Editing Emily Strayer

{{short description|American songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist (b. 1972)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox musical artist  <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name                = Emily Strayer
| background          = solo_singer
| image               = Emily Robison with dobro.jpg
| caption             = Emily Strayer in 2010
| birth_name          = Emily Burns Erwin
| alias               = Emily Robison
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1972|8|16}}
| birth_place         = [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| origin              = [[Dallas|Dallas, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date          = 
| genre               = {{Hlist|[[Alternative country]]|[[Country music|country]]|[[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]]|[[country rock]]|[[Folk music|folk]]}}
| occupation          = {{Hlist|Musician|singer|songwriter|[[record producer]]}}
| instrument          = {{Hlist|[[Banjo]]|[[dobro]]|[[accordion]]|guitar|[[Upright bass|double bass]]|[[mandolin]]|[[sitar]]|lap steel|piano|violin|vocals}}
| years_active        = 1989–present
| label               = {{Flatlist|
* [[Sony BMG Music Entertainment|SonyBMG]]
* [[Sony Music Entertainment|Open Wide]]
* [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
}}
| current_member_of   = [[The Chicks]]
| past_member_of      = [[Court Yard Hounds]]
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Charlie Robison]]|1999|2008|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Martin Strayer|2013}}
}}
| website             = {{URL|thechicks.com}}<br/>{{URL|courtyardhounds.com}}
| module          = {{Infobox person|embed=yes
 | signature       = Emily Robison signature, Billboard Open Letter 2016.png
 }}
}}

'''Emily Burns Strayer''' ({{née}} '''Erwin''', previously '''Robison'''; born August 16, 1972) is an American songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and a founding member of the [[Country music|country]] band [[the Chicks]], formerly known as the Dixie Chicks. Strayer plays [[banjo]], [[dobro]], guitar, lap steel, [[Upright bass|bass]], [[mandolin]], [[accordion]], [[fiddle]], [[piano]], and [[sitar]]. Initially in her career with the Chicks, she limited her singing to harmony with backing vocals, but within her role in the [[Court Yard Hounds (band)|Court Yard Hounds]], she took on the role of lead vocalist.

==Early life==

Emily Erwin was born in [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts]]. Parents Paul Erwin and Barbara Trask moved the family to the suburban town of [[Addison, Texas]], on the northern edge of [[Dallas]], where she was raised with her two older sisters, Julia and [[Martie Maguire|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 <!--She took the surname Strayer after her second marriage, thus, per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Biography#People_with_the_same_surname , is referred to as "Emily" to distinguish her from Martin.--> began playing the violin at age seven, and the [[banjo]] at age ten, afterward learning all the [[string instruments]] she could find.<ref name="Malkin">Malkin, Nina [http://chickoholic.tripod.com/DixieChicks/id8.html "A Little About Martie"], Dixie Chicks Henhouse (Retrieved December 31, 2007).</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite video | title=[[Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing]] |date=2006 | medium=Motion picture |publisher=[[The Weinstein Company]]}}</ref> Emily responded by mastering the five string banjo, by reading books to teach herself the [[chord progressions]].<ref name="Malkin"/>

From 1984–1989, Jane Frost (Director of the [[Patsy Montana|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 music|bluegrass]] group they named the Blue Night Express, in part because of the amount of traveling 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 camaraderie 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.<ref name=Frost>{{cite web|last1=Frost|first1=Jane|title=Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS, Early 1980s|url=http://www.dixie-chicks.com/stories.shtml|website=The All-Inclusive Dixie Chicks Page|date=July 15, 1999|access-date=December 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002233114/http://www.dixie-chicks.com/stories.shtml|archive-date=October 2, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Faraway Hills">[http://homepage.ntlworld.com/farawayhills/sharon_gilchrist.html "Sharon Gilchrist"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182257/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/farawayhills/sharon_gilchrist.html |date=March 3, 2016 }}, Faraway Hills (Retrieved February 12, 2008).</ref> After Martie graduated from secondary school at [[Greenhill School (Addison, Texas)|Greenhill School]] with Emily still completing her studies, both remained active in the bluegrass scene.

==The Chicks==
[[File:Emily Robison with the Dixie Chicks 1998.jpg|thumb|200px|left|With the Dixie Chicks; 1998]]

In 1989, after years of attending [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] [[festivals]] and [[busking]] where they could, Emily joined her sister Martie, guitarist Robin Lynn Macy, and [[upright bass]] player [[Laura Lynch (musician)|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!".<ref name="Frost" /> Emily 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]].<ref name="Clark">Clark, Renee [http://www.dixie-chicks.com/dlife392.shtml "Can the Dixie Chicks make it in the big time?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191833/http://www.dixie-chicks.com/dlife392.shtml |date=March 4, 2016 }} ''Dallas Life Magazine'' in ''[[The Dallas Morning News]]'', March 1, 1992 (Retrieved January 23, 2008).</ref>

By 1993, the band had evolved into a new direction. Macy left the group for a "purer" [[Bluegrass music|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.<ref name="Dickerson">Dickerson, James L. (2000) ''Dixie Chicks: Down-Home and Backstage''. Taylor Trade Publishing, Dallas, Texas. {{ISBN|0-87833-189-1}}.</ref> Emily 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."{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}

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."{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}

[[File:Emily-Robison.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Emily in concert with the [[Dixie Chicks]], Austin, Texas, 2006]]

From there, massive commercial success ensued, with their 1998 and 1999 albums ''[[Wide Open Spaces (album)|Wide Open Spaces]]'' and  ''[[Fly (Dixie Chicks album)|Fly]]'' both achieving [[diamond record]] status. Emily 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. Emily and Martie's instrumental virtuosity set the Dixie Chicks apart from many other country acts, male and female. Emily's songwriting has also been a factor in the Chicks' recording career. <!-- needs expansion, reference to particular songs -->

Emily 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 - back in the United States, Maines' criticism of President Bush would not be well received. Nevertheless, even when her home was trashed,{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} 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.
<!-- needs expansion, reference regarding the success of the Chicks in general -->

==Court Yard Hounds==
[[File:Emily-Robison 2010.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Emily with the [[Court Yard Hounds (band)|Court Yard Hounds]] at Antone's, [[SXSW]], March 18, 2010]]
Emily 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 Award]]s for ''[[Taking the Long Way]]'', the trio all had young children and took time out to spend with them, but Emily was eager to return to writing and touring. When Emily'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, Emily became "angry and frustrated", and in sending her new songs to her sister, conveyed her increasing disappointment.<ref name="All Things Considered">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126554419|title=Dixie Chicks Musicians Strike Out on Their Own|last=Block|first=Melissa|date=May 6, 2010|work=[[All Things Considered]] |publisher=[[National Public Radio]]|access-date=October 3, 2010}}</ref> 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 (band)|Court Yard Hounds]], with Emily as lead vocalist. The band made their live debut in March at [[South by Southwest]] with an album released in May 2010.<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2010/01/15/dixie-chicks-plan-album-tour-with-court-yard-hounds-side-project/ "Pair of Dixie Chicks Plan Album, Tour as New Band Court Yard Hounds"]{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} [[Rolling Stone]], January 15, 2010 (Retrieved January 19, 2010).</ref> Emily wrote all but one of the songs on their album.<ref name="All Things Considered"/>

==Personal life==
On May 1, 1999, she married country singer [[Charlie Robison]].<ref>[http://www.frontpagepublicity.com/dxc/content/personalfacts.html "Dixie Chicks: Dates & Facts"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225075202/http://www.frontpagepublicity.com/dxc/content/personalfacts.html |date=February 25, 2008 }}, Front Page Publicity (Retrieved July 12, 2008).</ref> Their wedding was held at the [[Cibolo Creek Ranch]].<ref name="dixiechicksmemberwedsinwesttexas">{{cite news|title=Dixie Chicks member weds in West Texas|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/18936484/?terms=%22Cibolo%2BCreek%2BRanch%22|access-date=February 16, 2016|work=The Kerrville Times|page=16|location=Kerrville, Texas|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=registration |quote=Emily Erwin of the Texas-born group married fellow Texan and musician Charlie Robison on Saturday at Cibolo Creek Ranch in the Big Bend.}}</ref> [[Martie Maguire]] later revealed on a [[VH1]] program that during their courtship, she had written the romantic hit song, "[[Cowboy Take Me Away]]" for them. They have three children.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041110213204/http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1458659/11122002/dixie_chicks.jhtml "Charlie and Emily Robison Welcome Baby Boy"], [[Country Music Television|CMT]], November 12, 2002 (Retrieved July 12, 2008).</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927184113/http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1500730/04252005/dixie_chicks.jhtml "Emily and Charlie Robison Welcome New Daughter – and Son"] [[Country Music Television|CMT]], April 25, 2005 (Retrieved July 12, 2008).</ref> They divorced on August 6, 2008.<ref name="Saldaña">Saldaña, Hector [http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/music/Dixie_Chick_in_divorce_court.html "Dixie Chick Robison divorced"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080817030724/http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/music/Dixie_Chick_in_divorce_court.html |date=August 17, 2008 }} ''[http://www.mysanantonio.com mySA]'', August 6, 2008 (Retrieved October 11, 2008).</ref>

She became romantically involved with Martin Strayer while composing the Court Yard Hounds album. With Strayer, she has a daughter.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://moviepilot.com/posts/3946327 |title=The Dixie Chicks Set Off On Tour Again Today, But What Do They Look Like Now? |access-date=October 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011225726/http://moviepilot.com/posts/3946327 |archive-date=October 11, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The couple later married in 2013.

== Discography ==
{{main|The Chicks discography}}

== Awards ==
{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by the Chicks}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Emily Robison}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0733215|name=Emily Robison}}
* [http://www.dixiechicks.com/ Dixie Chicks] (official site)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140517075148/http://www.courtyardhounds.com/ Court Yard Hounds] (official site)

{{Dixie Chicks}}
{{Grammy Award for Song of the Year 2000s}}
{{Grammy Award for Record of the Year 2000s}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strayer, Emily}}
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American anti–Iraq War activists]]
[[Category:American country guitarists]]
[[Category:American women guitarists]]
[[Category:American street performers]]
[[Category:American banjoists]]
[[Category:Resonator guitarists]]
[[Category:Steel guitarists]]
[[Category:Sitar players]]
[[Category:American bluegrass musicians]]
[[Category:The Chicks members]]
[[Category:American multi-instrumentalists]]
[[Category:People from Bandera County, Texas]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Musicians from Dallas]]
[[Category:Writers from Pittsfield, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Sony BMG artists]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]
[[Category:Rock double-bassists]]
[[Category:American women bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American country songwriters]]
[[Category:Country musicians from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Country musicians from Texas]]
[[Category:American country mandolinists]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Texas]]
[[Category:21st-century American women singers]]
[[Category:People from Dallas County, Texas]]
[[Category:21st-century American singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American double-bassists]]
[[Category:21st-century American bass guitarists]]