Highlights
- Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham propelled Fleetwood Mac to success in 1975, leading to their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and selling over 100 million records worldwide.
- “Landslide” became one of Fleetwood Mac’s most popular songs due to its relatable message of change and its timeless theme that resonates with generations.
- The band’s personal turmoil, explored through their music, contributed to their iconic status, especially in their legendary album “Rumors” which tackled cheating scandals and breakups.
Fleetwood Mac is one of the most iconic bands of all time. However, it was not until Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the band in 1975 that things really began to take off. This tenth version of Fleetwood Mac would eventually get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, sell over 100 million records worldwide, and make millions, despite the fact that they should have made billions but for selling their rights to various companies.
One of those successful albums was Fleetwood Mac, released in 1975. Part of why this album became so popular was that the track, “Landslide” was on it. The single itself would sell 5 million copies alone and would land Fleetwood Mac at number one on the music charts.
The group would become a popular mainstream band thanks to Nicks’ song. Fans may not have been aware of what the real meaning behind Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” was, as would later be explained by Nicks. However, they were able to identify with the message of change that so many people crave but are afraid to initiate. As such, “Landslide” has remained one of Fleetwood Mac’s most popular songs to date, due to its timeless theme that spans across generations.
Fleetwood Mac’s Music Easily Became Iconic
Between the hauntingly beautiful voices of Nicks and Christine McVie, Buckingham’s amazing guitar riffs, and Fleetwood Mac’s ability to both write songs as a group and independently, there was no reason that the band would not become iconic.
But it was the band’s personal turmoil that would take Fleetwood Mac from a popular mainstream band to lifelong icons.
While Fleetwood Mac proved to be a hugely successful album for the band, it was “Rumors” that truly solidified Fleetwood Mac as icons. This is because while most bands would have crumbled amid cheating scandals and breakups, the band instead used the pain and persevered, creating one of the most legendary albums of all time.
“We were all in an emotional ditch,” Mick Fleetwood explained. “Everybody knew everything about everybody.”
It was because of Fleetwood’s direction, however, that the band was somehow able to carry on.
“Everybody was pretty weirded out,” McVie said. “Somehow Mick was there, the figurehead: ‘We must carry on … let’s be mature about this, sort it out.’ Somehow we waded through it.”
The members of Fleetwood Mac did not talk to anyone outside the band about what was happening with their relationships. Instead, it was all saved for the studio, where some of the most iconic songs of the time and perhaps, period, were recorded.
“Instead of going to friends to talk it out, their feelings were vented through their music,” producer Richard Dashut said. “It created a certain sensitivity. Our personal lives were in shambles, and the album was about the only thing we had left.”
These songs that spoke about the intimate details of the band’s relationships with one another, including Buckingham’s song directed at Nicks after they broke up, were what had helped make them famous in the first place after the release of “Landslide,” which did the same thing.
This proved that writing about the struggles in their lives was what fans wanted, spurred by Nicks’ song just a few years earlier.
Stevie Nicks Wrote The Hit “Landslide” About Her Own Life
While there are variations on the story, the bottom line is that Nicks wrote “Landslide” about her life. It was a song about her relationship with her father, who was an executive for Greyhound Bus Line, as well as her relationship with Buckingham.
The song was written after spending some time in isolation in Aspen and would be the song that took Fleetwood Mac to the top of the charts.
Nicks and Buckingham went to Aspen so that Buckingham could practice with Don Everly before he went on tour. After Buckingham and Everly left Aspen, Nicks stayed behind. It was during that time that she came to the realization that she was not happy with the direction her life was going, personally or professionally.
As such, the decision had to be made to quit music and Buckingham or carry on. Nicks carried on and was soon inspired by the stillness of the surrounding mountains and how that could change in an instant.
“I realized then that everything could tumble, and when you’re in Colorado, and you’re surrounded by these incredible mountains, you think avalanche,” Nicks explained.
“It meant the whole world could tumble around us and the landslide would bring you down. And a landslide in the snow is like, deadly. And when you’re in that kind of a snow-covered, surrounding place, you don’t just go out and yell, because the whole mountain could come down on you.”
“Landslide” also has to do with Nicks’ relationship with her father, because he gave her an ultimatum about her singing career, meaning that there was an expiration date on how long Nicks could try to make her music career successful.
“My Dad did have something to do with it, but he absolutely thinks that he was the whole complete reason it was ever written,” Nicks said.
“I guess it was about September 1974, I was home at my Dad and Mom’s house in Phoenix, and my father said, ‘You know, I think that maybe… you really put a lot of time into this [her singing career], maybe you should give this six more months, and if you want to go back to school, we’ll pay for it and uh, basically you can do whatever you want and we’ll pay for it. I have wonderful parents, and I went, ‘Cool, I can do that.’”
Fortunately, less than a year after Nicks wrote “Landslide,” she and Buckingham got the offer to join Fleetwood Mac. The rest, as they say, is history.
“Landslide” Was Later Picked Up By Other Artists (And Is Still Popular Today)
“Landslide” is still popular today because the theme is relatable despite the fact it was written almost 50 years ago. It is so popular, in fact, that over 100 artists have covered the song and some have even gone on to have a hit on their hands as a result.
One of the first bands to cover “Landslide” was The Smashing Pumpkins in 1994. Sung by Billy Corgan and done acoustically, the song made it to number three on the charts.
Another band to have success with “Landslide” was The Chicks. They covered the song in 2002 and “Landslide” made it to number 10 on the charts. It may have gone higher if there was no controversy surrounding The Chicks criticizing President Bush’s sending troops to Iraq. After this happened, the cover dramatically fell and never recovered.
Bush, Kelsea Ballerini, and more would go on to incorporate it into their concert lineups as acoustic versions, making it the most popular song to play in concert just behind Rhiannon, and even instrumental versions of “Landslide” would chart decades after it was first released.
While fans may not have known the exact origins of “Landslide” until years after it was released, it did not matter. It resonated with them then, as it does today, and likely will for years to come.
Source: NewsFinale
