Fleetwood Mac- a name synonymous with a talented, but tragically troubled band, hit albums and even bigger singles. With a name as big as The Beatles and music that shaped the Baby Boomer generation during their formative years, Fleetwood Mac has had an indelible effect on music in the last fifty years.
Through their rotating crew of vocalists and guitarists, they’ve come out with knockouts like ‘Dreams’, ‘Landslide’ and ‘The Chain’. To this day, these songs remain significant and continue as a mold for effortless, evergreen music. However, their career was anything but glamorous, punctuated by severed relationships and acute substance abuse. But amidst the personal turmoil of the band, their pièce de résistance, Rumours, was born.
Within a month of its release, Rumours sold ten million copies, becoming the band’s most commercially successful record– and, today, has become one of the best-selling albums worldwide. It catapulted them into popularity and fame as a rock and blues band with country overtones. Singles including ‘Go Your Own Way’, ‘Don’t Stop’, ‘Dreams’ and ‘You Make Loving Fun’ became the soundtrack of the late 70s. Fleetwood Mac became a sensation, writing up disco music that introduced West Coast folk dressed as pop-rock, changing the music scene of the time.
In many ways, Rumours was a reflection of its time. With a characteristically hippie spirit, the album focuses largely on love and loss, a theme far too prevalent for the members of the band. Mick Fleetwood had just discovered his wife had been cheating on him, Christine and John McVie’s divorce was impending and Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s relationship was punctuated by severe fights that were often demonstrated while recording was taking place. Moreover, the members’ substance abuse had escalated to a breaking point and the band’s demise was thus upsetting, but unavoidable.
Ironically, Fleetwood Mac made their best music while at their worst. The album struck a chord and stayed with people through the optimism of ‘Don’t Stop’, earthy notes of ‘Gold Dust Woman’ and heartbreakingly sincere lyrics of ‘The Chain’. Ask anyone of the pre-millennial generation and they all have distinct memories of Fleetwood Mac as a cornerstone of music of their time. The band was able to carry genuine emotion through their lyrics and folksy tunes, hitting the pop sweet spot over and over.
While we have an array of pop music at our fingertips today, the timeless nature of Fleetwood Mac and their sound is incomparable. Through cultural osmosis, their music has passed down through generations and still holds the same influence as it did in 1977. Their influence in modern indie music is impossible not to notice and it’s for this reason that Fleetwood Mac will always be a culturally significant aspect of music history.