Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac began in London in 1967, when guitarist Peter Green left John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and formed a band with drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer. Bob Brunning played bass briefly before John McVie joined; the group’s name combined Fleetwood’s and McVie’s surnames. Initially a British blues act, they released their self-titled debut in 1968. Green’s instrumental “Albatross” reached number one on the UK singles chart in 1968. He also wrote “Black Magic Woman,” later a major hit for Santana, and the dramatic “Oh Well.” Guitarist Danny Kirwan joined in 1968.

Green left in 1970; keyboardist and singer Christine McVie, formerly Christine Perfect of Chicken Shack and already married to John, became a full member that year. The following years brought repeated changes: Spencer departed in 1971, Kirwan in 1972, and American guitarist Bob Welch became an important songwriter before leaving in 1974. Fleetwood and the McVies relocated the band to California. After hearing a recording by the duo Buckingham Nicks, Fleetwood invited Lindsey Buckingham to join; Buckingham insisted that Stevie Nicks join too. Their arrival in 1975 reshaped the group’s sound around three singer-songwriters: Buckingham, Nicks, and Christine McVie.

The revamped lineup released *Fleetwood Mac* in 1975, yielding “Rhiannon,” “Over My Head,” and “Say You Love Me.” Its 1977 follow-up, *Rumours*, documented a period of personal upheaval: the McVies were divorcing, Buckingham and Nicks were separating, and Fleetwood’s marriage was ending. *Rumours* topped the US album chart for 31 nonconsecutive weeks and won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Its singles included “Go Your Own Way,” “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop,” and “You Make Loving Fun.” “Dreams” became the band’s only US number-one single. Instead of repeating *Rumours*, Buckingham pushed the experimental double album *Tusk* in 1979, whose title track featured the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band.

The band followed with *Mirage* (1982) and *Tango in the Night* (1987), the latter containing “Little Lies,” “Everywhere,” and “Big Love.” Buckingham left after *Tango in the Night*, although the classic quintet reunited for the 1997 live album and concert film *The Dance*. Fleetwood Mac entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Christine McVie stepped away from touring after 1998 but returned to the group in 2014. Following Buckingham’s 2018 departure, Mike Campbell and Neil Finn joined the touring lineup. Christine McVie died in 2022, leaving songs such as “Songbird” and “Everywhere” as parts of the band’s catalog.