I hope all these songs have become a part of your lives as well.
They belong to you.
Edge of Seventeen
This song was inspired by John Lennon and by my dad’s oldest brother, Bill, whose real name was John. It was about the sudden death of both of these men—that’s why the song is so intense. It would have been one of my piano songs if Waddy Wachtel hadn’t come into the studio and added the amazing guitar riff at the beginning of the song. Destiny’s Child actually sampled that riff for their hit “Bootylicious.” And I must say that “Edge of Seventeen” being featured in “School of Rock” is honestly one of my greatest rock moments of all time. I’m the only woman rocker featured in the movie, and I must confess, I love that. And I love Jack Black!
The live version at the end of this album is from a show I did recently in Melbourne, Australia and features The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. On this version, Waddy did the powerful string arrangements that added something even more dramatic to the song. For me, Waddy’s string arrange- ment made the song brutally relevant to all the wars facing our world today.
The live version of "Edge of Seventeen" is dedicated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center,
the Bethesda Naval Hospital and to my brave soldiers. Now when I sing this song, I sing it for you ̃
"Just like the white wing dove..."
I Can't Wait
This is one of my very favorite songs—one that I always have and always will love. My longtime friend Rick Nowels originally sent me the track hoping I would write a song to it. The very first time I sang the vocal is the one that’s actually on the record. No way could I ever sing this song better than that first go round. I loved the video for it as well. David Letterman famously and hilari- ously used to play it over and over again on his show.
Sorcerer
“Sorcerer” could have easily been on our first Fleetwood Mac record or even the Buckingham Nicks album. Lindsey and I played it between 1973 and ’75, but we never recorded it. I knew one day the time would be right. I finally got to record it with Sheryl Crow. She loved the song and I loved singing it with her. I think some of the best vocals Sheryl and I ever did are at the end of this song.
If Anyone Falls In Love
I wrote this song with Sandy Stewart, one of my favorite songwriters of all time, as well as a very good friend. What a huge talent. I’ve done a few of her songs over the years and her “Seven Wonders” was a great song for Fleetwood Mac. “If Anyone Falls” is about the difficulty of finding a relationship and being in rock and roll. It’s about that very real feeling where you say, “If anyone falls in love, it should be done to us.”
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
I was already a huge Tom Petty fan before I began recording Bella Donna, which is why I called Jimmy Iovine to produce it. Jimmy wanted me to record this song that Tom had written with Mike Campbell. My first thought was, “I don’t need to do other peo- ple’s songs.” Jimmy just forged on and said, “Stevie, you need a hit single on this record, so try to like it and see if you can get into it.” Of course, I TOTALLY fell in love with this song, and recorded it with Tom and the band. Tom became a very close friend and a very big influence on me and thankfully remains so to this very day. After all these years, I am proud to say that I am now an “honorary” Heartbreaker.
Silver Springs
This was originally supposed to be on Rumours but when we were getting ready to master the album, they realized it was too long and there simply wasn’t room for it. Lindsey and Mick took me out into the parking lot in back of the studio to break the news to me. I was horrified and told them that I would never for- give them. I was angry for years about that, as I had given the song to my Mom as a present so it didn’t seem to be a very special present after all. Of course looking back, it worked out really well. It ended up as the B-Side to “Go Your Own Way” and became a secret cult favorite among Fleetwood Mac fans. By the time we recorded it for The Dance, the world was waiting for it, and my mom had her special present—or as she affectionately calls it, her “rainy day” song.
Dreams
“Dreams” was written at The Record Plant in Sausalito when we were working on Rumours. One day the band was working on something else, so I strolled into Sly Stone’s famous black and red recording studio. I sat on his big black bed, with the long black curtains with my baby Fender Rhodes piano on my lap. The vibe was wild and gothic and of course I loved it. I was there for a few hours, listening to a Spinners album. Years before that I would listen to the Spinners when I was a cleaning lady in L.A. I started writing this very “Spinner-ish” song in that wild room and then went back into the Fleetwood Mac studio and played it for every- one. They all loved it, and I believe we record- ed it the next day. The version here is the Deep Dish Club Mix. I went into the studio with my friend and backup singer Sharon Celani, and recorded a new vocal. Then Sharon and I did some new harmonies, and we had a blast. “Dreams” got a second life when the new mix turned out to be a huge success on the dance floor.
Rhiannon
I was sharing an apartment with Lindsey and our friend Richard Dashut. One day I went into a bookstore and bought a book called Triad. I don’t remember a thing about it, except that there was a character in the book called “Rhiannon.” So, I wrote a song inspired by the name Rhiannon, but it wasn’t about the charac- ter in the book. It was a kind of super-being that I made up. I’ve written songs about other girls, like “Sara” and “Gypsy,” but this was the only supernatural character I’ve ever written a song about. Strangely, many years later a fan sent me a 700-page book of Welsh mythology, which included a mythological Welsh queen—a ruler named Rhiannon, and her birds. The live version on this record was recorded in Santa Barbara. I’m very proud of this vocal. I have studied voice with my vocal coach, Steve Real, since 1997. He is a brilliant teacher.
Talk To Me
This is another song that came to me from Jimmy Iovine. I had my doubts about this song. In fact I didn’t like it at all at first. But Jimmy persisted and kept telling me he felt it would be a huge hit for me. I just could not get the vocals right for the longest time. My friend Jim Keltner, an amazing drummer, was in the studio next door. I explained to him that I could not get a good vocal on this song, so he volun- teered to be my audience. His encouragement and presence made all the difference in the world. I sang it only twice, and we had the vocal.
Landslide
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was visiting in Aspen, Colorado, sitting cross-legged on the floor with my Goya guitar writing “Landslide.” I was in somebody’s living room, looking out over the snow-covered mountains and thinking about what to do with my life. Should I just go back to school, or should I go on pursuing a music career with Lindsey? In 1971, Lindsey and I moved to Los Angeles, and for the next four years we were devoted to our music. In 1973, we released the album Buckingham Nicks. But the record label dropped us a year later. We were devastated, and we weren’t getting along. I sat looking out at the Rocky Mountains pondering the avalanche of everything that had started to come crashing down on us. I’m pretty much a glass half-full person, but at that moment, my life truly felt like a landslide in many ways. I needed to go home. I usually had a free bus pass, as my dad was president of Greyhound, but the buses went on strike that day, so I had no way to get home. I finally called my parents and they sent me a plane ticket. I basically walked back into the house and said, “Lindsey let’s go. Let’s do it.” I wrote “Landslide” about whether or not I was going to give it all one more chance. You know the rest of the story.
The live version on this record comes from a recent tour to Australia where we were joined by The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Singing the song halfway around the world was so special. The arrangement and the three-part harmonies that the girls and I did there opened up a whole new life for this song. Between Fleetwood Mac’s versions, my own versions and the Dixie Chicks version, “Landslide” has become the song that never dies, and I’m so grateful for that. Once this was my song. Now it belongs to the whole world.
Stand Back
I had just gotten married and was driving with my husband to the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara for our honeymoon. We were both big Prince fans and “Little Red Corvette” came on the radio. I started humming “Stand Back” along to “Little Red Corvette.” The entire song just wrote itself right then and there. I remem- ber saying, “We have to stop and get a tape recorder.” We arrived with the recorder in our little honeymoon suite and I started recording the song. What a way to spend a honeymoon night. When I got back to Los Angeles, we went into Sunset Sound recording studios to cut the song. I got Prince’s number and called to tell him I had written a song to the melody of his song. I never expected to get him, but he answered! He came down and played key- boards on the song that night. Then he just got up and left as if the whole thing happened in a dream.
Planets Of The Universe
These are some of the meanest lyrics I have ever written. I started trying to record this song in the early seventies, but we just couldn’t seem to capture it as a Fleetwood Mac song. Something was always missing. Many years passed, and though I didn’t hold out much hope, I tried to record the song once again for Trouble in Shangri-La, which was produced by Sheryl Crow and John Shanks. I will be eternally grateful to John, who helped find the missing piece that added the magic the song needed. Ironically, at the first play- back for Trouble in Shangri-La, Lindsey went up to John and said, “Wow, I’m blown away. You actually captured this song that Stevie’s been singing for as long as I can remember.”
Leather And Lace
It was Waylon Jennings’ idea for me to write a song called “Leather And Lace” for him to sing with his wife Jessi Colter. My mission was to write a song about their relationship that was somehow working in this crazy music business. While I was working on the song, Don Henley would come over to my house and give me advice about it. Then I found out that Waylon and Jessi were splitting up. Waylon still want- ed me to finish the song and he was going to sing it by himself. But by then I had fallen in love with the song, and felt that Don and I were the only two people who could possibly sing it. How strange and how wonderful that Don and I remain such great friends all these years later. We still sing “Leather And Lace” together every chance we get. It became part of the tapestry of both our lives.
Rock and Roll
It's been a long time since I rock and rolled
It's been a long time since I did the Stroll
Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back
Let me get it back, baby, where I come from
It's been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely
Lonely time yes it has
It's been a long time since the book of love
I can't count the tears of
A life with no love
Carry me back, carry me back
Carry me back, baby, where I come from
It's been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely
Lonely time
Seems so long since we
Walked in the moonlight
Making vows that just can't work right
Open your arms, open your arms
Open your arms, baby
Let my love come running in
It's been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely
Lonely time
It's been a long time since I rock and rolled
It's been a long time since I did the Stroll
Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back
Let me get it back, baby, where I come from
It's been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely
Lonely time
--
This is one of my favorite songs and one of the greatest rock songs of all time. I am honored to sing it. Led Zeppelin was the soundtrack to my college years at San Jose State. Their music was everywhere. After all these years they remain my favorite rock and roll band ever (after Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers). Though I always wanted to record this song, everyone told me I couldn’t possibly sing it. . . . Of course that only made me want to sing it more. . . . I recently performed “Rock And Roll” at the Montreux Jazz Festival with Nile Rodgers and Chic, at a tribute to the great Ahmet Ertegun. Robert Plant was there on the side of the stage and congratulated me after our performance. He told me I did a great job. That meant the world to me—another one of the great rock and roll moments of my life. I think Robert Plant and I are kindred spirits. I think we are both connected to the mystical side of things—but on different sides of the world.
This music is dedicated to my father, whom I lost in August 2005.
He saw my visions through my eyes. His last memory was our show in
Reno Nevada. He fell the next morning and never really came back.
I love you Daddy
And to my beloved Auntie Carmal. She died eleven months later in July 2006.
She was one of my two great role models, and she was my teacher.
Bon voyage Carmal
Jess Nicks 1925 - 2005
Carmal Nicks 1925 - 2006
And to my Mother, Barbara, who is doing just fine in Phoenix
I love you Mommy
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