The “sad” and “crazy” song Stevie Nicks wrote about Mick Fleetwood
Fleetwood Mac duo Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood likely know each other better than they know themselves. They’ve been associates for half a century, and naturally, their relationship has endured several peaks and troughs during its lifespan, but undisputedly, there is immense affection shared between the pair.
The drummer has served as Nicks’ muse on several occasions throughout her career. Most notably, the vocalist addressed their controversial affair with Fleetwood on the track ‘Storms’, which appeared on Fleetwood Mac’s 1979 album, Tusk. While they were both adults capable of deciding who they were romantically involved with, Nicks was already in a relationship with Don Henley when she began her courtship with Fleetwood.
Due to the context surrounding their relationship and the substance abuse they were both participating in at the time, failure was always the destination. The final nail in the coffin occurred when Nicks discovered that Fleetwood was also involved with another woman, which led to the creation of the Fleetwood Mac classic, ‘Sara’.
In his book, Play On, Fleetwood wrote of their short-lived relationship: “Eventually I fell in love with [Nicks] and it was chaotic, it was on the road and it was a crazy love affair that went on longer than any of us really remember — probably several years by the end of it.”
Although they weren’t fated to be lovers, Fleetwood and Nicks remain close friends, locked together by an unbreakable bond. It didn’t take long for the dust to settle following the conclusion of their relationship and for Fleetwood to return to become a muse once again, but not from a place of anger.
While making her debut solo album, 1981’s Bella Donna, Nicks was inspired to write ’24 Karat Gold’ thanks to the drummer. However, the song didn’t make the final cut of the album. It remained unreleased for decades until it appeared on a rare compilation of the same name in 2014, finally unleashing it into the world.
On the reflective track, Nicks sings about being lured in by “dreams to be sold” and the opportunity of “some love to be sold” as she looks back on their relationship before it all came burning down. However, while Nicks needed to go through a dosage of heartbreak to be able to write ’24 Karat Gold’, she believes the ordeal is worthwhile for the sake of her craft.
During a Facebook Q&A with fans, Nicks was probed about the song’s meaning in 2014, prompting her to reveal: “’24 Karat Gold’ was inspired by Mick Fleetwood about our relationship. Even though it’s kind of a sad, crazy song, I’m so glad it all happened so I could write that song.”
While the song doesn’t directly reference Fleetwood, those who knew him personally would likely have realised he was the subject, thanks to the title. As Nicks explained, “The ’24 Karat Gold’ part was inspired by Mick’s beautiful gold jewellery that I had personally never seen before, and I was so drawn to that yellow gold colour, so I started collecting pieces of that myself. That’s why I named the record 24 Karat Gold because it’s like my pieces of jewellery that are special to me in my collection.”
Although ’24 Karat Gold’ wasn’t selected to appear on Bella Donna, the song means a great deal to Nicks, even if she no longer thinks about how the fleeting Fleetwood romance helped shape the creation. Even if their relationship was built on sand, their friendship survived the turbulent time. In addition to being a reliable shoulder to cry on, she remains eternally thankful to the drummer for introducing golden jewellery into her karat gold life.
