The 1965 number Stevie Nicks called a “perfect” love song
As a member of the countercultural generation, Stevie Nicks witnessed the rise of pioneering acts that reshaped the musical landscape.
Being part of this era, artists like the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman are uniquely positioned to offer insights into the music of that time. They were not only fans who experienced the impact of these innovators firsthand but also had their own careers shaped by their influence.
Like almost every prominent artist of her generation, Nicks was particularly galvanised by the work of The Beatles. Undoubtedly the most significant band of the 1960s, they’ve had more impact than anyone on the trajectory of popular culture. Whether it be their anti-traditional compositions, experimental studio technique, aesthetic choices or even controversial media comments, the four scousers re-wrote the handbook of what an artist could be.
Constantly pushing themselves to be better, The Beatles embarked on a creative odyssey like no other. Fuelled by the songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the group tapped into many different genres in their decade of existence, and by the time they split in 1970, they had left practically every stone unturned, with a towering legacy established.
While The Beatles might have made history with the game-changing sounds of their 1967 masterpiece Sgt. Pepper’s, for many people of Stevie Nicks’ generation, their earlier material holds the most value, as it captured a place and time and now takes them back to the exciting years of their youth when the future was very much in front of them, and the weirdness of LSD-taking and hippiedom were yet to impart themselves on society.
Accordingly, the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman has said that her favourite song by The Beatles is the acoustic classic ‘Yesterday’ from the 1965 album Help. A tender moment written by McCartney, it is easy to hear where she took some of her songwriting cues when penning her own heartfelt classics for her band.
During a conversation with Rolling Stone, the ‘Landslide’ songwriter called ‘Yesterday’ a level above. She said: “I think ‘Yesterday’ was very much a premonition of Paul of what was to come with Linda – finding his one great love and then what it was to lose her. It’s the perfect song”.
“These guys truly wrote about the intricacies of relationships,” Nicks added. “It was going deeper, and that’s what we were surprised by.”
Endlessly covered and possibly over-played it can be easy to overlook the songwriting genius that goes into a song like ‘Yesterday’. In the same way we all take sliced bread for granted, forgetting when it was the best thing, one can sometimes forget how beautiful this track truly is.
McCartney even picked it as one of his favourites: “Well, it’s difficult to choose the favourite. It (‘Here, There and Everywhere’) is one of my favourites. You look at your songs and kinda look to see which of the ones you think are maybe the best constructed and stuff,” says McCartney. “I think ‘Yesterday’—if it wasn’t so successful—might be my favourite.
“But, you know, you get that thing when something is just so successful… people often don’t want to do ‘the big one’ that everyone wants them to do. They kind of shy away from it,” continued McCartney.
“‘Here, There and Everywhere’ with ‘Yesterday’ as a close second.” Listen to ‘Yesterday’ below.
