Laura Lynch, who co-founded the immensely popular country band the Chicks — formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, died in a car crash on Friday.
She was 65.
Lynch was driving her truck in El Paso, Texas when she was struck head-on by another vehicle and “was pronounced deceased on the scene by a justice of the peace,” according to a report from NPR.
The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the musician’s death via a statement to NPR, which also reported that the “other driver was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries..”
The three current members of the Chicks — lead vocalist and guitarist Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and multi-instrumentalists Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer — posted a joint statement about Lynch’s passing on the band’s Instagram page.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Laura Lynch, a founding member of The Chicks. We hold a special place in our hearts for the time we spent playing music, laughing and traveling together. Laura was a bright light…her infectious energy and humor gave a spark to the early days of our band.
“Laura had a gift for design, a love of all things Texas and was instrumental in the early success of the band. Her undeniable talents helped propel us beyond busking on street corners to stages all across Texas and the mid-West. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this sad time.”
Vocalist-bassist Lynch co-founded the Dallas, Texas country group with sisters Maguire and Strayer (both née Erwin) and vocalist-guitarist Robin Lynn Macy in 1989. The foursome reportedly borrowed their original moniker from the title of Little Feat’s third studio outing, 1973’s “Dixie Chicken.”
At the end of 1990, the group put out its first full-length album, “Thank Heavens for Dale Evans,” followed some 18 months later by “Little Ol’ Cowgirl” in 1992.
Lynch and Macy split vocal duties on the those first two albums, both of which were independently released. Yet, Macy left the band in 1992 and Lynch would become the full-time lead vocalist on “Shouldn’t a Told You That.”
After three full-length albums, the group still had not been able to land a major-label recording contract or greatly expand its fanbase outside of Texas. All of that would quickly change once Lynch was replaced in the fold with Maines, who propelled the group to multiplatinum heights on the 1998 Monument Records debut “Wide Open Spaces.”
With Maines at the microphone, the group become one of the most popular acts in country music history, selling tens of millions of albums, earning multiple Grammys and playing countless sold-out shows.
Having gone by the Dixie Chicks for the first 30-plus years of its career, the group shortened its name to “the Chicks” in 2020 in response to concerns over the appropriateness of “Dixie,” a term often associated with slavery.