“It would be a mistake”: The song Stevie Nicks said she could never sing alone
When a song has varying perspectives, it’s a tough call for musicians to decide whether to perform it alone. Sometimes, taking it on serves the story better, adding nuances and ambiguities that create even more layered meaning. Other times, including another voice elevates its emotional appeal, making it feel more like a dialogue between two people. For Stevie Nicks, one hit song especially called for this approach.
Throughout her career, Nicks has created sonic narratives centred around her own heart and soul, even when they revolve around the ideas and emotions of someone else. While one of the more obvious examples would be Rumours, with Nick channelling her frustrations into one-sided perspectives with regards to her romance with Lindsey Buckingham, this has bled into her solo work, too.
For instance, when she released her debut solo album, Bella Donna, the stories she included reflected the different people and experiences that made her who she was at the time, with most being delivered from her lips without other vocal collaboration. Like most Nicks songs, this gave the tracks a more ethereal feel, with her tone coming across more personal than if they had been delivered by someone else.
However, one song in particular warranted a different approach, with Nicks feeling like the story was better serviced by two voices, as though it appeared more stylistically conversational than if she had performed it alone. The song was, of course, ‘Leather and Lace’, which she initially intended to be a duet between Waylon Jennings and his wife, Jessi Colter.
However, when the pair broke up, the song once again fell into Nicks’ hands, but without a duetting partner, she felt it didn’t hold the same impact. In response, she pulled in Don Henley, who helped her create the same magic she knew it could contain all along. After all, in her mind, there was no way the song would feel as poignant as it did without the help of another voice.
In fact, Nicks even admitted that she rejected Jennings’ suggestion of doing it alone, saying, “Waylon decided he was going to do it alone, but I said no, because I had put a lot of time into the psychology of the song and felt it was a mistake to do it alone.” She added: “It’s a wonderful song. So when Bella Donna came out, there was no reason for it not to be done just because Waylon and Jessi broke up.”
Enlisting Henley turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as he not only enhanced the track but made it an unforgettable experience for Nicks. As she once recalled, he came into the studio with a relentless fervour, pushing her to perform her best without creating a hostile environment. The result was a track that felt as emotionally pivotal as she intended, all thanks to Henley.
“I have to tell you now that Mr. Don Henley was pretty much responsible for this song because he came over every day and told me to either start over, or that I was on the right track, and he made me finish it,” she said. “It became one of the most special love songs that I would ever write… and remains that, even today, after all these years. All in all, it was an unforgettable experience, as was he. Blame it on my wild heart.”
