The enduring impact of Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks, the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman and timeless trendsetter, has always been ahead of the curve. When she joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975, her impact was immediately felt, and on her first release with the band, the self-titled album Fleetwood Mac, she wrote the two biggest hits in ‘Rhiannon’ and ‘Landslide’.
Rumours, the hugely successful follow-up, infamously charted the tumultuous relationships of the group, becoming their magnum opus and one of the highest-selling albums of all time. Nicks also penned the witchy ‘Seven Wonders’ on Tango In The Night in 1987. It goes without saying, Stevie Nicks’ songwriting influence on this commercial and critical acclaim is undeniable. The influence of her years in Fleetwood Mac has persisted in every generation and genre of artists since, from Sheryl Crow and Smashing Pumpkins to Lorde and Harry Styles.
Nicks’ solo releases have had a similar cultural and musical impact. Four years on from Rumours, Nicks released Bella Donna, featuring her iconic hit ‘Edge of Seventeen’. In 2001, Destiny’s Child sampled the track on ‘Bootylicious’, and almost two decades later, the track remains relevant as Miley Cyrus paid tribute to Nicks with a slightly altered cover titled ‘Edge of Midnight’ in 2020.
Refusing to give up her reigning position as one of the greatest songwriters and performers of all time, Nicks told The Guardian in 2020 that it would “kill her” to stop singing. She continued: “It isn’t just singing, it’s that I would never perform again, that I would never dance across the stages of the world again.” “I’m not, at 72 years old, willing to give up my career”. This sentiment still rings true as she turns 75.
Nicks has retained a finger on the pulse of cultural musical trends throughout her career – perhaps because many of them originated from her. The singer also appeared on Lana Del Rey’s 2017 album Lust For Life, featuring on a track called ‘Beautiful People Beautiful Problems’. At the time, Del Rey told KROQ: “She’s just everything you hope she’s gonna be, she’s so contemporary, and she knows all the new music that’s out weekly”. In response, Nicks spoke similarly graciously on Del Rey, telling V Magazine: “We are witchy sisters and that’s it”.
Nicks’ witchy, spiritual aesthetic and outlook has become just as synonymous with her name as her musical output. She also featured in Coven, the witchy third season of American Horror Story, in the early 2010s, performing her track ‘Seven Wonders’, afterwich the episode was named. Her continued prominence in pop culture has led Gen Z to look backwards – fashion bloggers look to her, viral Tiktoks have been soundtracked by the Fleetwood Mac leader, and her stories and philosophies have been shared across the internet (particularly her rule against having men in her backyard).
Most recently, Nicks appeared on Gorillaz’ 2023 album Cracker Island, featuring on the track ‘Oil’. While the song demonstrates her everlasting vocal talent, her comments surrounding the release show her continuing humour and grace. On reflection, she spoke to Apple Music 1 about her enthusiasm for the track, recalling: “I learned that song as if I had written that song and as if I was an Englishman, with that accent, and I love it so much”.
Gorillaz came onto her radar from their unique, animated music videos, so, naturally, she demanded a place in one: “I want to be a Gorilla, and I want to have big, false eyelashes, and I want to have blonde hair, right? So, that’s what I said”. Charting her own success and enduring relevance throughout the years, she states: “I was an honorary Heartbreaker. I was an honourary Foo Fighter. And now, I’m an honourary Gorilla. I’m so happy”.
From her witchy fashion to her musical output, Stevie Nicks’ presence in music and culture is unwavering. Her songwriting talent, cultural understanding, and grace have rightfully awarded her a permanent spot in the history of music.
