‘We Were a Part of History’

Beyoncé may forgive, but, as anyone who’s listened to Lemonade knows, she does not forget.

On March 19, the pop queen offered some rare insight into her decision to make a country record, the imminently arriving Cowboy Carter. The new album, Beyoncé explained in a revealing statement, “was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive.�

Though she didn’t name names, the Beyhive quickly surmised that Beyoncé was describing her appearance at the 50th annual Country Music Association Awards. On that fraught evening, days before the 2016 election, she joined forces with the Chicks and blessed Nashville with a surprise performance of “Daddy Lessons,� Lemonade’s genre curveball and the singer’s first dalliance with a country-infused sound.

Although Beyoncé’s outlaw R&B-meets-backcountry storytelling got much of the live audience on their feet, her appearance also upset traditionalists, sparking a heated is-she-country-or-not debate and leading to gross displays of racism. If Beyoncé felt unwelcome, so did the Chicks, whose Iraq War-era blacklisting had long estranged them from Nashville. As author Francesca T. Royster observed, “‘Daddy Lessons’ thus became a lightning rod for public arguments about the politics of race, genre crossover, gender, and country music.� Today, the CMAs performance seems even more significant in retrospect, a bold prelude to Beyoncé’s ongoing exploration of what it means to be a Black woman making country music in the 21st century.

Vulture interviewed a range of musicians who performed with her and the Chicks, as well as key figures from the CMA side, about the behind-the-scenes moments that led to one of the most talked-about performances in the show’s history.

This Is Texas

Robert Deaton, executive producer, CMA Awards: I was in L.A. when Lemonade dropped. When someone like Beyoncé puts out an album, you listen to all of it. “Daddy Lessons� came on, and I was like, “Man, this is so Texas country. This would be great for the CMAs.�

That afternoon, I saw an article going through each cut, and when it got to “Daddy Lessons,� it said, “This is Beyoncé’s CMAs performance.� I’m like, Okay, someone else is thinking that! Normally, I make asks to be on the show after the nominations come out. But this was different. This was Beyoncé. I didn’t know anybody in her camp, but I did get the emails for the publicist and manager. I sent a note to Beyoncé’s team that day, going, “I don’t know what your plans are, but the CMA Awards are in November. This would be a great performance for everybody.�

Paul Miller, director, CMA Awards: It was the 50th anniversary of the CMAs, so that was a big deal.

Deaton: I got a response a couple of months later, with an indication that they liked the idea. That this was remotely, maybe going to happen was like a “woo-hoo!� moment. Oh my gosh!

Wide-Open Spaces

Meanwhile, the Chicks’ lead singer Natalie Maines had become infatuated with Lemonade. “I watched the visual album over a hundred times,� she recalled in a 2020 interview. A spirited, ramshackle cover of “Daddy Lessons� soon became a setlist staple on their tour. (Through a representative, the Chicks declined to be interviewed for this article.) 

Jimmy Paxson, drummer for the Chicks: The Chicks like to do cover tunes. And if you’re a hard-core Chicks fan, you probably knew Natalie was crazy about Lemonade. She used to drag me on her bus and make me watch the Lemonade video — which was, like, hours long.

Deaton: They were doing “Daddy Lessons� in concert. For me, that was a narrative check of the box.

Paxson: I get in there with the Chicks and they’re like, we want you to use something really different for the acoustic part of the show. The thing that was shocking about it was that that drum set sounds just like what’s on the record.

Deaton: It wasn’t something that was forced or I put together. It was something the artist put together.

Paxson: It was going over well. We were all pretty surprised to hear when it got noticed by Beyoncé.

She’s That Girl

After the Chicks’ infamous 2003 blacklisting from the country-music industry, they vowed to never perform at the CMAs again. But Maines later recalled, “When Beyoncé calls, you’re like, ‘OK, maybe just this one time.’ I’ll only do it with Beyoncé!�

Paxson: When they invited Beyoncé to play on the CMAs, she said, “I’ll do it if I can bring the Chicks with me.�

Miller: The Chicks won Best New Artist on that show years before. They were huge. The town loved them until that fateful time in England. That’s why I think it had so much meaning when Beyoncé came back and said, in her own way, “You should respect these people.�

Deaton: The collaborations we would do on the show, I liked those to be as organic as possible. But it always works better if the idea comes from the artist.

Miller: I think we all understood the symbolism of Beyoncé appearing with the Chicks, and the connection between them. They all came from Texas. Obviously, she felt it was important to make the statement that she respected the Chicks and acknowledged who they were and what they were about. It was a big deal.

Erick Walls, guitarist for Beyoncé: Since the song had gained momentum via the Chicks playing it on tour, she asked if I was interested in doing the CMAs. I grew up listening to country music. I was thrilled and excited to get a call like that.

David “King of Sludge� Parks, drummer for Too Many Zooz: I believe I was contacted through an anonymous Facebook message just asking if I was a member of Too Many Zooz. It was just like, “An artist wants to speak to you.� I kind of blew it off at first. I thought it was something random. And then, finally, I answered it. The person said, “Can I call you?� It turned out to be Beyoncé’s music director.

Matt “Doe� Muirhead, trumpet player for Too Many Zooz: Her kid Blue liked our music.

Parks: We were an unknown band, just playing in the subway at that time.

Muirhead: We eventually recorded some stuff for Lemonade. And then we just thought, That’s the end of our relationship with Beyoncé. Not to sound ungrateful, but we were just being realistic. Eight months later, her team reached out and said, “Hey, we’re interested in bringing you guys out for the CMAs. Is that something you’d like to do?� And of course we said yes.

A Suitcase and a Garbage Can

In October 2016, Beyoncé, the Chicks, and their musical collaborators went to L.A. for a week of rehearsals, where every element of the song was perfected. Maines later stated, “The week we worked with Beyoncé is the single greatest working week of my professional life.�

Walls: I think we did a solid week and a half, probably eight-hour days. Just drilling it and drilling it. It was a lot of personnel, a lot of moving parts. Beyoncé’s thing is, make sure that it’s second nature by the time it’s all said and done. You’re up there, but you’re not giving it any thought because you’ve drilled it so much. You’re just on autopilot.

Deaton: From what I understand, it was every day, all day, for five days in a row. Which was not a surprise. If you read about Beyoncé, you know the work ethic.

Paxson: Beyoncé shows up. She walks over to my drumset and is like, “Hey, I’m Beyoncé. Thanks for coming.� She was just really cordial and kind.

Muirhead: I remember showing up at rehearsal and her knowing our names and personally coming up to us and shaking our hands: “Hey, Matt, thanks so much for doing this, I really appreciate it.�

Walls: She’s quite intense in terms of her preparation for things. She’s probably one of the hardest-working artists I’ve ever encountered. I think that explains a lot of her success, too. She’s definitely committed to it. It pushes you to bring your A game.

Muirhead: I thought she was one of the most high-functioning individuals I’ve been lucky to have been around.

Paxson: The drum set was just a suitcase, a garbage can, and an old colonial snare drum. The sound guy was like, “Dude, I can’t believe that suitcase — that is my new favorite bass drum! This is fucking sick.� The top of the song just starts with the drums. I started playing the beat, and the whole band lit up and everybody started dancing and freaking out. It was just the most welcoming feeling to play that beat and have it go over instantly that well and sonically that accurate to the record. I was really flattered because I play drums for a living, but here I am playing a suitcase and a garbage can with Beyoncé and the Chicks. One of the drums was bought at Home Depot. The suitcase was from a thrift store.

The Final Countdown

The musicians traveled to Nashville for final rehearsals prior to the CMAs. 

Miller: The night before the Nashville rehearsal, when Beyoncé walked in with her entourage and Jay-Z, they handed me a video of what they wanted the performance to look like. It was the product of seven days of rehearsals in L.A., edited to their liking. And they said, “Make it look like this.� And I said, “Okay!�

Deaton: There was quite a bit of excitement on the day of the Nashville rehearsal. Normally, we have two stages. But that year, I was able to make one huge stage, which added to the grandness of the performance. I got introduced to her for the first time and then after that, it was just like I had worked with her for years. We could go up and talk to her about the performance and what was working. She was so incredibly professional and warm. And someone that likes to leave no stone unturned.

Miller: The stage was full of musicians and quite a bit of production. We rehearsed it. And then they decided they wanted to change it; I often got contradictory notes from her team up until air.  They simplified the staging of it, so it had to be re-blocked. But there was no more time available. Robert made the decision that we were going to wrap for the night. The next time I would see the performance would be in the dress rehearsal the next day.

Deaton: There was no issues at all with Beyoncé. We got their notes back, way in advance of the show. We knew what my team had to correct from a lighting standpoint.

Miller: There was a lot of pressure on all of us to get this right. Everyone was very nervous. I think the Chicks were nervous. Beyoncé was nervous. Any time artists come in and take a lot of time to rehearse and then change their minds a lot, there’s an insecurity there. I think they needed to be reassured that this was gonna be okay and gonna be accepted. Nobody could really give them that assurance. They just had to do it.

Need-to-Knowles Basis

A pioneer of the last-minute album drop, Beyoncé knew how to harness the element of surprise. In the weeks leading up to the CMAs, and even the day of the show, her appearance was a closely guarded secret. 

Miller: They didn’t tell me Beyoncé [was playing] until three or four days before rehearsals started, which is unusual. Normally, I’d be down there for several weeks before the show and would know everything that was gonna happen. They really wanted to keep it quiet.

Deaton: Even though everyone’s a professional, you still go, “Listen, y’all, if this leaks out, this could go away. And we cannot let this go away! This is too important.�

Miller: It was never published on any of the documents that were public that this was gonna happen. Any time there was a schedule that was printed and a block of time allocated for rehearsing that number, it was listed as “TBD.�

Paxson: When we got to Nashville to do the CMAs, nobody knew we were coming. I couldn’t tell my family or my friends or anybody.

Leo Pellegrino, saxophonist for Too Many Zooz: The hardest part for me was I couldn’t really talk about it. We were meeting Beyoncé, coming into rehearsals and shit. It was like the craziest experience I had in my life. But I couldn’t call my best friend up and just talk to him about it.

Muirhead: I’m sorry to anybody who ever makes me sign an NDA, but I always tell my mom and dad. I mean, I’m sure Beyoncé or anybody I’ve signed an NDA for would be understanding of that.

‘It Just Felt Like Magic’

On November 2, Beyoncé and the Chicks finally took the stage at the Bridgestone Arena to perform “Daddy Lessons,� throwing in a brief snippet of the Chicks’ 2002 hit “Long Time Gone.�

Pellegrino: I remember we were all backstage — the different backup bands with all the different people that were performing, all in this small area, sectioned off only by curtains. It felt like mayhem.

Walls: In terms of the artists and other performers, everyone was extremely excited that she was there. She’s this huge pop star. I wouldn’t say she was out of her element, but that wasn’t necessarily a setting that you would find her in.

Miller: I’m looking at the video. The graphic actually says, “Coming up next: Beyoncé.� It was not promoted the way they normally would at the top of the show, but in the commercial right before it was announced.

Paxson: Right before we went on, I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I hear someone go, “Hey, have a great show.� I turn around and it’s Beyoncé. It just felt really loving and nurturing.

Pellegrino: When we hit the stage, it just felt like magic.

Miller: We came up out of a commercial and there was no announcement of any kind. No “Ladies and gentlemen, Beyoncé and the Chicks.� It just happened. It was a total surprise to the audience.

Walls: The show went off without any hiccups. I just felt excitement — the energy of the room, her presence. It was something that was gonna be talked about.

Paxson: We’d rehearsed it so much that we were just dialed in. We were the only thing that night that was 100 percent live.

Deaton: If you take that performance and you listen to the original record, she doubled the horns. There’s a lot more going on on that stage than actually was in the original record. That was all her vision.

Pellegrino: I was freaking the fuck out. I get incredibly nervous to the point where I actually feel like my body’s not gonna be able to move at all when I enter the stage. I actually remember wishing, like praying, that I could be anywhere else in the entire world but there. Terrified that I was gonna do something crazy during the performance, like fall over and knock into Beyoncé.

Deaton: I thought it was incredible. I thought the reaction was amazing. We had more cutaways than I ever have had. I could tell that Beyoncé was recognizing people. So I’m trying to create a narrative. I was like, “I know that she’s looking at Faith. Cut to Faith!� And Faith is going crazy.

Get in Formation

While Deaton claims that all he saw was the audience “enjoying and loving this performance,� the Chicks felt differently. “It was just a weird vibe in that building,� Maines later recalled. Some audience members were visibly angry to see a pop star like Beyoncé performing on industry’s biggest stage. A few traditionalist musicians left. “I was sitting behind Alan Jackson, and he actually stood up from the front row and walked out in the middle of the performance,� a Nashville source told Billboard. 

Other responses to the performance were downright racist — both in the building and on social media. Tanner Davenport, a co-director of the music website Black Opry, recalled on Twitter that he was there that night and will “never forget when a woman in front of me yelled, ‘Get that Black bi**h off the stage!’� 

Miller: If you look at what the audience reaction was, I don’t think it was wildly enthusiastic. Which I was kinda surprised by.

Paxson: I just remember going out there and people being in shock, completely blown away — and uncomfortably so. Some people just didn’t seem to like the fact that it was going on, for some stupid reason.

Walls: I take that kind of thing with a grain of salt. Anyone who’s breaking ground, disrupting an in-place system, you’re gonna naturally irritate some.

Paxson: You had people in the crowd that were either blown away and didn’t want their neighbor in the next seat to see them enjoying it, or didn’t understand why we were up there.

Miller: A really important part of what Nashville is about is that they respect people who come from Nashville. They are not necessarily welcoming to people who come in from the outside, who may have their own kind of music they’re bringing. It’s not an automatic acceptance down there. You have to win their approval.

I don’t know if that’s what it was about, or if it was about the history of the Chicks and what they represented. I was a little surprised the reaction wasn’t warmer than it was.

Parks: I thought it made the performance more impactful. Not only was that a statement for Beyoncé, that was a statement for the Chicks as well. Looking back on it, we were a part of history.

Paxson: Some magazine does a feature on the CMAs every year. And when I went through the pages, we were the only thing that wasn’t in there.

Parks: It’s because there’s no social obligation or agitation in music anymore. That was a perfect representation of what agitation can do in music. We’re so unaccustomed to it. Our music is supposed to make us feel comfortable and not have any sort of polarity or decision-making. I found it courageous. I also found the people who got up and walked out courageous.

Paxson: It was a mindblowing night. It was a buzz that lasted for days.

The Aftermath

After being flooded with negative comments, the CMAs allegedly removed clips of the performance from its official social-media accounts. Maines told Howard Stern in 2020, “They started getting racist assholes bombarding their website with comments and emails…. They took her performance down and caved to that bullshit! They got so much bad press for doing that, within 24 hours, they put it back up again.� (A spokesperson for the CMAs said in 2016 that they had only taken down a single five-second promotional clip because Beyoncé had approved only one video to be posted.)

Deaton: There’s always gonna be someone out there that’s gonna complain. And it’s like, my gosh, y’all. This is music! The whole idea is to be open-armed and invite people into who we are. I just don’t think we should put up walls and block people out.

Miller: I think the younger artists in country are probably quicker to accept than some of the more established people in the business who have been around a long time and have certain attitudes about country music. You look on the stage with any country performer, and you’ve got people of all colors up there. I think the community is much more open than it was when I first started going down there.

Deaton: I can’t speak to Beyoncé’s experience [from her recent statement]. All I know is my experience. And I loved it. I will be in her corner; I will be pro-Beyoncé. She couldn’t have been better to me. The performance will grow in stature, in my opinion. In 15, 20 years, it’s gonna be mythologized. I think when we do the 100th anniversary — which none of us will be around for — that performance will go down as one of the greatest in CMA history.

Miller: I guess the true test will be, will she be on the show next year? Will they invite her to come on and perform, and what sort of reception will she get if she does?

Deaton: The door is always open. I’d welcome her back with open arms. Her team knows I’m ready to jump. It would be an honor.

Paxson: Tell her to put a tour together with the Chicks. I’m ready. Let’s go.

Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.