“It matched our story”: three classic Fleetwood Mac songs all about Mick Fleetwood
Before Fleetwood Mac became (quite rightly) the Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham show, there was a far simpler time when Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, and John McVie held the fort for a different kind of band. And even through the tumultuous Rumours period that defined their entire legacy, Fleetwood served as a parental figure of sorts, anchoring the operation when it needed it the most.
With the addition of Nicks and Buckingham, along with the warm grounding of Christine McVie’s contributions, Fleetwood Mac needed someone to act as the glue, keeping everything centred amid the arguments and fallout. While the others were caught up in their own trials and tribulations, Fleetwood peered through the haze like the kind of authoritative figure you’re grateful to have around.
For this reason, it makes sense why McVie and Nicks became particularly endeared to this trait, finding solace in his ability to smoothen the sail when things got particularly choppy. For Nicks, having someone like that was perfect when her heart was already going through the grinder, and for McVie, Fleetwood was able to provide a sense of stability when everything else felt chaotic.
Sometimes, this appreciation factored into their music, which was the case for ‘Oh Daddy’, the McVie-penned track she created for Fleetwood as a thank you for being there to support them when they needed it the most. Interestingly, however, Fleetwood didn’t actually know it was about him until much later, but he still fell in love with the song when he first heard it.
“Sentimentally, I say this because I didn’t know it at the time, but I found out not too long afterwards that the song was actually written about me,” he told Music Radar. “At that point, I was the only daddy in the ranks of Fleetwood Mac. Christine is a sister of mine and truly a great musician – and a blues player.”
For Nicks, condensing her love for her musical partner was best achieved through ‘Sara’. Written about her affair with the percussionist, ‘Sara’ has been subjected to many misconceptions through the years, with Don Henley even speaking about how he was central to its narrative. However, Nicks later cleared things up by expressing her displeasure at such an outburst, telling Billboard that while some of it came from her relationship with the Eagle, “There was another woman in my life named Sara, who shortly after that became Mick’s wife, Sara Fleetwood.”
Although not exactly a Fleetwood Mac song, Nicks also honoured Fleetwood in her solo hit ‘Beauty and the Beast’, blending their love affair with the plot of the 1946 Jean Cocteau movie. “It matched our story because Mick and I could never be,” she explained, capturing the heartache of longing for a relationship you know will never truly work. In a way, this was far more impactful than ‘Sara’ or even ‘Oh Daddy’, as it blended Nicks’ penchant for seamless poetic storytelling with real emotion.
While all three of these songs have their unique qualities, they also prove just how integral Fleetwood was to the entire project. Although he was also susceptible to getting his wires crossed, especially when it came to romance, his position as a leader rarely wavered. And unlike Nicks’ or McVie’s other liaisons at the time, something about Fleetwood stuck beyond the usual expectations of just another bandmate.
Fleetwood Mac songs all about Mick Fleetwood:
- ‘Oh Daddy’
- ‘Sara’
- ‘Beauty and the Beast’
