1989 Interviews

[michelej1]

Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), August 18, 1989

Section: WEEKENDER

HARSH ENCOUNTER WITH REALITY LEAVES STEVIE NICKS REFLECTIVE

Gary Graff Knight-Ridder News Service

Stevie Nicks has led a charmed life. Dual careers -- both successful -- with Fleetwood Mac and as a solo act. Tunes about mystical love affairs and Welsh witches. All-star duets and collaborations. Fame, fortune and that whole song.

But this summer, reality kicked her in the stomach.

In June, Nicks' mother had open-heart surgery, forcing the singer- songwriter to rush to her Phoenix, Ariz., home at a time when Fleetwood Mac was working on a new album and when she was preparing for a solo tour to promote her fourth album, The Other Side of the Mirror.

For an intense five weeks, Nicks faced "the most emotionally trying period of my life."

Fortunately, Nicks' mom was back to cooking dinner for the family a month after her surgery. But the experience gave the singer poignant pause.

"My mother would kill you if she knew I was telling you about it," Nicks, 40, said recently. "It was such a heavy experience for me. She almost didn't make it.

"It never occurred to me that anything could happen to my mother. It's one of those things that happens to other people, but not to you, and when it does, you're not prepared. I don't think you can ever be prepared.

"I'm sure I'll write about it someday."

Don't think of Nicks as opportunistic. Since she began recording with former boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham 16 years ago, she has crafted songs from the pages of her personal journal and from her experiences. Some are direct. ("Dreams," her 1977 hit for Fleetwood Mac, chronicles her breakup with Buckingham.) Others are couched in vague, impressionistic images, but she insists all of her music comes from true-life occurrences.

"I feel that all the experiences I've had, everyone else has had, too," said Nicks, who joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975 and released her first solo album, Bella Donna, in 1981.

"I also feel that I've survived them, so what I try to say in my songs -- especially the ones that aren't so very happy -- is that you will survive. Sometimes all of us think, 'I'm not going to make it,' so I'm saying, 'We will come through this, no matter how bad it gets.'

"That's what I'm trying to get across. I'm not a preacher, not a politician. What I am is a philosopher. I try to spread a little sparkle dust, I guess. . . . My mission has always been to go out and make people happy, about themselves, about their lives."

It seems she's accomplishing that. Sales are one indicator: Her three previous albums have been million sellers, while The Other Side of the Mirror, now on Billboard's Top 30, seems to be making its way there. But those who have worked with Nicks say the clearer evidence comes from watching the audience when she performs live.

"Her ability to reach that many people with those types of songs is extraordinary," said Little Feat keyboardist Bill Payne, who has toured with Nicks. Perhaps that's why Fleetwood Mac never has given her the boot, choosing to tolerate her erratic schedule to keep her in the band and her songs on Mac albums. "I'm one of those people who were born guilty," Nicks said, "so I've learned to be very good at juggling."

There's been turbulence between Nicks and the group before, particularly during the making of the last group album, 1987's Tango in the Night. Work on Tango coincided with Nicks' last solo tour, and she was out of the studio for long periods. That created delays and caused animosity between her and her band mates. "They're really my second family," she said. "When I feel they're angry at me, that breaks my heart."