Overview
What makes Stevie Nicks “The Queen of Rock and Roll”? For more than four decades, singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks has captivated audiences around the world with her unforgettable music — bewitching classics like “Landslide,” “Rhiannon,” and “Edge of Seventeen.” One of the most prolific songwriters of her generation, Stevie has the distinction of having enormous commercial and critical success with both the legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac and her solo career, collectively selling more than 150 million albums worldwide. She has earned multiple Grammy Award nominations and received the Best Album award for Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (1977). In 1998, Stevie was inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Fleetwood Mac, and for a second time in 2019 for her solo work — presently, the only woman to be inducted twice.
Stevie continues to attract new audiences by touring and releasing new music. She has collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, such as Miley Cyrus, Maroon 5, and Lana Del Rey, among many others. She has been an inspiration for countless musicians and singer-songwriters — such as Adele, Tori Amos, Vanessa Carlton, Sheryl Crow, Dixie Chicks, Lady A, Lorde, Courtney Love, Maroon 5, Sarah McLachlan, Smashing Pumpkins, Harry Styles, and others.
Her groundbreaking accomplishments have helped to pave the way for other female singer-songwriters to thrive in the music industry.
Early years
Stephanie Lynn Nicks was born to Jess and Barbara Nicks in Phoenix, Arizona on May 26, 1948. Stephanie’s nickname became “Stevie” after she had trouble pronouncing Stephanie as a young child. From an early age, Stevie recognized that she wanted to be a performer.
“I danced around like Isadora Duncan at four years old, and my parents said, ‘What are we gonna do?” I’d pay my brother 50 cents a week just to dance with me just because I loved to dance so much. But, see, I didn’t want to go to ballet school every day and study and kill myself either because I knew I couldn’t bluff my way through, say Russian ballet, so I had to figure out another way to do something wonderful without working at it. So as a real little girl, I started singing along with the Beach Boys, learning all the words, working out my routine, sort of. And that’s not easy to do when the mirror starts at right where your chest starts, and you’re trying to work out the whole stage show. But that’s what I did.”
Poet… Priest of Nothing… Legend…
Because of her father’s frequent job promotions, the family often relocated to different cities. Stevie spent her early years in Phoenix, Arizona; a year in Albuquerque, New Mexico; five years in El Paso, Texas; and two years in Salt Lake City, Utah (where she attended junior high school in the Wasatch school district).
On Stevie’s 16th birthday, Jess and Barbara Nicks presented their daughter with a Goya guitar, with which Stevie wrote her first song “I’ve Loved and I’ve Lost.” Stevie took guitar lessons for about a month. When Stevie was a teenager, the family moved west to the California suburbs; first in Arcadia, where she attended Arcadia High School and become active in a singing group called The Changing Times, a four-member folk rock group fashioned after The Mama & The Papas.
In 1966, The Nicks’ relocated to Palo Alto, where Stevie attended Menlo-Atherton High School. It was at a church social that she met guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.
“I went to a kind of church meeting that nobody really went to for church. Everybody went to get out of the house on Wednesday night, and it was fun. Even I went, and I didn’t go anywhere. Lindsey walked into the room and sat down and started playing a song that I just happened to know every word and harmony perfect, ‘California Dreaming.’ And I thought he was absolutely stunning, so I kind of casually maneuvered my way over. He was somewhat, I guess, ever-so-slightly impressed, not to let me know it. But he did sing another song with me, which made me know he did like it.”
After graduating from Menlo-Atherton High School, the Nicks family relocated again, this time to Chicago. But Stevie decided to stay in the Bay Area, where a vibrant music scene had emerged. Stevie attended San Jose State College (University) during this time.
Fritz Rabyne Memorial Band (1966-1970)
At the age of 18, Stevie signed a five-year recording deal with 20th Century Fox to record a country album, a contract which her father Jess had helped to secure. But Lindsey persuaded Stevie to join the psychedelic rock band Fritz (Fritz Rabyne Memorial Band) instead. Stevie agreed and had Jess work with 20th Century Fox to release her from the contract.
With Stevie and Lindsey on board, Fritz hit the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area music scene, performing at local fairs, high schools, and other small venues. Their most notable appearances included opening for the headlining acts Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Santana, among others, who had all passed through the Bay Area during this time. But ultimately, creative differences led the group to break up.
Buckingham Nicks (1971-1974)
In 1971, Stevie and Lindsey, now a couple, relocated to Los Angeles to began their professional musical career as the duo Buckingham Nicks. But financial setbacks often led them to travel back and forth between their new life in Los Angeles and family in the San Francisco Bay Area, who still provided financial support for the fledgling duo. In 1972, the duo recorded demos for its first album with inheritance money that Buckingham had received.
“It was a goodly amount of money, especially then, and especially for two people who had no money. Lindsey bought an Ampex 4-track with it. He is very brilliant, and I can’t even plug in the stereo. His dad let us have this tiny little room in his coffee plant. All the workers would leave around 7:00, and we’d get there at 7:30 and leave at 6:00 in the morning just before they’d come in. It was this big, huge building. It was scary, and we’d lock ourselves in, just me and Lindsey and the Ampex, everything we owned on the floor in this tiny room, and just sing and play and record. We did seven songs, and it took us a year. They were really good, and when they were finished, we got in Lindsey’s car and drove to L.A., where every record company in the world passed on us. We were devastated, but we still knew we were good.”
During this time, Stevie and Lindsey befriended producer Keith Olsen, who famously employed Stevie as a “cleaning lady.” Stevie also worked as a restaurant hostess to support herself and Lindsey while living in Los Angeles. The duo also met guitarist Waddy Wachtel in these transitional years.
Stevie and Lindsey’s’ fortunes changed when Polydor Records agreed to sign the duo. In 1973, Stevie and Lindsey released a self-titled debut album and toured the country to promote it. Although the album was a commercial failure, their music reached the ear of Mick Fleetwood, who had been visiting Buckingham Nicks producer Keith Olsen at Sound City Studios, where the duo had recorded the album. Providing a sample of the studio’s capabilities, Olsen played the song “Frozen Love” from Buckingham Nicks. Impressed with Buckingham’s fine guitar work, Mick expressed interest in him joining the band. Ironically, Lindsey was initially ambivalent about Fleetwood’s offer. By 1974, he and Stevie had already begun work on their second solo album, recording tracks again at Sound City Studios. After listening to all of Fleetwood Mac’s previous albums, Stevie convinced Lindsey that the two could add something to the band’s existing sound.
Though Mick was only interested in a guitarist at the time, Lindsey agreed to join the band only if Stevie joined, as well.
Fleetwood Mac (1975-1980)
On New Year’s Eve 1974, Stevie and Lindsey joined Fleetwood Mac and helped propel the band to super stardom with the commercial success of albums Fleetwood Mac (1975), Rumours (1977), and Tusk (1979). Stevie’s songs “Rhiannon,” “Dreams,” and “Sara” became radio staples. The band’s crowning achievement Rumours earned a Grammy Award for Best Album in 1978. The band released highlights of their riveting concert performances in Fleetwood Mac Live (1980).
Launching, building solo career (1981-1986)
In 1981, Stevie launched an ambitious solo career, which produced a string of platinum albums, including Bella Donna (1981), The Wild Heart (1983), and Rock a Little (1985). Each album produced hit singles, such as “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers), “Leather and Lace” (with Don Henley), “Stand Back,” and “Talk to Me.” She also contributed several unused studio tracks to movie soundtrack and other artists’ projects during this period. These included “Blue Lamp” (Heavy Metal, 1981); “If You Ever Did Believe,” covered by Louise Goffin (Louise Goffin, 1981); “Sleeping Angel” (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, 1982); “Violet and Blue” (Against All Odds, 1984); “Sorcerer,” covered by Marilyn Martin (Streets of Fire, 1984); and “Battle of the Dragon” (American Anthem, 1986).
Working through personal struggles, more solo work, retrospectives (1987-1996)
Stevie’s burgeoning solo career caused tension within the band, but she remained loyal to Fleetwood Mac, writing new songs and touring for Mirage (1982). The majestic “Gypsy” and the Buckingham Nicks-era “That’s Alright” were highlights from these sessions. But the strain of maintaining both projects took a toll on Stevie, which escalated her drug use. By 1986, Stevie checked into the Betty Ford Center to treat an addiction to cocaine. Following treatment, she returned to Fleetwood Mac, recording new songs “Seven Wonders,” “Welcome to the Room…Sara,” and “When I See You Again” for Tango in the Night (1987). Troubled by his strained relationship with Stevie, Buckingham left the band after the release of Tango in the Night to focus on his solo career. Warner Bros. marked the transition with the release of Greatest Hits (1988).
In 1989, Stevie released her first concept album, which was loosely inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Driven by keyboard arrangements, The Other Side of the Mirror (1989) was a sonic departure from the signature rock sound that characterized her earlier solo work. The album spawned the single “Rooms on Fire,” a number one song on the US Album Rock chart and a Top 20 hit in Europe. Modern Records heavily promoted the album overseas, which resulted in Stevie touring Europe for the first time as a solo artist.
During the ‘90s, Stevie continued to perform as a solo artist and with Fleetwood Mac, despite a series of personal setbacks. For Fleetwood Mac’s Behind the Mask (1990), she contributed the blues-rock-inspired “Love Is Dangerous” and “Freedom,” the whimsical “Affairs of the Heart,” and the acoustic ballad “The Second Time.” With new members Billy Burnette and Rick Vito in tow, the band supported the album with a successful world tour.
In preparation for her first retrospective Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks (1991), Stevie wanted to include Rumours-era b-side song “Silver Springs.” But Mick Fleetwood, on behalf of Warner Bros. Records, had plans to include the rare song on Fleetwood Mac’s retrospective 25 Years: The Chain (1992). Despite Stevie’s pleas to include “Silver Springs” on Timespace, Fleetwood refused to release the recording to her. Hurt by Fleetwood’s decision, Stevie left the band to focus on her solo career. Before releasing her fifth solo album Street Angel (1994), Stevie sought treatment to overcome a debilitating, eight-year addiction to prescription medication, which a doctor had unnecessarily prescribed for her.
Reunion, resurgence (1997-2000)
In 1997, the classic 1975 lineup reunited for the live album The Dance. Rejuvenated by The Dance project, Stevie released her first solo career retrospective, the three-disc Enchanted Works of Stevie Nicks (1998). In the same year, she collaborated with Sheryl Crow, recording the songs “Crystal” and “If You Ever Did Believe” for the Practical Magic motion picture soundtrack.
Resuming solo work, Fleetwood Mac (2001-2010)
At the millennium, Stevie began recording her sixth solo album Trouble in Shangri-La (2001). With guest vocals from Sheryl Crow, Macy Gray, Natalie Maines, and Sarah McLachlan, the album featured a diverse collection of songs. It spawned the singles “Every Day,” “Planets of the Universe,” and “Sorcerer,” all moderate hits on Billboard Magazine’s Adult Contemporary chart.
In 2003, Stevie recorded 10 songs for Fleetwood Mac’s next recording Say You Will. Some of these songs were “Illume (9-11),” “Thrown Down,” and the single “Say You Will.”
In 2006, Stevie recorded live renditions of her classic songs with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Two songs from this collaboration (“Landslide” and “Edge of Seventeen”) appeared on her third retrospective Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (2007). Stevie recorded Live in Chicago: The Soundstage Sessions (2009) before a live studio audience. She continued to tour with Rod Stewart and later with Fleetwood Mac.
In Your Dreams (2011-2013)
In 2011, Stevie released her seventh solo album, the acclaimed In Your Dreams. The singles “Secret Love,” “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream”), and “For What It’s Worth” helped promote the release. Album producer Dave Stewart captured the recording sessions in the documentary In Your Dreams: Stevie Nicks, which premiered at national film festivals, such as the Mill Valley Film Festival, on October 12, 2012.
Extended Play with Fleetwood Mac (2013)
On April 4, 2013, Fleetwood Mac embarked on a North American arena tour in Columbus, Ohio. Stevie continues to support many charitable causes and to visit recovering soldiers at military hospitals in Washington, D.C.
On April 30, 2013, Fleetwood Mac released Extended Play, a four-song, digital release. Stevie contributed the Buckingham Nicks-era song “Without You” and provided backup vocals on two of the other three songs. The band supported the release with a successful tour.
Fleetwood Mac’s On With the Show Tour (2014-2015)
In 2014, Christine McVie reunited with Fleetwood Mac and performed concerts on the On With the Show World Tour.
24 Karat Gold: Song from the Vault (2014-2017)
On October 7, 2014, Stevie released her eighth solo album 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault. Recorded in Nashville over three months, the release included new recordings of demos from past recording sessions — such as “Lady” and “Cathouse Blues” (Buckingham Nicks era); “Starshine,” “Belle Fleur,” and “Blue Water” (Bella Donna); “All the Beautiful Worlds (The Wild Heart); “24 Karat Gold” and “She Loves Him Still” (Rock a Little), and others.
In 2016, Stevie promoted 24 Karat Gold with a North American tour. Chrissie Hynde’s Pretenders were the opening act. The first leg of the tour began in Phoenix on October 25 and concluded in Los Angeles on December 18. But due to strong ticket sales, the tour continued through 2017.
MusiCares, Fleetwood Mac tours again (2018-2019)
On January 26, 2018, The MusiCares Foundation honored Fleetwood Mac as their “Person of the Year.” The band performed a short set of their classics: “The Chain,” “Little Lies, “Tusk,” “Gold Dust Woman,” and “Go Your Own Way.”
Following a dispute about the band’s upcoming world tour, Fleetwood Mac fired guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. In October 2018, Fleetwood Mac began the tour, which lasted a year and a half and covered three continents. New touring members Neil Finn and Michael Campbell accompanied the band.
COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, ‘Show Them the Way’ (2020-Present)
During the pandemic, Stevie remained vigilant about her health. She urged others to stay safe and get vaccinated so that she could continue performing for them in the future.
In October 2020, she released the song “Show Them the Way,” a rallying cry for people to vote in the 2020 Election. Dave Grohl and Dave Stewart performed on the track.
In 2021, Stevie had planned to perform at several fall music festivals (rescheduled from the previous year), but canceled amid surging cases of the highly contagious Delta strain of the coronavirus. Stevie Nicks remains hopeful that she’ll be able to perform again before large audiences in the future.
(Header photo: Peggy Sirota)
