Fleetwood Mac
Biography
While most bands undergo a number of changes over the course of their careers, few groups experienced such radical stylistic changes as Fleetwood Mac. Initially conceived as a hard-edged British blues combo in the late '60s, the band gradually evolved into a polished pop/rock act over the course of a decade. Throughout all of their incarnations, the only consistent members of Fleetwood Mac were drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie -- the rhythm section that provided the band with its name. Ironically, they had the least influence over the musical direction of the band. Originally, guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer provided the band with its gutsy, neo-psychedelic blues-rock sound, but as both guitarists descended into mental illness, the group began moving toward pop/rock with the songwriting of pianist Christine McVie. By the mid-'70s, Fleetwood Mac had relocated to California, where they added the soft rock duo of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to their lineup. Obsessed with the meticulously arranged pop of the Beach Boys and the Beatles, Buckingham helped the band become one of the most popular groups of the late '70s. Combining soft rock with the confessional introspection of singer/songwriters, Fleetwood Mac created a slick but emotional sound that helped 1977's Rumours become one of the biggest-selling albums of all time.
The band retained its popularity through the early '80s, when Buckingham, Nicks, and Christine McVie all began pursuing solo careers. The band reunited for one album, 1987's Tango in the Night, before splintering in the late '80s. Buckingham left the group initially, but the band decided to soldier on, releasing one other album before Nicks and McVie left the band in the early '90s, hastening the group's commercial decline.
The roots of Fleetwood Mac lie in John Mayall's legendary British blues outfit, the Bluesbreakers. Bassist John McVie was one of the charter members of the Bluesbreakers, joining the group in 1963. In 1966 Peter Green replaced Eric Clapton, and a year later drummer Mick Fleetwood joined. Inspired by the success of Cream, the Yardbirds, and Jimi Hendrix, the trio decided to break away from Mayall in 1967. At their debut at the British Jazz and Blues Festival in August, Bob Brunning was playing bass in the group, since McVie was still under contract to Mayall. He joined the band a few weeks after their debut; by that time, slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer had joined the band. Fleetwood Mac soon signed with Blue Horizon, releasing their eponymous debut the following year. Fleetwood Mac was an enormous hit in the U.K., spending over a year in the Top Ten. Despite its British success, the album was virtually ignored in America. During 1968, the band added guitarist Danny Kirwan. The following year, they recorded Fleetwood Mac in Chicago with a variety of bluesmen, including Willie Dixon and Otis Spann. The set was released later that year, after the band had left Blue Horizon for a one-album deal with Immediate Records; in the U.S., they signed with Reprise/Warner Bros., and by 1970, Warner began releasing the band's British records as well.
Fleetwood Mac released English Rose and Then Play On during 1969, which both indicated that the band was expanding its music, moving away from its blues purist roots. That year, Green's "Man of the World" and "Oh Well" were number two hits. Though his music was providing the backbone of the group, Peter Green was growing increasingly disturbed due to his large ingestion of hallucinogenic drugs. After announcing that he was planning to give all of his earnings away, Green suddenly left the band in the spring of 1970; he released two solo albums over the course of the '70s, but he rarely performed after leaving Fleetwood Mac. The band replaced him with Christine Perfect, a vocalist/pianist who had earned a small but loyal following in the U.K. by singing with Spencer Davis and the Chicken Shack. She had already performed uncredited on Then Play On. Contractual difficulties prevented her from becoming a full-fledged member of Fleetwood Mac until 1971; by that time she had married John McVie.
Christine McVie didn't appear on 1970's Kiln House, the first album the band recorded without Peter Green. For that album, Jeremy Spencer dominated the band's musical direction, but he had also been undergoing mental problems due to heavy drug use. During the band's American tour in early 1971, Spencer disappeared; it was later discovered that he left the band to join the religious cult the Children of God. Fleetwood Mac had already been trying to determine the direction of their music, but Spencer's departure sent the band into disarray. Christine McVie and Danny Kirwan began to move the band towards mainstream rock on 1971's Future Games, but new guitarist Bob Welch exerted a heavy influence on 1972's Bare Trees. Kirwan was fired after Bare Trees and was replaced by guitarists Bob Weston and Dave Walker, who appeared on 1973's Penguin. Walker left after that album, and Weston departed after making its follow-up, Mystery to Me (1973). In 1974, the group's manager, Clifford Davis, formed a bogus Fleetwood Mac and had the band tour the U.S. The real Fleetwood Mac filed and won a lawsuit against the imposters -- after losing, they began performing under the name Stretch -- but the lawsuit kept the band off the road for most of the year. In the interim, they released Heroes Are Hard to Find. Late in 1974, Fleetwood Mac moved to California, with hopes of restarting their career. Welch left the band shortly after the move to form Paris.
Early in 1975, Fleetwood and McVie were auditioning engineers for the band's new album when they heard Buckingham-Nicks, an album recorded by the soft rock duo Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The pair were asked to join the group and their addition revived the band's musical and commercial fortunes. Not only did Buckingham and Nicks write songs, but they brought distinctive talents the band had been lacking. Buckingham was a skilled pop craftsman, capable of arranging a commercial song while keeping it musically adventurous. Nicks had a husky voice and a sexy, hippie gypsy stage persona that gave the band a charismatic frontwoman. The new lineup of Fleetwood Mac released their eponymous debut in 1975 and it slowly became a huge hit, reaching number one in 1976 on the strength of the singles "Over My Head," "Rhiannon," and "Say You Love Me." The album would eventually sell over five million copies in the U.S. alone.
While Fleetwood Mac had finally attained their long-desired commercial success, the band was fraying apart behind the scenes. The McVies divorced in 1976, and Buckingham and Nicks' romance ended shortly afterward. The internal tensions formed the basis for the songs on their next album, Rumours. Released in the spring of 1977, Rumours became a blockbuster success, topping the American and British charts and generating the Top Ten singles "Go Your Own Way," "Dreams," "Don't Stop," and "You Make Loving Fun." It would eventually sell over 17 million copies in the U.S. alone, making it the second biggest-selling album of all time. Fleetwood Mac supported the album with an exhaustive, lucrative tour and then retired to the studio to record their follow-up to Rumours. A wildly experimental double album conceived largely by Buckingham, 1979's Tusk didn't duplicate the enormous success of Rumours, yet it did go multi-platinum and featured the Top Ten singles "Sara" and "Tusk." In 1980, they released the double-album Live.
Following the Tusk tour, Fleetwood, Buckingham, and Nicks all recorded solo albums. Of the solo projects, Stevie Nicks' Bella Donna (1981) was the most successful, peaking at number one and featuring the hit singles "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," "Leather and Lace," and "Edge of Seventeen." Buckingham's Law and Order (1981) was a moderate success, spawning the Top Ten "Trouble." Fleetwood, for his part, made a world music album called The Visitor. Fleetwood Mac reconvened in 1982 for Mirage. More conventional and accessible than Tusk, Mirage reached number one and featured the hit singles "Hold Me" and "Gypsy."
After Mirage, Buckingham, Nicks, and Christine McVie all worked on solo albums. The hiatus was due to a variety of reasons. Each member had his or her own manager, Nicks was becoming the group's breakaway star, Buckingham was obsessive in the studio, and each member was suffering from various substance addictions. Nicks was able to maintain her popularity, with The Wild Heart (1983) and Rock a Little (1985) both reaching the Top 15. Christine McVie also had a Top Ten hit with "Got a Hold on Me" in 1984. Buckingham received the strongest reviews of all, but his 1984 album Go Insane failed to generate a hit. Fleetwood Mac reunited to record a new album in 1985. Buckingham, who had grown increasingly frustrated with the musical limitations of the band, decided to make it his last Fleetwood Mac project. When the resulting album, Tango in the Night, was finally released in 1987, it was greeted with mixed reviews but strong sales, reaching the Top Ten and generating the Top 20 hits "Little Lies," "Seven Wonders," and "Everywhere."
Buckingham decided to leave Fleetwood Mac after completing Tango in the Night, and the group replaced him with guitarists Billy Burnette and Rick Vito. The new lineup of the band recorded their first album, Behind the Mask, in 1990. It became the band's first album since 1975 to not go gold. Following its supporting tour, Nicks and Christine McVie announced they would continue to record with the group, but not tour. Vito left the band in 1991, and the group released the box set 25 Years -- The Chain the following year. The classic Fleetwood Mac lineup of Fleetwood, the McVies, Buckingham, and Nicks reunited to play President Bill Clinton's inauguration in early 1993, but the concert did not lead to a full-fledged reunion. Later that year, Nicks left the band and was replaced by Bekka Bramlett and Dave Mason; Christine McVie left the group shortly afterward. The new lineup of Fleetwood Mac began touring in 1994, releasing Time the following year to little attention. While the new version of Fleetwood Mac wasn't commercially successful, neither were the solo careers of Buckingham, Nicks, and McVie, prompting speculation of a full-fledged reunion in 1997. Say You Will, the first Fleetwood Mac studio album in 15 years, appeared in April 2003. It also marked the group's first set without Christine McVie since 1997's live effort, The Dance. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Selected Discography

Madison Blues
2006

Men Of The World: The Early Years
2005

Live in Boston
2004

Say You Will
2003

The Dance (Live)
1997

Kiln House
1970

Then Play On
1969
An amazing band with such a tight, distinctive sound! Saw them live in 2004 and they played a fantastic four hour set straight through -- and I think Mick Fleetwood could have just kept going!
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Fleetwood Mac best song Hyonotized!! Would Love it on my FWM ststion but Pandora wont play it for me been trying for a monht!!!
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I saw them live in Portland, Oregon at the Rose Garden. They were awesome!!!!! ! ! ! !
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Fleetwood and Stevie still move me the same way the very first time I heard them!!
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LOve, love, love these Rock Legends! I'd give my right foot to see them live!! LOL
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Love it...excelle n t band..Stevie Nicks @ 62 and still rockin' & still looks great..
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someone really likes the live rust (Neal Young)album cover seems to pop up everywhere
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I saw the Mirage tour in Houston in 1982. It was right between Stevie Nicks solo efforts. She had a tent at the back of the stage where she changed wardrobes several times during The sets. They are a very, very talented group of musicians. I was especially impressed with Buckingham's guitar playing. He is much better than I expected.
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FLEETWOOD MAC's (basic) incarnations / s t y l e s (due to space):
FM-1 (1967-1970) -- BLUES/Progre s s i v e Rock FM-2 (1970) -- Rock'n'Roll (retro, but tasteful) FM-3 (1971-1974) -- Rock/Pop (sophisticat e d pop) FM-4 (1975-1987) -- Pop/Rock (but great ballads by Christine Perfect-McVi e * ) *Chris was guest piano on 67's "Original FM", Blue Horizon's FM box-set (A+) |
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Why is Danny Kirwan not represented in Pandora? All of the other members seem to be. He was very instramental in keeping FM alive after Green and Spencer left - up until the time when Welch came along. I like the songs of his FM period and those of his solo work.
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I saw the "original" Mac in 1970 they were so above the rest, but when Buckingham, and Nicks became part of the band, they entered another STRATOSPHERE , Too short lived.
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That was a good album but every song on Rumors was a big hit.
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"Mystery to Me" (pre-Bucking h a m / N i c k s ) is my favorite album (Bob Weston and Bob Welch). But the Peter Green years were great too. And with Buckingham/N i c k s , they picked up one of the world's best pop guitar players, and a terrific front woman. Christine Perfect McVie has always been fantastic. Working with Mick and John seems to bring out the best in all musicians.
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Some of the best music around, these guys were (and still are) talented. No music collection could ever hope to be complete without both their Greatest Hits and Rumors (aka: the best rock album ever).
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I'm wondering why I'm hearing "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac, but....I'm seeing the cover for Neil Young and Crazy Horse's "Live Rust"....
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Without Christine McVie, they are not the same. The sound is different. I don't care for them that much anymore.
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LOVE THE SONG "SONGBIRD" DONE BY STEVE NICKS,SHE SURE HAS A GREAT VOICE,EVA CASSIDY ALSO HAS A GOOD RECORDING OF THIS SONG..THE FLEETWOODS RATE VERY HIGH FOR ME..GREAT GROUP...THAN K S PANDORA
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Love Fleetwood Mac. There's nothing like the oldies. They r on tour and my husband and I are totally excited to see them again. It's gonna be great.
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I thumbs downed Fleet wood mac 5 times Pandora, Please don't play them anymore. There songs just arn't that great.
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when you think of Fleetwood Mac, you this of Stevie Nicks, but the soul of Fleetwood was no doubt Mick and John
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Do you think they still have it? They have a tour stop in my area soon. I love them, but can they still pull it off live?
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RockinSk8erM said: "I Love Stevie and Lindsey together. They make such magic together. Without them 2 there would be no Fleetwood Mac" UM, NO! Without Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, especially Mick, there would be NO F. Mac. He is the ONLY reason Lindsay and Stevie came into the picture. You should thank god that Mick kept F. Mac going or else none of that 'brilliant' mid~late 70's F.Mac would not exsist. Oh yeah, you should probably thank cocaine as well, the 'fuel on the fire'!
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When you speak of Fleetwood Mac you have to realize there are TWO very distinct F.Mac's. FIRST is early F.M with Peter Green, who is one of the best guitarists ever. Too bad drugs got him all paranoid-psy c h o , similar to Syd Barrett. SECOND is the Buckingham-N i c k s F.Mac, which is what 99% of F.Mac fans like. If you haven't listened to early F.Mac please do! Especially songs like Green Manalishi(ki l l e r blues), Rattlesnake Shake and OH WELL! Oh Well is one of my fav's ever! Peace!
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some songs by Fleetwood Mac? um, well, lets see, let's try..."you make lovin' fun" and "landside" to begin with...then listen to big love. oh big big love. listen to the live version. it kicks. well, i don't know, my brother kinda burned me out on em so just look em up on myspace or something and get the jist of them. Lindsay Buckingham is one of the greatest pickers ever. They were ALL GREAT MUSICIANS. Mick, Lindsay, Stevie, and the McVeys. hell yeah!--oh this is in regard to blank77's comm
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got into this band cuz of pandora
pretty epic favorite is gotta be the chain leave a comment and recommend some songs for me, if you feel the band and/or i deserve it xD |
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Fleetwood Mac is one of my favorite bands. I have to admit, however, that I still haven't heard all of their records. I've met people who think they went down hill after some original members left, but from what I've heard, they had some really good early songs, but plenty of brilliant stuff later, too. I read a recent interview w/ Jeremy Spencer who sounds like a very normal guy. He lives in India w/ his wife, prays w/ Children of God, and plays charity benefits for School for the Blind.
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FM is a gimme!!! One of the best all time bands! Stevie's vocals and Lindsey's guitar....da m n ! ! ! ! !
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I feel blessed to have a copy of the Buckingham/N i c k s record from 1974.
Big $igh. $MILE |
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you are very special to me ,your music helped me become who i'am today .THANK YOU!
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