Singer's Sibs Upset Over Chicks Lyric

A reference to Buddy Holly on an upcoming Dixie Chicks album isn't setting right with brothers of the 1950s music legend.

In "Lubbock or Leave It," Natalie Maines, a native of the West Texas city, sings: "I hear they hate me now / Just like they hated you / Maybe when I'm dead and gone / I'm gonna get a statue, too."

Holly, whose statue is in downtown Lubbock, was born here and died in a plane crash along with singers Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson in Iowa in 1959.

Holly's older brother, Larry O. Holley, said he doesn't know of anyone in Lubbock who hated his sibling. (Holly's real last name is Holley, but it was misspelled on a recording contract.)

"Older people in town thought rock 'n' roll was for kids," Holley said. "But no one hated Buddy."

The song is on the fourth Dixie Chicks album, a May 23 national release titled "Taking the Long Way." The songwriting credit lists all three Chicks — Emily Robison, Martie Maguire and Maines — and Mike Campbell.

Another brother, Travis Holley, said his brother was proud of Lubbock.

"He was loyal to his hometown, his church and his family," he said. "And I never knew of anyone who hated Buddy."

Maines, born and raised in Lubbock, seemed to be embraced by all until March 2003 when she told a concert audience in London the group was "ashamed" President Bush was from Texas.

A free-speech debate ensued and radio stations across the country stopped playing the Chicks' music. Some still don't; only one in Lubbock does.

Kathy Best of Front Page Publicity, which handles Chicks' interview requests, said that Maines won't be available anytime soon for interviews.

On the Chicks Web site, Maines writes that the song "is not just about Lubbock, but about any small, hypocritical town."