Laura Lynch, one of the original members of the renowned country music group, The Dixie Chicks, tragically lost her life in a car accident in Texas. The 64-year-old musician was involved in a head-on collision on a highway near El Paso last Friday afternoon. The other vehicle involved in the accident was attempting to overtake Lynch’s car when the crash occurred. The driver of the second vehicle survived the crash and was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Lynch, however, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lynch was a key figure in the formation of The Dixie Chicks, which she co-founded in 1990 with Robin Lynn Macy, Martie Erwin, and Emily Erwin. Born and raised in Texas, Lynch contributed significantly to the band’s early success, recording three albums with them before her departure in 1993.
In the band, Lynch initially played the upright bass, but her role evolved over time. She eventually provided lead vocals for their third album, “Shouldn’t a Told You That.” After her departure, she was replaced by Natalie Maines in 1995, and the band continued to achieve international success.
Details about Lynch’s life and career after leaving The Dixie Chicks are sparse. A 2003 news report mentioned that she was residing in Mineral Wells, Texas. She was married to Mac Wells, a lottery winner who had won $26.8 million in the early 1990s. Together, they had a daughter named Asia. Lynch reportedly spent her leisure time learning oil painting and expressed no regrets about leaving the band, citing exhaustion as a primary reason for her departure.
Despite the controversy that the band faced in 2003 when Maines publicly criticized America’s invasion of Iraq and expressed shame that President George W. Bush was from her home state of Texas, Lynch always spoke warmly of her time with the group. She once stated, “It was worth it. I’d get anemic all over again to do it.”
Following Lynch’s departure, The Dixie Chicks achieved international fame with their 1998 album “Wide Open Spaces.” They released two more successful albums, “Fly” in 1999 and “Home” in 2002, each selling tens of millions of copies. The band weathered the 2003 controversy and rebranded as “The Chicks” in 2020.