Classic Rumours
February 4, 2010
By cleanerlife
February 4th is the anniversary of the release of Rumours.
Not many bands can claim the kind of success Fleetwood Mac has known. The band began when guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, then members of John Mayall's famous Bluesbreakers, used some free recording time given to them by Mayall to record five songs together. Green named the fifth song, and instrumental, "Fleetwood Mac" after the rhythm section.
Like Eric Clapton, whose position he took over in the Bluesbreakers, Green decided to only stay with the band for one album. He convinced Fleetwood to join him on his new project, which he named Fleetwood Mac in hopes that McVie would also join them. He didn't, at first, but changed his mind just weeks after the band made it's debut in 1967 at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival.
Fleetwood Mac enjoyed quite a bit of success while Peter Green was the front man, but health and possibly drug related problems force him to leave the band in 1970. Shortly after that, Christine Perfect, now known as Christine McVie after marrying John, officially joined as a song writer and the group's keyboardist.
The band continued on, but it wasn't until Lindsey Buckingham of Buckingham Nicks joined with his then girlfriend and writing partner, Stevie Nicks (the other half of said group), that Fleetwood Mac would find their greatest success.
The new album, their second self-titled release, contained three hit singles ("Over My Head", "Rhiannon" and "Say You Love Me") and firmly placed them on the list as one of US radio's favorite Rock acts. It didn't do well in the UK, but charted at #1 in the US. The album also set them on track to record their best loved and best selling album ever, 1977's Rumours.
Rumours was born out of a lot of inner turmoil for the band as Christine and John divorced, Stevie and Lindsey were on the verge of a break up so they were often fighting and Mick's marriage fell apart when he learned that his wife had been having an affair with his best friend.
During the recording of the album, there were plenty of rumors and fake stories going around about the band, including one that said that previous members of the band would be rejoining them for the new album and Christine being in the hospital with a serious illness. In the end, John decided on the name Rumours because he felt that their songs were journals and diaries written about each other through music.
Whatever problems the band went through during the making of this album, it cannot be denied that it is one of the greatest Rock albums ever as it is currently the 14th best selling album in UK history and the 10th in US history.
Written by Stevie Nicks, "Dreams" became a #1 hit single in the US.
Written by Buckingham about Nicks, "Go Your Own way" became a top 10 hit in the US, is on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
Although "The Chain" was not a hit, it became their signature song, and is the only song to be credited to all five members of the band.
"Don't Stop" reached #3 in the US. In 1992, then Presidential candidate, Bill Clinton used the song as his theme. After winning the US Presidency he convinced the golden era (1975 - 1987) members of Fleetwood Mac to reunite and perform at the inaugural ball in '93:
The Rumours album closed out with Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman". It was released as the B-side of "You Make Loving Fun" and has been rerecorded by other artists including Waylon Jennings, Sister Hazel, Sheryl Crow and Hole (who's 1996 version became a hit in the US).
Sheryl Crow was going to join Fleetwood Mac in 2008 as a replacement for Christine McVie, who retired from touring in 1998. That plan fell through, but the four other members from from the Rumours days did complete a very successful world tour in December 2009.
A co-headlining tour with the Eagles has been announced for 2010, so the final verse of Fleetwood Mac has yet to be sung!
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