Christine McVie’s favourite Buckingham Nicks song
The late Christine McVie‘s partnership with Stevie Nicks transcended the music they made together in Fleetwood Mac. They were sisters in every way, and McVie’s appreciation for Nicks dates back beyond their time together as bandmates, while the latter was part of a duo with Lindsey Buckingham, aptly titled Buckingham Nicks.
Before joining Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham and Nicks were strangers to the rest of the group. The opportunity to become new band members was a compelling offer for the duo, who had found themselves at a loose end following the commercial failure of their eponymous debut album. While they believed the LP would have unlocked the gates to success, it wasn’t to be, and they needed to pick themselves up.
Buckingham Nicks was released through Polydor Records, with the major label injecting ample funds into the recording process, allowing the duo to use grand studios and employ supremely talented session musicians. However, the company’s marketing department didn’t give the album their backing, which led to it essentially being ignored.
As one door closed, another opened. The album caught the attention of Mick Fleetwood, who attempted to court the duo into his band. After making a phone call on New Year’s Eve in 1974, Buckingham and Nicks agreed to meet with the rest of the group at the Mexican restaurant El Carmen, which sparked a life-long friendship with McVie.
Looking back on their first meeting, Nicks told Zane Lowe in 2020: “Christine, I adored from the minute I met her at dinner at a Mexican food restaurant in Los Angeles. I thought, ‘She’s going to be… She doesn’t know it. She’s five years older than me. She’s going to be my best friend. And she doesn’t know this yet, but she is.’ And she was.”
“We had the best time,” Nicks continued. “We really enjoyed all of those amazing adventures together. And it was like having your best friend in a band with you, which is unheard of. It’s usually, you just don’t get two girls and a guy, two girl writers and a guy. You just usually don’t get that. So we were really lucky”.
McVie touched upon her relationship with Nicks when she listed ‘Races Are Run’ by Buckingham Nicks as one of her ten favourite songs of all time during the BBC Radio 2 segment Tracks Of My Years. The track is penned solely by Nicks, who also performs lead vocal duties.
Explaining her decision to include ‘Races Are Run’, McVie said: “As it happens, [Nicks and I] were so unalike that we really got on well. I was given a tape of their whole album. I still have it to this day and love it. I think the whole album is just so demonstrative of how their duets are together and their wonderful tightness and togetherness with each other musically.”
McVie powerfully concluded by saying: “It’s just one of my favourite albums. Very, very laid back and not very overproduced. Just beautiful harmonies and voices.”
Although Buckingham Nicks had the quality to become a successful album, this would have prevented them from joining forces with Fleetwood Mac and permanently changing the musical landscape. More importantly, it also allowed Nicks and McVie to find one another.
