5th Single from Rumours
 

I believe it was Ken Caillat who said that the goal was to make every song on Rumours a potential single. For the most part, they accomplished that. Four US top ten singles emerged from the album, and several other received substantial airplay. Back in 1977, only songs that were released as singles were eligible for the Hot 100, although this has since changed. With the current chart rules, any song is capable of reaching the Hot 100, and we've seen instances where every song from an album has charted. If these current rules were applied back in 1977, it's very possible that we could have seen nearly every song on ''Rumours'' hit the Billboard Hot 100, but alas, that was not the case.

The album's fourth single, "You Make Loving Fun", reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, so it was within the realm of possibility for another song to reach the top 40, if not higher. As such, I am asking you to play the role of record executive and select the fifth single from Rumours.

I’m torn- for me, I can’t decide between Second Hand News, the Chain, and I Don’t Want to Know. SHN is insanely catchy, and a nice bookend to Go Your Own Way, the first single. The Chain is practically the unofficial 5th single anyway, it seems like. Also, John and Mick would have gotten more money, as it’s the only song all 5 are credited on. I have a personal reason for considering I Don’t Want to Know as a 5th single- if it had been released as a single, then maybe it would have been performed live by the band on occasion. Every other song on Rumours was performed live.

Since I can’t narrow it down to one song, I have to abstain from voting. Maybe after some more thought, I’ll make a decision. I’m curious to see what other folks vote for.

I would say Second Hand News or I Dont Want To Know. The other songs are good rock staples but not as radio friendly as these two. I dont want to know is easy to sing along with like Dont Stop. So I voted for I Dont Want To Know.
I suppose the band wanted off the charts while they were working on the follow up and not milk it to death. It would have been weird for Rumours to blend into Tusk. I admire that. Gold Dust Woman and The Chain were and are still rock station regulars still today.

Yes, they’d started work on what would be Tusk, but at the same time they were still touring Rumours for long after YMLF was released. I mean, if you release an additional single, what are you losing??

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for IDWK. It's the very first guitar solo I ever learned.

IDWTK is the song that got me hooked to this group but The Chain is a hit and the best song on that album.

I looked on Spotify and "The Chain" is Fleetwood Mac's second most played song with over 930 million plays as of September 3, 2023. The other Rumours songs are ranked at follows in terms of plays: "Dreams" (#1), "Go Your Own Way" (#3), "Don't Stop" (#8), and "Never Going Back Again (#10), "You Make Loving Fun" (#11), "Gold Dust Woman" (#13), "Songbird" (#14), "Second Hand News" (#15), "I Don't Want to Know" (#20), and "Oh Daddy" (#27). "Silver Springs" wasn't included on the original album, but it ranks at #18, placing it ahead of two songs, which happen to be the only tracks that were not included on The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac.

While this information is useful in determining which songs would be suitable singles now, it's important to note that songs like "The Chain" have only gained in popularity in relatively recent years. A live version of "The Chain" peaked at #30 on the Mainstream Rock charts in 1997, and the studio version has performed well on various US and UK charts from 2009 onward.

Despite all of this, I ultimately went with "Second Hand News". From the Fleetwood Mac and Rumours album, seven singles were released in the US. Four were from McVie ("Over My Head", "Say You Love Me", "Don't Stop", and "You Make Loving Fun", two were from Nicks ("Rhiannon and "Dreams", and one was from Buckingham ("Go Your Own Way". Having another upbeat single from Buckingham would sightly balance that uneven distribution. "The Chain" was my second choice and "I Don't Want to Know" was my third choice.

Another good question would be why a 4th single was not released from the White Album.
Warm Ways released in the UK did not chart
Over My Head hit #20
Rhiannon #11
Say You Love Me #11

The album hit #1 and was ripe for another single. The album was on a roll. I would have released Landslide or Monday Morning

"Warm Ways" was an unusual choice for a single. "Say You Love Me" is what I would have selected as the first single, but this sequence clearly worked out for them. A single remix for "Blue Letter" was created, but it was used as the B-side for "Warm Ways", which strangely did not receive a single remix of its own.

Similar to you, I would have also selected "Landslide" or "Monday Morning" as the fourth US single, although it should be mentioned that "Monday Morning" was already used as the B-side for "Say You Love Me".

The clear choice for an imagined 5th single from "Rumours" is Second Hand News. Of the songs left, it is the most radio friendly.

In 1977, it was rare for one album to have four singles released to radio. Albums with 5 singles were almost nonexistent.

Had it been released to radio, I think Second Hand News would have undoubtedly charted in the Billboard Top 10.

I agree. Unlike the Rumours album, which exploded upon its release, The White Album built momentum slowly over a year. By the time Say You Love Me was released, the album was on fire. Releasing Monday Morning as a 4th single would have guaranteed a Top 10 hit.

I can only imagine that Warners had already focused its sights on Rumours.

"Say You Love Me" was still on the charts during the first week of November 1976, although just barely. "Go Your Own Way" was released in December 1976 and entered the charts on January 8, 1977. The band couldn't really fit another single within that timeframe unless they wanted two of their songs competing against one another, which could have oversaturated the radio with even more Fleetwood Mac songs. While people on The Ledge would view this as a wonderful development, it's entirely possible that the general public would experience Fleetwood Mac fatigue and grow to resent their overexposure.

“Second Hand News” is an obvious choice. It’s just as good as the four singles. But at the time, a fifth single might have seemed like overkill. As it was, all of the non-singles from the album were already getting a lot of airplay on FM rock radio stations. I remember hearing every one of them (maybe with the possible exception was “Songbird”) at various times in the years following the album’s release. That was not the case for most of Tusk or Mirage or Tango.

As much as it underwhelms me, “Monday Morning” would have made a fine fifth single from the white album.

I'm having a blond moment... what was the 4th single from White(hopefully not counting Warm Ways from England)?
Rhiannon
SYLM
Over My Head
?

Now this makes the poll a hard one. As a fan I would choose NGBA or The Chain, but as a record executive, looking for a radio friendly, or most of all, a sales hit, a top ten, probably I'd choose Second Hand News or I don't wanna know.

I chose IDWK.