I was a teenager and an avid music consumer when Fleetwood Mac soared to the top of the charts with Rumours and the songs “Dreams,” “Go Your Own Way,” “Don’t Stop” etc. I was just beginning my career in radio when Stevie Nicks was singing background vocals for Kenny Loggins and Walter Egan on top hits I was playing at the radio station. We had – well, the guys at the station had – a huge poster of beautiful Stevie Nicks on the wall. Despite Stevie Nicks being a huge part of my listening and the era, I wasn’t a fan. I didn’t dislike her, I just didn’t put her on the pedestal that Linda Ronstadt peered down from.
Stevie Nicks is currently on a solo tour around the country and I was lucky enough to be invited to the Dallas show at the American Airlines Center. Since I knew only the Stevie Nicks hits (“Stand Back,” “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” and “Leather and Lace”) along with the Fleetwood Mac songs she was featured on, I wondered if I would appreciate the show like a true fan.
I may have gone into the arena a skeptic, but I came out a convert. She sang the hits I knew and many songs I didn’t. And they were wonderful…compelling and interesting. I had never realized how her talents were not only her unique voice and beauty (and she’s still a knockout at 68), but as a songwriter too. She wrote the song “Dreams,” the ONLY #1 song Fleetwood Mac ever had. Beyond the songs and her outstanding band (led by the legendary guitarist and producer Waddy Wachtel), her stories and explanations of her song lyrics and how a song came to be made the whole event feel like I was in Stevie’s living room while she told me about her life. Forget those other 18,000 people, Stevie was talking to me.
I came home to listen to 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault, her 2014 album of new recordings of old songs and appreciate the talent I’ve missed out on for 40 years.
– Submitted by Janice Williams, Music Design