“Your record is going to tank”: The song that kickstarted Stevie Nicks’ solo career
It’s difficult to believe that Stevie Nicks ever experienced difficulty gaining recognition. However, the struggle to “make it” has been a part of her story since day one—before she even joined Fleetwood Mac. Back then, she was so unsure that a music career would be sustainable that she wrote songs to express her despair, unknowingly creating a handful of hits that would later define her legacy.
It’s difficult to believe that Nicks ever experienced difficulty gaining recognition, just as it’s difficult to believe she ever experienced imposter syndrome, but that’s exactly how she felt, even after being hired to join the rock folk group that would significantly alter the course of music history. Granted, she kept the kind of fire that often caused disagreements and arguments, but considering she was gaining momentum in an industry crawling with toxic masculinity, some might say she had earned her right.
Fleetwood Mac created some of the greatest records of all time, but Nicks’ experience throughout those processes was far from smooth sailing. In fact, there were countless times when she questioned her position, feeling as though she wasn’t valued or didn’t see eye-to-eye with the rest of the band, unable to overlook the clashes that threatened to capsize the entire thing. As she later reflected: “Pretty soon I realised I can’t enjoy being with these people, because they look at the world through a different pair of glasses than I do.”
When she finally left Fleetwood Mac, she had already established herself as an influential rock artist with melodies and lyrics that blended her signature whimsy and mysticism in a way that hadn’t been done so overtly in previous years. However, the low self-esteem still lurked at every corner, which meant that, by the time it came to working on her debut solo album, she felt she needed to look to an industry veteran to help her find her way.
Tom Petty and Nicks had already crossed paths a number of times before Nicks began working on Bella Donna, particularly with Nicks informally putting in subtle requests for him to help her with the album and write some songs. Petty would eventually send her a song, ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’, but her desire to overlap with Petty’s artistry didn’t stop there. She eventually brought in Jimmy Iovine, who delivered some harsh realities, which seemed to irk her initially until she decided to reframe the entire situation more rationally.
Iovine had apparently pushed Nicks to release ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ as the first single because, in his words, “Your record’s going to tank, and then you’re not going to have a solo career” if she didn’t. Nicks had enjoyed significant success within the band, but her solo success was far from a guarantee, and she knew she had to listen to Iovine if she wanted to stand a chance.
Nicks wasn’t the biggest fan of removing other songs to fit the track onto the album, but after hearing Iovine’s honesty, she forced herself to become more reasonable. Before introducing the song live in concert, Nicks recalled the situation, saying to herself, “You’ve got to drop this self-esteem you’ve got going on right now and realise that the whole reason you even hired Jimmy Iovine was because he produced Tom Petty and you always wanted to be in Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers.”
She added, “‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart’ became a huge single, all because Mr. Tom Petty was generous enough to give me that song.” While it’s likely that Nicks would have still enjoyed a successful solo career had she released a different song, there’s no denying the timeless appeal of ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’. Not only that, but it also continued her signature raspy and fiery trajectory with a song about romantic frustrations from her perspective only, enriched by Petty’s rock edge.
