The iconic artist who transformed Christine McVie’s life: “I got hooked”
Christine McVie was always destined to be a musician, but being a member of a band like Fleetwood Mac seemed improbable at a younger age.
The late vocalist and keyboardist never intended to be in an internationally successful pop-rock band, yet life has a way of taking us down unexpected paths. McVie grew up on a strict diet of classical music, which ran through the veins of her family, and initially, she took to it, but once the blues emerged, it took a stranglehold on her artistry.
McVie never made a conscious decision to become a musician. Instead, it was thrust upon her at four years old when she was introduced to the piano. Learning the instrument at such a young age meant that it became almost second nature to McVie, and if all had gone to plan, she would have followed the family trade. Her father, Cyril Perfect, had ambitions to become the first violinist to be part of the orchestra at Westminster Abbey, which McVie’s grandfather had previously played in.
While Perfect didn’t achieve his dreams, he still made music his livelihood and worked as a musical lecturer. As a result, Perfect made it his mission for McVie to accomplish what he failed to do in his career. However, his attempts were to no avail, as after she was exposed to the blues, McVie developed a new musical palette which wasn’t aligned with her classically trained mind.
Her older brother, John, also didn’t go down the classical route, and his tastes proved critical in swaying McVie into a life of rock ‘n’ roll. As he was a few years older, he was more knowledgeable about the ongoing musical trends. She leaned upon him for recommendations, and he was responsible for putting the future Fleetwood Mac member onto a host of life-changing records.
At age 15, it all changed for McVie when she decided to wave goodbye to her classical training after her brother acquired a Fats Domino songbook, which made her appreciate music in a whole new way. Once she learned how to play the Fats Domino way, there was no going back for McVie, and the idea of joining an orchestra was enough to make her shudder.
In an interview with MOJO in 2017, McVie explained of her musical journey: “My brother, who was four years older than me, was into jazz. He had a saxophone at an early age. I had piano lessons. Well, I was playing piano one day, and I looked in the piano stool, and there was a music book of Fats Domino. Because I could sight-read, I started playing the boogie bass. I got hooked on it, then I just got hooked on the blues. Even today, the songs I write use that left hand; it’s rooted in the blues.”
The work of blues pioneer Fats Domino illuminated McVie’s life, inadvertently leading to her forging a career with Chicken Shack and eventually joining Fleetwood Mac, helping the band hit heights they could only previously dream of reaching.
In 2017, McVie reflected on the eight most important songs to her when she made an appearance on the legendary BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs. Unsurprisingly, her selections included a cut from Fats Domino. After naming ‘Ain’t That A Shame’, she remarked: “Even when my songwriting style had changed, there’s always been a little bit of that boogie bass, so that’s what that’s all about.”
As much as McVie’s artistry continuously developed after first learning how to play like Fats Domino, it remained an ingrained part of her musical personality. Without this crucial discovery, her life may have worked out significantly differently, and she could have spent her life in an orchestra rather than in a rock ‘n’ roll band.
Although the classical route would have likely made her father prouder, it likely wouldn’t have been a fraction of the fun of Fleetwood Mac.
