She began her career alongside her then partner, Lindsey Buckingham, but rose to fame when Mick Fleetwood invited the duo to join his band. Fleetwood Mac, an initially blues group whose lineup has had almost as many musicians as San Francisco Symphony, also saw its popularity grow exponentially with the arrival of Nicks, as the best-selling albums and several of the band’s most loved hits worldwide arrived also with her.
The vocal duties in Fleetwood Mac were shared mainly between Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Notable hits that showcase Nicks’ vocal abilities include “Sara,” “Dreams,” “Rhiannon,” “Sisters of the Moon,” “Gypsy,” and “Seven Wonders.” “Landslide”, despite not having been released as a single, is one of the most beautiful acoustic songs of all time and has been popularly covered by The Smashing Pumpkins and The Dixie Chicks.
Below are her 4 Absolute Favorite Albums that impacted her career:
Buffalo Springfield Again – Buffalo Springfield
One of the tracks in this 1967 album is one of her favorites, the hit ‘Rock and Roll Woman: “Hearing this for the first time was like seeing the future. [Sings] ‘And she’s coming, singing soft and low…’ When I heard the lyrics, I thought: that’s me! They probably wrote it about Janis Joplin or someone like that but I was convinced it was about me.”
Crosby, Stills & Nash – Crosby, Stills & Nash
The next one is indeed a classic album, Crosby, Stills & Nash’s self-titled 1969 album taught Nicks “how to sing harmony.” Which was a vital part of the Fleetwood Mac. She tells The Guardian, “I spent a whole summer singing along to this record. I loved the harmonies, and learned to sing all three of the parts. I knew that I wanted to be in a band with the same kind of harmonies.”
Court and Spark – Joni Mitchell
Court and Spark has a special in Nicks heart, she pick this one as a reminder when she was “down and out in Los Angeles,” an album that reflected the troubling time of her relationship with Lindsey: “Lindsey and I were coming to the end of our relationship, and I’d met someone else.”
It is also a reminder that she never achieved her dream to become a pop star. She shared Gareth Grundy: “It was the only time I ever felt music might not work out. I talked to my parents about going back to school, because I was tired of being a cleaning lady, a waitress and a rock’n’roll star at the same time. We were really poor.” But in the end, her success with Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist is something that anyone could ever dreamed of.
Battle Studies – John Mayer
John Mayer’s 2009 Battle Studies is the last album she picks and said that the album reminds her of her friends. As she explains, “So me and four of my friends went on holiday, drove over the mountains and listened to this record all the time. I don’t listen to other music when I’m actually writing as I don’t like to be influenced by other things. You don’t want to end up rewriting something that’s already been written.”