How Stevie Nicks ended up singing backing vocals on a 1978 one-hit wonder about Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks has always embraced the romance of mythology. Whether it was writing about the Welsh goddess of sovereignty in ‘Rhiannon’ or her intrigue in occultism in ‘Sisters Of The Moon’, the mythical realms of other worlds have been a constant source of inspiration.
By adventuring in these worlds, Nicks inadvertently became the source of intrigue for other artists. Of course, there is the generation of modern artists who all cite Nicks as their primary source of inspiration, such as Lana Del Rey, Florence Welch, and Haim, to name but a few. But really, music’s obsession with the inner workings of Nicks’ mind began long before she transitioned into a legacy artist.
Just one year after Rumours, when Nicks and Fleetwood Mac had announced themselves as one of the great generational groups, Walter Egan decided to recruit both Lindsey Buckingham and Nicks as producers for his single ‘Magnet and Steel’.
He once explained how the unlikely collaboration occurred, “I had a notion to write a song with the ‘stroll’ beat (made famous by Chuck Willis) and so began the rough outline of what was tentatively called ‘Don’t Turn Away Now.’ Now, this was also at the time of putting together my first album, Fundamental Roll, and my two new friends and producers, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks and I, were starting the recording process.”
Nicks’ aura smacked Egan swiftly around the chops and had him transfixed. Despite being in the vicinity of her scorned on and off lover, Egan couldn’t help but bask in the lust he felt and decided to write a tune in honour of his feelings. After working on another track for the record, where Nicks provided backing vocals, Egan fell positively head over heels and spent the evening musically ruminating on those feelings. By morning, he had conjured up a song mythologising the great lady myth.
Egan recounted, “On the night when Stevie did the background vocals for my song ‘Tunnel o’ Love,’ my nascent amorous feelings toward her came into a sharper focus – I was smitten by the kitten, as they say.” They don’t say that, but we’ll let it slide.
The singer-songwriter continued, “It was on my drive home at 3am from Van Nuys to Pomona that I happened to be behind a metal-flake-blue Continental with ground effects and a diamond window in back.”
He added, “I was inspired by the car’s license plate: ‘Not Shy.’ By the time I pulled into my driveway I had formulated the lyrics and come up with the magnet metaphor. From there the song was finished in 15 minutes. It was especially satisfying to have Stevie sing on ‘Magnet,’ since it was about her (and me).”
While the magnetic metaphor generally serves as a one-way fascination, Egan and Nicks did enjoy a brief relationship after recording, for Egan perhaps gave her an insight into how a working and personal relationship could co-exist without fraught drama.
Ultimately, the song serves as a telling reminder of Nicks’ legacy. Egan was one of many transfixed by her orbit, which was full of depth and charm, not to mention musical talent. All of that was in abundance during Egan’s session, from the backing vocals she laid down on ‘Tunnel o’ Love,’ and ‘Magnet and Steel’, to the quiet and considered guidance she offered Egan as both a producer and a friend.
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