Chart Article

[dougl]

Ranking the 9 Fleetwood Mac Songs that Were Billboard Hits
Fleetwood Mac toiled for a decade before they achieved massive success by adding Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham to the lineup. The duo provided the spark that helped the band explode in popularity. Twenty-five Fleetwood Mac songs landed on the Billboard singles chart, including nine in the top 10. Continuing without Christine McVie seems unlikely, according to Mick Fleetwood, so those nine tunes, including Fleetwood Mac’s only No. 1 hit, could be their only top-10 songs. Let’s look at how they stack up.

Note: We ranked Fleetwood Mac’s nine top-10 songs based on weeks atop the Billboard singles chart and total weeks on the chart.

9. ‘Go Your Own Way’

Lindsey Buckingham said The Rolling Stones’ song “Street Fighting Man” inspired the drum beat for this song. The lyrics about Buckingham and Nicks’ relationship were so savage that Nicks asked Buckingham to remove the line about “shacking up.” He refused.

“Go Your Own Way” became Rumours’ lead single. It debuted in the chart in early 1977 and peaked at No. 10 in mid-March. The song spent 15 weeks on the Billboard hot 100.

8. ‘You Make Loving Fun’

Like Buckingham and Nicks, McVie’s marriage to Mac bassist John McVie was in a bad spot when Fleetwood Mac worked on Rumours. Christine McVie wrote the exuberant “You Make Loving Fun” about her affair with the band’s lighting director.

McVie’s tune peaked at No. 9 during its 14 weeks on the chart to be one of the most successful Fleetwood Mac songs on the Billboard singles chart.

7. ‘Tusk’

Tusk followed Rumours in 1979. The album itself, which Buckingham considered more of a solo album, was a top-10 hit itself, and the namesake single lasted 15 weeks on Billboard’s singles chart, peaking at #8.

‘Sara’
Nicks fought a legal battle over “Sara,” which was one of her most personal songs. Whether it was about her friend’s relationship with Mick Fleetwood or an ode to a daughter she never had isn’t quite clear.

What’s indisputable is that “Sara” was one of the highest-charting Fleetwood Mac songs from the band’s peak era. The Tusk tune reached No. 7 in February 1980 and spent 14 weeks on the chart.



5. ‘Big Love’

If Buckingham believed Tusk was more like his first solo record, then Tango in the Night might have been the second. He produced the album at his house. Drugs were as rampant as ever among the other Fleetwood Mac members. Nicks barely contributed to the album, and Buckingham called out her singing on the album.

The troubled recording process didn’t impact the album’s success. Two of the highest-charting Fleetwood Mac songs came from Tango in the Night. “Big Love” reached No. 5 on Billboard’s singles chart.



4. ‘Hold Me’

Another of Christine McVie’s successful songs (co-written by Robbie Patton), “Hold Me” found itself buried on Side 2 of Mirage, but that didn’t impact its success as a single. Like the next song on our list, it reached No. 4 and spent 17 weeks on the charts.



3. ‘Little Lies’



Christine McVie strikes again. Her collaboration with Eddy Quintela, who became her second husband, is a jaunty, synth-driven tune that shines a spotlight on McVie’s strong vocal talents.

Its No. 4 peak chart position ranks it third among Fleetwood Mac’s hit songs, but the 21 weeks it spent on the chart are second among the band’s singles.



2. ‘Don’t Stop’

Rumours provided the top two Fleetwood Mac songs on our list. It’s another McVie song. It dealt with her feelings about the end of her marriage to John McVie. A complicated subject, to be sure, but she wrapped it up in saccharine melody and somehow put a positive spin on it with lyrics like, “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow” and “It’ll be better than before.”

Fleetwood Mac’s producer didn’t like the song, but the band’s fans loved it. They kept it on the charts for 18 weeks and it peaked at No. 3 in September 1977.

1. ‘Dreams’



The only Fleetwood Mac song to reach No. 1 spent 23 weeks on the Billboard hot 100 in 1977. More than 40 years later, it found new life because of a viral TikTok video that used the song as the soundtrack.

“Dreams” isn’t a complicated tune. Its backbone consists of two chords with some additional guitar flourishes from Buckingham. Perhaps it’s too simple. Christine McVie thought the song was boring, but the song that Nicks wrote in just a few minutes became Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hit.

Four Fleetwood Mac albums found the No. 1 spot

Before we look at Fleetwood Mac’s hit songs, it’s worth noting that they saw four albums reach the top spot on Billboard’s album charts.

Their 1975 self-titled record, their first after adding Nicks and Buckingham, hit No. 1 in September 1976 and spent 168 weeks on the charts. The Dance debuted at No. 1 in 1997 and held the top spot for a week.

Mirage held No. 1 for five weeks in 1982, but none of those Fleetwood Mac albums stack up to the smash hit Rumours. The band’s defining album sold millions of copies, but its performance on the Billboard album chart adds to its impressive legacy. Only six other albums ever spent more consecutive weeks at No. 1, per Billboard, and the album spawned four of Fleetwood Mac’s most successful songs.

[aleuzzi]

And Christine wrote/sang four of these nine songs. God, I miss our hook queen.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

And Christine wrote/sang four of these nine songs. God, I miss our hook queen.

She had 4 hits after Rumors.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

She had 4 hits after Rumors.

Yes—this list is only the ten tunes for Mac.

SYLM, OVM, TAB, LIS, Everywhere, ALASYF were all top 20 or 25 hits.

[aleuzzi]

And then think of the songs that DESERVED to be hits—Love Shines, for one. Temporary One another. And Save Me and Friend deserved much better.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

And then think of the songs that DESERVED to be hits—Love Shines, for one. Temporary One another. And Save Me and Friend deserved much better.

Just Crazy Love would have been a great hit.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by dougl

5. ‘Big Love’

If Buckingham believed Tusk was more like his first solo record, then Tango in the Night might have been the second. He produced the album at his house. Drugs were as rampant as ever among the other Fleetwood Mac members. .

I don't think drugs were rampant as ever among them during Tango. Ok Stevie was on klonopin and probably Mick was still addict to coke (though in his book he implied that he wasn't anymore). But John and Chris? I don't think so. Probably John still had a drinking problem, but that doesn't mean drugs were there as in Rumours days.
Tango took 18 months, working under completely different conditions from what they were used to, working regular hours, far more organised, etc.. or so I read.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

Just Crazy Love would have been a great hit.

It was about seven years ahead of its time. The arrangement on MYSTERY sounds like early-80s pop, like Rick Springfield’s Jessie’ Girl.

She knew what she was doing. And Weston’s guitar is on point.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by Villavic

I don't think drugs were rampant as ever among them during Tango. Ok Stevie was on klonopin and probably Mick was still addict to coke (though in his book he implied that he wasn't anymore). But John and Chris? I don't think so. Probably John still had a drinking problem, but that doesn't mean drugs were there as in Rumours days.
Tango took 18 months, working under completely different conditions from what they were used to, working regular hours, far more organised, etc.. or so I read.

I’m often baffled when Lindsey complains about the other band members being in bad shape during those sessions. He never—I mean NEVER—acknowledges that Christine was in very fine form as a writer/singer/player at that time. It’s so obnoxious: he’d rather paint himself as the primary (if not sole) engineer behind the album’s success then admit that Christine was his big collaborator on that project. What they achieved together was substantial, but he never recognizes her—even when the results are readily obvious to everyone else.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

I’m often baffled when Lindsey complains about the other band members being in bad shape during those sessions. He never—I mean NEVER—acknowledges that Christine was in very fine form as a writer/singer/player at that time. It’s so obnoxious: he’d rather paint himself as the primary (if not sole) engineer behind the album’s success then admit that Christine was his big collaborator on that project. What they achieved together was substantial, but he never recognizes her—even when the results are readily obvious to everyone else.

He's always been about himself. I'm sure that Christine was his favorite person in FM, but a zebra can't change it's stripes.

[vermicious knid]

Little Lies should have been the second number one song for them. The fact that it and Dreams were the only two songs to spend 20+ weeks on the chart just reinforces the idea. I think it might have happened if it had been the first single.

It's worth mentioning that Rhiannon was also a top ten hit based on the Cashbox (#9) and Record World (#10) rankings. And Don't Stop was number one for a single week like Dreams per Cashbox. It seems like Billboard has become the ultimate authority on rankings simply because it stills exists unlike the other two publications.

[Penguin Emeritus]

Originally Posted by Villavic

I don't think drugs were rampant as ever among them during Tango. Ok Stevie was on klonopin and probably Mick was still addict to coke (though in his book he implied that he wasn't anymore). But John and Chris? I don't think so. Probably John still had a drinking problem, but that doesn't mean drugs were there as in Rumours days.
Tango took 18 months, working under completely different conditions from what they were used to, working regular hours, far more organised, etc.. or so I read.

Yes John's drinking was pretty awful during Tango. I've also heard Chris drank far more in those days than what's been reported lol. Have heard cocaine was still present during Tango but not as much as in earlier years. So I believe Lindsey was the straightest one of the 5 at that time. He just loved his weed !

--Lis

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

I’m often baffled when Lindsey complains about the other band members being in bad shape during those sessions. He never—I mean NEVER—acknowledges that Christine was in very fine form as a writer/singer/player at that time. It’s so obnoxious: he’d rather paint himself as the primary (if not sole) engineer behind the album’s success then admit that Christine was his big collaborator on that project. What they achieved together was substantial, but he never recognizes her—even when the results are readily obvious to everyone else.

And the comments about him having to always serve their songs. Um, you're the producer, that's your job. All those collaborations with BuckVie on Tango were because they both had stuff laying around. They put them together to make great tunes. She rarely needed the credit, and quite often didn't get it from the others.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Penguin Emeritus

Yes John's drinking was pretty awful during Tango. I've also heard Chris drank far more in those days than what's been reported lol. Have heard cocaine was still present during Tango but not as much as in earlier years. So I believe Lindsey was the straightest one of the 5 at that time. He just loved his weed !

--Lis

They also all acted like they didn't party during THE DANCE. Boy, that was a big lie.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by vermicious knid

Little Lies should have been the second number one song for them. The fact that it and Dreams were the only two songs to spend 20+ weeks on the chart just reinforces the idea. I think it might have happened if it had been the first single.

It's worth mentioning that Rhiannon was also a top ten hit based on the Cashbox (#9) and Record World (#10) rankings. And Don't Stop was number one for a single week like Dreams per Cashbox. It seems like Billboard has become the ultimate authority on rankings simply because it stills exists unlike the other two publications.

I agree with you that Little Lies would have been a #1 song if it was the lead single off Tango. Driving home from the mall listening to the newly released Tango, it screamed BIG HIT. It also featured all 3 singers. It also was placed first song side 2 which back in those days was reserved for the lead single on albums. I debate this with Steve all the time on this board. Seven Wonders killed the Tango momentum but Little Lies brought some of it back.
I think Hold Me would have or should have been their second #1. Something very odd and very unique happened to all the Mirage singles. They all got stuck on the charts and stayed at their peak position for weeks. Hold Me got stranded at #4 for 7 weeks. Gypsy got stuck at #12 for 3 weeks. Love In Store got stuck at #22 for 3 weeks. Hold Me was in the top 10 for 10 weeks. No other Mac single stayed in the top 10 that long. Dreams sped up to #1 and then fell like a rock. I think the next week at #1 it fell to #7 and was only in the top 10 for a few weeks.
Hold Me also finished the year (1982) as a bigger hit than Dreams did in 1977. Just think how long 10 weeks is. Olivia Newton John had the biggest hit of the 1980s where Physical stayed #1 for 9 weeks. Hold Me was in the top 10 for that long spending 7 of those weeks at #4.
Tusk is the oddest album where Chris always had the catchy pop tunes and the most conventional song off Tusk could not break above #20. Yet odd songs like Tusk and Sara made the top 10. What IF Think About Me was the lead single off Tusk? I think it would have been a smash.