Dixie Chicks Win Big at CMA Awards

October 5, 2000 -- The Dixie Chicks dominated the 34th Annual Country Music Association Awards last night, walking off with four of the year's biggest prizes, including the evening's top honor, Entertainer of the Year.

The trio — Natalie Maines, Emily Robison, and Martie Seidel — also scored trophies for Album of the Year, Music Video of the Year (for "Goodbye Earl"), and Vocal Group of the Year. The Dixie Chicks have now racked up nine CMA awards since their chartbusting major-label debut, Wide Open Spaces, became the best-selling record ever by a country group.

Male Vocalist of the Year nominee Vince Gill hosted the three-hour ceremony, held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn., and broadcast nationally on CBS, for the ninth consecutive year.

Husband and wife Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were crowned Male and Female Vocalist of the Year, respectively. Lee Ann Womack and Sons of the Desert received Single of the Year kudos for their collaboration "I Hope You Dance," which also won Song of the Year.

Newcomer Brad Paisley, who scored a gold album with his debut set, Who Needs Pictures, earlier this year, won the Horizon Award. Toward the evening's end, Charley Pride and the late Faron Young were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Some folks were surprised to see the laurels for Vocal Event of the Year bestowed on George Strait and Alan Jackson for their controversial ditty "Murder on Music Row," which decried country music for crossing too far over into the pop mainstream.

Newcomer Paisley dismissed grousing between traditionalist and mainstream camps with a laugh. "I think we're all screwed up," he said. "We're not sure what sells, and I think we need to stop worrying about that and concentrate on good music."

Reuters contributed to this report.