Christine McVie’s favourite singer who had the “sweetest voice in the world”
Thanks to her career with Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie was able to see the world and rub shoulders with like-minded musicians she admired most.
Touring with Fleetwood Mac could feel like being a main character in a soap opera, at times, for McVie. Yet, somehow, McVie found the only band in the world that were more chaotic than her own, and began to spend time with them on the road whenever her schedule permitted.
In 1978, hot off the heels of Rumours turning Fleetwood Mac into superstars, McVie embarked upon a complex relationship with The Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson. At the time, she’d recently divorced John McVie, and after meeting Wilson during the recording process of Tusk, they began a romance which, albeit far from straightforward, was just the tonic she needed.
“Dennis walked into the studio one night and whisked me off my feet,” McVie once said to Rolling Stone. “It was probably the experience of a lifetime. Dennis was such a character. Half of him was like a little boy, and the other half was insane. A really split personality”. Wilson even moved into her home in Coldwater Canyon, and McVie penned the Fleetwood Mac song, ‘Only Ever You’, about him.
During the relationship, McVie went on the road with The Beach Boys and considered making a collaborative album with her partner during their time as a couple. Although their relationship was plagued by Wilson’s crippling addiction problems, which left it destined for disaster, the late Fleetwood Mac star still held precious memories of their time together.
At this time, in addition to Wilson’s addiction problems, which would lead to his death in 1983, the band were also involved in legal disputes, and Brian Wilson had begun to become more creatively absent as Eugene Landy took control over every aspect of his life. Essentially, they made Fleetwood Mac look like choirboys in comparison.
Nevertheless, it was a welcome break for McVie, who adored everything about Wilson, once saying in 2004: “He was very charismatic, great looking, very charming, very cute — if you can call a guy with a beard and a voice like Satan ‘cute’. He used to draw people into his life, strangers off planes and off the streets, and they’d become his best friends.”
The couple parted ways in 1982. Shortly afterwards, Wilson’s situation spiralled further into tragedy, leaving him homeless before succumbing to his death aged 39. While the time they spent together is drenched in sadness due to how it ended, McVie continued to hold the memories of that special time close until her death.
In 2013, McVie opened up about her relationship with the Beach Boy during an appearance on BBC Radio 2 and revealed her favourite song by the group was ‘God Only Knows’. While Brian Wilson wrote the classic track, it was his brother Carl who delivered the vocals on the hit, and McVie loved everything about his performance.
She recalled: “Many years ago, I was going out with Dennis Wilson for a couple of years or so. I went on the road with him. I just adored Carl.”
Continuing to heap praise on the singer further, McVie added, “I thought was the most wonderful man, he had the sweetest voice in the world, he sounded like an angel, and that was my favourite song.”
While the late Brian Wilson was rightly revered as the brainchild of The Beach Boys and the visionary behind the operation, it wasn’t a one-man band. They each brought their own ingredients to the table that brought Brian’s elaborate dream to life, and the importance of Carl on many classic tracks was vital.
Even though McVie’s time connected with The Beach Boys universe didn’t have a fairy tale ending, ‘God Only Knows’ continued to provide her with a blissful reminder of the happy days she enjoyed in their company.
