Laura Lynch, Founding Member of the Dixie Chicks, Dead at 65

“We hold a special place in our hearts for the time we spent playing music, laughing and traveling together,” bassist/singer’s former bandmates said in a statement

Laura Lynch, a founding member of the Dixie Chicks (now the Chicks) who played on the country act’s first three albums, has died at the age of 65.

Lynch died following injuries sustained in a car accident on a highway outside of El Paso, Texas, TMZ first reported and the Texas Department of Public Safety later confirmed. Lynch’s former Chicks bandmates also confirmed Lynch’s death in a statement on social media.

“We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Laura Lynch, a founding member of The Chicks,” Emily Strayer, Martie Maguire, and Natalie Maines wrote in their tribute to Lynch.

“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.”

Lynch, along with Robin Lynn Macy and sisters Martie and Emily Erwin (now Maguire and Strayer), co-founded the Dixie Chicks in the late-Eighties, with Lynch serving as upright bassist and co-lead vocalist. That quartet released two albums together — 1990’s Thank Heavens for Dale Evans and 1992’s Little Ol’ Cowgirl — before Macy departed the band, leaving them a trio.

As a three-piece, the Dixie Chicks with Lynch recorded one more album, 1993’s Shouldn’t a Told You That. That LP featured the work of steel guitarist Lloyd Maines, who introduced the Erwin sisters to his daughter Natalie, who ultimately replaced Lynch in the trio. Five years later, the then-Dixie Chicks would release their breakout 1998 album Wide Open Spaces.

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