Emily Erwin
Encyclopedia
Emily Robison is an American songwriter
, singer, multi-instrumentalist
, and a founding member of the female country
band
the Dixie Chicks
. Robison plays banjo
, dobro
, guitar
, bass, mandolin
, accordion
, and sitar
. Initially in her career with the Dixie Chicks, she limited her singing to harmony with backing vocals, but within her role in the Court Yard Hounds, she has taken on the role of lead vocalist
.
. Parents Paul Erwin and Barbara Trask moved the family to the northern suburban town of Addison, Texas
on the edge of Dallas, where she was raised with her two older sisters, Julia and Martha. Her parents were both educators and nurtured the growing interest that both Emily and Martha (later nicknamed Martie) shared, and together both sisters became proficient on several instruments while in elementary school.
Emily began playing the violin
at age seven, and the banjo
at age ten, afterward learning all the string instruments she could find. Years later, Martie joked that Emily was better than she at the fiddle, and because she wanted to keep the fiddle as her instrument, she forced Emily to learn something else. Emily responded by mastering the five string banjo, by reading books to teach herself the chord progressions.
From 1984-1989, Jane Frost, (Director of the Patsy Montana Museum
and the Walnut Valley Festival
in Winfield, Kansas
), remembers watching the sisters mature, teaming up with schoolmates Troy and Sharon Gilchrist
. The foursome were touring in a teenage bluegrass
group they named the Blue Night Express, in part because of the amount of travelling they had to do to reach far away festivals, frequently with a parent or friend of the family towing them back home long after dark at night. They thought it was worth the sacrifices to meet their musical heroes and experienced the friendly comraderie and tricks of the trade on instruments from others. The sisters were said to have an "almost obsessive" interest in busking
at small venues and attending bluegrass festivals. After Martie graduated from secondary school at Greenhill School with Emily still completing her studies, both remained active in the bluegrass scene.
festivals and busking
where they could, Emily joined her sister Martie, guitarist Robin Lynn Macy
, and upright bass player Laura Lynch
. Frost, again, recalls being privy to the discussion that the four women had about the possibility of a successful career as musicians together. Martie felt they could do well. Robin said,".. It's going to be a 'hot' band," to which Emily responded, "I give it six months, and if we aren't making money by then, I'm out of here!". Robison was shy, and the youngest member of the group. She had enjoyed playing throughout school, but was at an age where she was already entertaining thoughts of working hard to be accepted by the United States Air Force Academy
.
By 1993, the band had evolved into a new direction. Macy left the group for a "purer" bluegrass
sound. Lynch, thrust into the position of sole lead singer, was replaced by the sisters in 1995 with singer composer
Natalie Maines
after the group was unable to garner anything more than local interest. Robison commented, "We were prepared to pay our dues for as long as it took; we were prepared for longevity. We know that we will always be playing music together, so we wanted to find someone who is just as determined and energetic as we are."
But in later interviews, the sisters revealed what many had thought for a long time: the reason Lynch was replaced was not commitment but a perceived lack of talent. In an article in the April/May edition of Country Music Magazine, Emily stated, "We felt we needed the next calibre of singer."
From there, massive commercial success ensued, with their 1998 and 1999 albums Wide Open Spaces
and Fly both achieving diamond record status. Robison was a key element of the group's look, with her hair dyed blond to match the other two at first, and then allowing it to return to her natural brunette color, and distinguishing herself visually from the other two. Robison and Maguire's instrumental virtuosity set the Chicks apart from many other country acts, male and female. Robison's songwriting has also been a factor in the Chicks' recording career.
Robison stood by Maines when the controversy over Maines' remarks about U.S. President George W. Bush
hit the newswire on the eve before the Iraq War in 2003. She was the only bandmate to realize that, while in the U.K., there was a big anti-war sentiment in the audience, but that back in the United States, Maines' criticism of President Bush would not be well received. Nevertheless, even when her home was trashed, and plenty of editorials were predicting the end of the Dixie Chicks' successful careers in music, she remained loyal to Maines, as did her sister.
s for Taking the Long Way
, the trio all had young children and took time out to spend with them, but Robison was eager to return to writing and touring. When Robison's marriage came to an end, she began expressing herself by songwriting. Some of her compositions include her feelings about the breakup with her former husband, and expected that soon, the band would resume its former schedule of writing and performing, but Natalie Maines was reluctant to do so. After four years, Robison became "angry and frustrated", and in sending her new songs to her sister, conveyed her increasing disappointment. With Natalie Maines taking a break from music, Rolling Stone
magazine announced in January 2010 that Emily and sister Martie have formed a side project called the Court Yard Hounds, with Robison as lead vocalist. The band made their live debut in March at South by Southwest
with an album released in May, 2010. Robison wrote all but one of the songs on their album.
singer Charlie Robison
. Martie later revealed on a VH-1 program that during their courtship, she had written the romantic hit song, "Cowboy Take Me Away
" for them.
The Robisons have three children: Charles Augustus, called "Gus", born November 11, 2002 and twins Julianna Tex and Henry Benjamin born on April 14, 2005. Emily and Charlie divorced on August 6, 2008 after nine years of marriage.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, singer, multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, and a founding member of the female country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
the Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
. Robison plays banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bass, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, and sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
. Initially in her career with the Dixie Chicks, she limited her singing to harmony with backing vocals, but within her role in the Court Yard Hounds, she has taken on the role of lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
.
Early life
Emily Erwin was born in Pittsfield, MassachusettsPittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...
. Parents Paul Erwin and Barbara Trask moved the family to the northern suburban town of Addison, Texas
Addison, Texas
Addison is a city in Dallas County, Texas . The population was 14,166 at the 2000 census, and 15,737 according to a 2009 estimate. Addison is a northern suburb of Dallas...
on the edge of Dallas, where she was raised with her two older sisters, Julia and Martha. Her parents were both educators and nurtured the growing interest that both Emily and Martha (later nicknamed Martie) shared, and together both sisters became proficient on several instruments while in elementary school.
Emily began playing the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
at age seven, and the banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
at age ten, afterward learning all the string instruments she could find. Years later, Martie joked that Emily was better than she at the fiddle, and because she wanted to keep the fiddle as her instrument, she forced Emily to learn something else. Emily responded by mastering the five string banjo, by reading books to teach herself the chord progressions.
From 1984-1989, Jane Frost, (Director of the Patsy Montana Museum
Patsy Montana
Ruby Rose Blevins , known professionally as Patsy Montana, was an American country music singer-songwriter and the first female country performer to have a million-selling single...
and the Walnut Valley Festival
Walnut Valley Festival
The Walnut Valley Festival is a well-known acoustic music festival, held annually in Winfield, Kansas. The main genre of music is bluegrass, but other acoustic styles are represented...
in Winfield, Kansas
Winfield, Kansas
Winfield is a city situated along the Walnut River in the west-central part of Cowley County, located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,301...
), remembers watching the sisters mature, teaming up with schoolmates Troy and Sharon Gilchrist
Sharon Gilchrist
Sharon Gilchrist is an American bluegrass musician, singer, and the sister of Troy Gilchrist, also a bluegrass musician..-Youth:...
. The foursome were touring in a teenage bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
group they named the Blue Night Express, in part because of the amount of travelling they had to do to reach far away festivals, frequently with a parent or friend of the family towing them back home long after dark at night. They thought it was worth the sacrifices to meet their musical heroes and experienced the friendly comraderie and tricks of the trade on instruments from others. The sisters were said to have an "almost obsessive" interest in busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
at small venues and attending bluegrass festivals. After Martie graduated from secondary school at Greenhill School with Emily still completing her studies, both remained active in the bluegrass scene.
With the Dixie Chicks
In 1989, after years of attending bluegrassBluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
festivals and busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
where they could, Emily joined her sister Martie, guitarist Robin Lynn Macy
Robin Lynn Macy
Robin Lynn Macy is an American musician, teacher, and gardener, who is best known as a founding member of the female country group the Dixie Chicks....
, and upright bass player Laura Lynch
Laura Lynch
Laura Lynch is an American country musician and songwriter, who is best known as a founding member of the all-woman country music band the Dixie Chicks.-Biography:Lynch is a self-proclaimed "Cowgirl". She is an acoustic bassist and single mother...
. Frost, again, recalls being privy to the discussion that the four women had about the possibility of a successful career as musicians together. Martie felt they could do well. Robin said,".. It's going to be a 'hot' band," to which Emily responded, "I give it six months, and if we aren't making money by then, I'm out of here!". Robison was shy, and the youngest member of the group. She had enjoyed playing throughout school, but was at an age where she was already entertaining thoughts of working hard to be accepted by the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
.
By 1993, the band had evolved into a new direction. Macy left the group for a "purer" bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
sound. Lynch, thrust into the position of sole lead singer, was replaced by the sisters in 1995 with singer composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Natalie Maines
Natalie Maines
Natalie Louise Maines Pasdar is an American singer-songwriter who achieved success as the lead vocalist for the female alternative country band, the Dixie Chicks...
after the group was unable to garner anything more than local interest. Robison commented, "We were prepared to pay our dues for as long as it took; we were prepared for longevity. We know that we will always be playing music together, so we wanted to find someone who is just as determined and energetic as we are."
But in later interviews, the sisters revealed what many had thought for a long time: the reason Lynch was replaced was not commitment but a perceived lack of talent. In an article in the April/May edition of Country Music Magazine, Emily stated, "We felt we needed the next calibre of singer."
From there, massive commercial success ensued, with their 1998 and 1999 albums Wide Open Spaces
Wide Open Spaces
Wide Open Spaces is the major label debut of American country music band the Dixie Chicks, and the fourth studio album overall, released in 1998 . It was their first record with new lead vocalist Natalie Maines, and became their breakthrough commercial success...
and Fly both achieving diamond record status. Robison was a key element of the group's look, with her hair dyed blond to match the other two at first, and then allowing it to return to her natural brunette color, and distinguishing herself visually from the other two. Robison and Maguire's instrumental virtuosity set the Chicks apart from many other country acts, male and female. Robison's songwriting has also been a factor in the Chicks' recording career.
Robison stood by Maines when the controversy over Maines' remarks about U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
hit the newswire on the eve before the Iraq War in 2003. She was the only bandmate to realize that, while in the U.K., there was a big anti-war sentiment in the audience, but that back in the United States, Maines' criticism of President Bush would not be well received. Nevertheless, even when her home was trashed, and plenty of editorials were predicting the end of the Dixie Chicks' successful careers in music, she remained loyal to Maines, as did her sister.
Court Yard Hounds
Robison spent at least half of her life busking and touring nearly non-stop since high school, first with her older sister, and then with the changing lineups of the Dixie Chicks. After the bandmates celebrated their five Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s for Taking the Long Way
Taking the Long Way
-Public reception:On May 31, 2006, the album took three number one spots on the charts of Billboard magazine. It was number one on the Hot Country Albums, Top Digital Albums, and on the Billboard 200 chart, going Gold in its first week with 526,000 units sold....
, the trio all had young children and took time out to spend with them, but Robison was eager to return to writing and touring. When Robison's marriage came to an end, she began expressing herself by songwriting. Some of her compositions include her feelings about the breakup with her former husband, and expected that soon, the band would resume its former schedule of writing and performing, but Natalie Maines was reluctant to do so. After four years, Robison became "angry and frustrated", and in sending her new songs to her sister, conveyed her increasing disappointment. With Natalie Maines taking a break from music, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine announced in January 2010 that Emily and sister Martie have formed a side project called the Court Yard Hounds, with Robison as lead vocalist. The band made their live debut in March at South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
with an album released in May, 2010. Robison wrote all but one of the songs on their album.
Personal life
On May 1, 1999, Emily married countryCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Charlie Robison
Charlie Robison
Charles Fitzgerald "Charlie" Robison is an Texas Country singer/songwriter, who was raised in Bandera, Texas. His brother is singer/songwriter Bruce Robison...
. Martie later revealed on a VH-1 program that during their courtship, she had written the romantic hit song, "Cowboy Take Me Away
Cowboy Take Me Away
"Cowboy Take Me Away" is the title of a song recorded by American country group the Dixie Chicks. It was released in November 1999 as a single from their album, Fly. The song's title is derived from a famous slogan used in commercials for Calgon bath and beauty products. It reached Number One on...
" for them.
The Robisons have three children: Charles Augustus, called "Gus", born November 11, 2002 and twins Julianna Tex and Henry Benjamin born on April 14, 2005. Emily and Charlie divorced on August 6, 2008 after nine years of marriage.
External links
- Dixie Chicks (Official Site)
- Court Yard Hounds (Official Site)