Billy Burnette Playing With Mick Fleetwood's Zoo (June 1987)

[WalkAThinLine.]

A performance from June 1987 with Mick Fleetwood's Zoo. Just a few months later, Burnette became a member of Fleetwood Mac. The song in question is "Guitar Bug", a song written by Burnette that was also played on Christine McVie's 1984 tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTkHMez9N10

[SteveMacD]

A performance from June 1987 with Mick Fleetwood's Zoo. Just a few months later, Burnette became a member of Fleetwood Mac. The song in question is "Guitar Bug", a song written by Burnette that was also played on Christine McVie's 1984 tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTkHMez9N10

Also from that set is “Get An Education” from the movie Summer School: https://youtu.be/SNbonv_b4VY

Incidentally, “Guitar Bug” was on Billy’s 1985 album Try Me, which features Mick and Christine and has the incredible Billy-Christine duet “It Ain’t Over”. https://youtu.be/Pgw1sAgYirw

[Street_Dreamer]

I wonder why George Hawkins was absent from this... anyone know who the bassist and sax guy were?

[SteveMacD]

I wonder why George Hawkins was absent from this... anyone know who the bassist and sax guy were?

IIRC, George got a gig with Michael McDonald.

The other bassist is Kenny Gradney, from Little Feat.

[Macfan4life]

Also from that set is “Get An Education” from the movie Summer School: https://youtu.be/SNbonv_b4VY

Incidentally, “Guitar Bug” was on Billy’s 1985 album Try Me, which features Mick and Christine and has the incredible Billy-Christine duet “It Ain’t Over”. https://youtu.be/Pgw1sAgYirw
Yes. Todd Sharpe performed Guitar Bug on Chris's solo tour.


It's June 1987 and Seven Wonders was just released as a single to Big Love. Billy had no idea the phone call he's about to get in a few months.

[SteveMacD]

It's June 1987 and Seven Wonders was just released as a single to Big Love. Billy had no idea the phone call he's about to get in a few months.

I seriously doubt he was all that shocked or surprised. He was thoroughly in their inner circle by that point and had to have been abreast of Lindsey being noncommittal to doing a tour as well as cognizant of the fact he was the band’s closest friend at that point.

Beyond his work with Mick and Christine (and Stevie, although that was unreleased), Billy had already recorded with Fleetwood Mac minus Stevie on “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and unofficially filled in for Lindsey (with Bonnie Raitt) with the rest of Fleetwood Mac at some type of benefit show that Stevie hosted. (David O was there and there are pictures from the show floating out there.)

So, I’m sure he had some type of inkling in June, 1987, that if Lindsey quit, he’d at least be on the short list to replace him.

ETA: Here’s a photo. It looks like it’s from 1983 or so. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8a/21/78/8a2178e911e5a36c8dedcbb52b463192--buckingham-nicks-fleetwood-mac.jpg

ETA 2: Another photo. https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-42nUuuq3SG0/UpEjj74ghZI/AAAAAAAAlK4/A3xds-gffA8/s1600/Stevie+Nicks+and+Friends+USLA+1983.JPG

[Macfan4life]

I seriously doubt he was all that shocked or surprised. He was thoroughly in their inner circle by that point and had to have been abreast of Lindsey being noncommittal to doing a tour as well as cognizant of the fact he was the band’s closest friend at that point.

Beyond his work with Mick and Christine (and Stevie, although that was unreleased), Billy had already recorded with Fleetwood Mac minus Stevie on “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and unofficially filled in for Lindsey (with Bonnie Raitt) with the rest of Fleetwood Mac at some type of benefit show that Stevie hosted. (David O was there and there are pictures from the show floating out there.)

So, I’m sure he had some type of inkling in June, 1987, that if Lindsey quit, he’d at least be on the short list to replace him.

ETA: Here’s a photo. It looks like it’s from 1983 or so. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8a/21/78/8a2178e911e5a36c8dedcbb52b463192--buckingham-nicks-fleetwood-mac.jpg

ETA 2: Another photo. https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-42nUuuq3SG0/UpEjj74ghZI/AAAAAAAAlK4/A3xds-gffA8/s1600/Stevie+Nicks+and+Friends+USLA+1983.JPG
Thanks for sharing the photos Steve but they only raddled my brain what concert they are from. Its definitely an early 80s Stevie. But she never participated in anything Fleetwood Mac in 1983. She got married to Kim in January, finished Wild Heart and was on the road by May and finished her solo tour in October. Chris once said once the Mirage tour ended they never saw each other for years.
The photos of Stevie with the tambourine are famous. I always assumed they were from the US Festival. But the Mac closed the show and it was dark. Did Billy come out for a sound check with the band? Chris's hair looks very 1980 and not 1982.
What outdoor concert could this have been anywhere from 1980 to 1982? I googled and did not find that Billy was at the US Festival in 1982.
Perhaps David or someone else would know what show this was. Did they play a benefit show in 1981? Chris and Stevie look like they did from the Bob Welch and Friends show in 1981.

[SteveMacD]

Thanks for sharing the photos Steve but they only raddled my brain what concert they are from. Its definitely an early 80s Stevie. But she never participated in anything Fleetwood Mac in 1983. She got married to Kim in January, finished Wild Heart and was on the road by May and finished her solo tour in October. Chris once said once the Mirage tour ended they never saw each other for years.
The photos of Stevie with the tambourine are famous. I always assumed they were from the US Festival. But the Mac closed the show and it was dark. Did Billy come out for a sound check with the band? Chris's hair looks very 1980 and not 1982.
What outdoor concert could this have been anywhere from 1980 to 1982? I googled and did not find that Billy was at the US Festival in 1982.
Perhaps David or someone else would know what show this was. Did they play a benefit show in 1981? Chris and Stevie look like they did from the Bob Welch and Friends show in 1981.

Did some digging and found this: https://www.fleetwoodmacnews.com/2013/11/stevie-nicks-friends-ucla-may-8-1983.html

[Villavic]

Did some digging and found this: https://www.fleetwoodmacnews.com/2013/11/stevie-nicks-friends-ucla-may-8-1983.html

Thanks for sharing, I don't remember those pics.

The funny thing was that it's been a long time since I read the name Toni Basil.

[Macfan4life]

Did some digging and found this: https://www.fleetwoodmacnews.com/2013/11/stevie-nicks-friends-ucla-may-8-1983.html
Good digging. I actually remember a brief write up in Hit Parade that Stevie and Toni Basil did a concert together for charity. But I never imagined and the article never mentioned Fleetwood Mac performed too.
Anyone attend this? The microphones were definitely more modern than 1980 and 1981 so its a hard picture to guess the year.
Lindsey did not perform. OMG Billy substituted for Lindsey in 1983. I never knew this.

This is the photo I remember in Hit Parade magazine in 1983. Its on Toni's Facebook page. I would love to hear audio but I assume its lost forever. To think it was a premonition of things to come.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1286559678109850&id=166555330110296&set=a.187061584726337&locale=ja_JP

[David]

A performance from June 1987 with Mick Fleetwood's Zoo.

I assume that’s Steve Ross on lead guitar, but who’s the cat playing bass? The saxophonist? The ladies on backup vocals?

The Zoo showed up at clubs a lot in L.A. in 1985 and 1986 — the ads ran constantly in the Times. I didn’t get much of a chance to see their club shows in those years, so I never knew who all was participating. In those days, I would have beaten down the front door if Dwight Yoakam had joined them.

We could use a rock family tree for the Zoo from its inception to Mick’s Blues Band (really just another step in the evolution of the Zoo).

Watch the credits roll after “Get an Education.” Steve Thoma wrote the theme music for the show!

Band photo here with Stevie.

https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/410ec14e29de485325ba61a9d9ae957d

[SteveMacD]

but who’s the cat playing bass?

Kenny Gradney from Little Feat.

[Macfan4life]

I assume that’s Steve Ross on lead guitar, but who’s the cat playing bass? The saxophonist? The ladies on backup vocals?

The Zoo showed up at clubs a lot in L.A. in 1985 and 1986 — the ads ran constantly in the Times. I didn’t get much of a chance to see their club shows in those years, so I never knew who all was participating. In those days, I would have beaten down the front door if Dwight Yoakam had joined them.

We could use a rock family tree for the Zoo from its inception to Mick’s Blues Band (really just another step in the evolution of the Zoo).

Watch the credits roll after “Get an Education.” Steve Thoma wrote the theme music for the show!

Band photo here with Stevie.

https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/410ec14e29de485325ba61a9d9ae957d
By the look of Stevie would you say this photo is from 1985? That looks like Rick Vito on the left but I know its not him.

[Street_Dreamer]

By the look of Stevie would you say this photo is from 1985? That looks like Rick Vito on the left but I know its not him.

It's Steve Ross.