Lori Nicks is one of Stevie’s longtime backup singers.
Stevie first met Lori in 1973 through her future husband Gordon Perry, who knew Buckingham Nicks producer Keith Olsen. “When I was living in Dallas, my (future) husband, Gordon Perry, was working with a producer in Los Angeles, Keith Olsen. Keith was producing a new act he had found called Buckingham Nicks. During the making of their first record, I met Stevie, briefly, in the studio. Over the years, we kept in touch with Stevie, after she joined Fleetwood Mac, when we went to LA, or when the band came to Dallas on tour. One night, after a show in Dallas, Stevie came to Gordon’s studio, Goodnight Dallas, to record some demos. She recorded two songs: ‘Sara’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast.’
“Stevie found out that I sang, and suggested I try to put some background parts on the songs. I was so flattered, but a bit reticent to do so…. I really didn’t feel that I had the talent to sing on a Stevie Nicks song. Finally, after much urging by Gordon, and the promise that my best friend, Carolyn Brooks, would sing with me, we went into the studio and added background vocals and had a musician put keyboards on the demo ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ When Stevie heard the demo, she called me and told me right then that when she started her solo record, she wanted me to be one of her back-up singers, along with Sharon Celani.”
Lori toured consisently with Stevie’s solo band from 1981 to 1989 until she married Stevie’s brother Christopher. Together, they had one child, Jessica “Jessi” James, born on September 27, 1991. Lori took a hiatus from touring to focus on her family, which continues to this day. But Lori makes occasional appearances at Stevie’s performances and benefit shows.
Reference
Nicks, L. (2010, Nov-27) [Archive.org capture date]. Ask Lori a question. The Nicks Fix.
