Legends of Rock & Roll: Fleetwood Mac

By James Hoag

Welcome to another in the Legends of Rock & Roll series.

The Legends of Rock & Roll series is about the music we have listened to over the past fifty years. This is a mini-biography of the band Fleetwood Mac, but even more importantly, it's about the music that they created; the songs that built a generation.

Fleetwood Mac is one of the greatest American Bands of the Twentieth Century. It's ironic that three of the five members are British. The band started out as a blues band organized by an Englishman named Peter Green. With the addition of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, among others, Fleetwood Mac was born.

The band didn't hit super-stardom until they added two Americans, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. In 1977, they released an album, Rumours, that would become the biggest seller of its day and is still one of the biggest selling albums of all time. Fleetwood Mac, as well as each of its members would become icons of American rock and roll. I call them legends.

If you love the music, if you love Fleetwood Mac or would just like to know more about their rise to fame and the music that they produced. If you would like to know some of the inside secrets of how certain songs came to be and what they really mean, then scroll up and buy, "Legends of Rock & Roll - Fleetwood Mac" now.

This is the story of the band and it is the story of each of the members and how they came to be Fleetwood Mac.

This is an unauthorized fan tribute.

Inside you'll find:

Introduction - My feelings about the band in general and a kick-off for the book.
Mick Fleetwood - a look at the life of Mick Fleetwood before Fleetwood Mac.
John McVie - a look at the life of John McVie before Fleetwood Mac.
The Birth of Fleetwood Mac - the beginnings of an English blues band.
Christine McVie - a look at the life of Christine McVie before Fleetwood Mac.
The Departure of Peter Green & Jeremy Spencer - Personnel changes.
Bob Welsh Joins the Band - More changes in personnel.
Stevie Nicks - a look at the life of Stevie Nicks before Fleetwood Mac.
Lindsey Buckingham - a look at the life of Lindsey Buckingham before Fleetwood Mac.
The Famous Five are Finally Together - Mick, John, Christine, Lindsey and Stevie are finally together.
Relationships End - There were three relationships between the five members. All three came to an end.
Rumours - One of the biggest selling albums of all time.
Tusk - The disappointing follow-up.
Stevie Goes Solo - Stevie Nicks starts to record her own albums.
Mirage - They were back on top with this new album.
5 Years... - The band took a well-deserved five year break from each other.
Tango in the Night - After the break, it was back in the studio for this album.
The Temporary Loss of Lindsey Buckingham - From the title of this chapter, you know what’s coming next.
Was It All Over? - Everybody thought it was the end of the band.
The Dance - A miracle happened and they came back together for another album.
Legacy of Fleetwood Mac - Every Legends book has a Legacy section where we review the awards and contributions of the artist or band.
Afterword - My closing thoughts.
Selected Discography - A list of the major works by Fleetwood Mac.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Hoag
• Release date: May 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311865229

James Hoag

James Hoag has always been a big fan of Rock & Roll. Most people graduate from high school and then proceed to "grow up" and go on to more adult types of music. James got stuck at about age 18 and has been an avid fan of popular music ever since. His favorite music is from the Fifties, the origin of Rock & Roll and which was the era in which James grew up. But he likes almost all types of popular music including country music.After working his entire life as a computer programmer, he is now retired and he decided to share his love of the music and of the performers by writing books that discuss the life and music of the various people who have meant so much to him over the years.He calls each book a "love letter" to the stars that have enriched our lives so much. These people are truly Legends.

Book preview

Legends of Rock & Roll – Fleetwood Mac

By

James Hoag

~~~

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Copyright © 2015 by James Hoag

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Legends of Rock & Roll – Fleetwood Mac Copyright 2015 James Hoag.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Mick Fleetwood

John McVie

The Birth of Fleetwood Mac

Christine McVie

The Departure of Peter Green & Jeremy Spencer

Bob Welsh Joins the Band

Stevie Nicks

Lindsey Buckingham

The Famous Five are Finally Together

Relationships End

Rumours

Tusk

Stevie Goes Solo

Mirage

5 Years. . .

Tango in the Night

The Temporary Loss of Lindsey Buckingham

Was It All Over?

The Dance

Legacy of Fleetwood Mac

Afterword

Members of Fleetwood Mac

Selected Discography

About the Author

Introduction

Fleetwood Mac has been a staple of rock and roll since its inception in 1967. The band has come and gone over the years. The personnel have changed, but one thing has stayed constant: the sound of a great band. Fleetwood Mac has gone down in history as one of the all-time greatest bands of all time.

I think it was in 2003 when they came to Salt Lake City to perform. This was another in their many reunion tours. It’s silly to use the word reunion in conjunction with Fleetwood Mac, since they have really never gone away. Sure, the hits have dried up, just like most bands, but they keep playing.

I so wanted to attend their concert in Salt Lake City. I told my wife this might be the last time (for real) that we get a chance to see Fleetwood Mac. Somehow, we just couldn’t get the money together to get a ticket and they came and went without me and my wife getting to see them. I was heartbroken, but I hoped there would be another chance.

It turns out that they are touring again this year and this time Christine McVie is touring with them. She wasn’t a part of the band in 2003. In fact, this year is the first time since 1997 that she has played with the band. I have another chance. I was so happy but then I realized, I don’t even have as much money now as I had in 2003. And this time, they are not coming to Salt Lake, so we would have to travel to see them. Oh well, another disappointment. But, it doesn’t change how much I like this band.

Fleetwood Mac has had many different players. The band has changed several times over the years, but the five people who make up the core of Fleetwood Mac have remained more or less constant. Those five are Mac Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, John McVie, Christine McVie, and Lindsey Buckingham. While each and every one has not been with the band through their whole career, they are the core of the band.

Mick Fleetwood is the only member who has been there from the beginning. John McVie came in shortly after the band was created, but he missed the first few times they played. Later, various people came in and out of the band and I will try to make sense out of all of that with this book.

My books are really about the music. That is what I love. I will talk about the music produced by Fleetwood Mac, any little bits of interesting information about the songs, and the general maturing of the band from a startup to being a superstar in the music industry. Let’s explore the band that is Fleetwood Mac.

Mick Fleetwood

Michael John Kells Fleetwood, called Mick by everyone, was born June 24, 1947 in Cornwall, England. He was the second child of father, John Joseph Kells Fleetwood and mother, Bridget Maureen Fleetwood. He has an older sister named Susan who grew up to be an actress and has had some notoriety of her own. His dad was in the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot and as a result, the family moved around a lot when Mick was young visiting, among other places, Egypt and Norway.

Mick is described as something of a dreamer. He did not do well in school. Mick himself says when he graduated from high school he barely knew the alphabet. In the late Forties, no one really knew about dyslexia but later Mick was diagnosed with this problem so perhaps his problems in school were not really his fault. However, there was one thing that he could do and that was to play a drum. During his spare time, he would pretend to play the drums, using pretend drumsticks to pound on any surface he was near. His dad was a smart man and recognized that Mick had a talent so on his thirteenth birthday, dad gave Mick a set of professional Gigster drums. The rest, as they say, is history.

Mick practiced all the time. Like many boys in their teenage years, he liked to listen to music. He found he could play along with the record, duplicating the drum sound on the record. His favorites were Tony Meechan who played in Cliff Richard’s band and the Everly