The album that shaped Stevie Nicks’ singing career: “I spent a whole summer singing along”
Even when Fleetwood Mac were falling apart behind the scenes, they were able to find synchronicity within their music. Perhaps the former even bolstered the latter. Drugs and divorce plagued the making of Rumours, but it somehow produced some of their greatest work as a band. Even as Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were in the midst of a break-up, they came together in perfect harmony on tracks like ‘I Don’t Want To Know’.
Though it never seemed to be a concern in the band’s personal lives, Nicks was always keen to maintain harmony within her singing style. From the gorgeous layering of ‘Dreams’ to the glorious repetitions of ‘Rhiannon’, it’s present throughout her songwriting, an essential part of Fleetwood Mac’s soft rock stylings and the warmth that won over so many listeners.
It’s just as essential to her solo work. It drives her iconic duet with Tom Petty, ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’, which finds her vocals soaring above the Heartbreaker leader’s. It’s there in her duet with Eagles drummer Don Henley, ‘Leather and Lace’. It’s present in the formidable ‘Edge of Seventeen’. It drives her vocal work in everything she does, but where did Nicks’ fascination with harmonies first spawn from?
As she once explained during a conversation with The Guardian, Nicks found herself enamoured with harmonies after listening to the debut album by Crosby, Stills & Nash. Aptly named Crosby, Stills & Nash, the 1969 record predated Nicks’ work with Fleetwood Mac. It even predated her and Buckingham’s stint as Buckingham Nicks. But the record would shape her singing career.
With just one listen to the iconic ‘Helplessly Hoping’, it’s easy to see why she fell so hard for the record. David Crosby and Graham Nash fall into perfect sync with Stephen Sills’ singing, harmonising throughout the song’s runtime. Their seamless harmonies pervade the album, gifting it an unparalleled warmth and comfort that still holds up today. It even won them a spot in the charts.
Though Fleetwood Mac would be slightly further into rocking territory than folk, Nicks’ driving influence of those soft strums and considered harmonies can be found throughout their output. This was always Nicks’ intention which, after becoming obsessed with Crosby, Stills & Nash for an entire summer and learning each vocalist’s part in turn, realised her desire to “be in a band with the same kind of harmonies.”
She certainly achieved that goal, with many of Fleetwood Mac’s songs containing similarly glorious harmonies. But they were always sure to bring their use of harmonies into the present by affording them a little more edge. While ‘Everywhere’ pairs them with sparkling synths and muted twangs, ‘Silver Springs’ shrouds them in gorgeous guitars and aching lyrics. The result is a sound that’s distinctively Fleetwood Mac.
Between their warm harmonies and bolder instrumentals, Nicks and Fleetwood Mac would endear themselves to millions with that warm, wonder-inducing sound. Without the influence of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Nicks might never have found her love for those harmonies and her desire to incorporate them into her own work, which would, in turn, influence so many others.
Listen to Crosby, Stills & Nash, the album that shaped Stevie Nicks’ singing career, below.
