spaces” (four weeks) and “You Were Mine” (two). Lead single “I Can Love You Better” hit No. 7, marking the band’s first of 15 top 10s, and fifth single “Tonight the Heartache’s on Me” reached No. 6.

Their chart domination was halted in March 2003 when on stage in London, on the eve of the Iraq War, Maines said, “We’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.” Almost immediately, and unanimously, country radio bailed, removing them from playlists.

The Chicks didn’t reach the Hot Country Songs top 10 again until September 2019, as featured on Taylor Swift’s No. 10 hit “Soon You’ll Get Better” (a peak driven predominantly by streaming).

In August 2020, The Chicks ruled Top Country Albums for two weeks with their most recent LP, Gaslighter, their first since Taking the Long Way, which reigned for nine weeks in 2006-07.

After postponing several dates because of illness, The Chicks have resumed touring, with their next stop set for Tuesday (Aug. 8) in Greensboro, N.C.