The singer Stevie Nicks considered “the perfect storm of everything”
For many of the most cherished female voices in rock, discovering a singer they loved was the first step in developing their own sound and style. While Stevie Nicks picked up countless lessons in poetic and romantic songwriting from artists like Jackson Browne, she first discovered the power of her own voice when she came across another era-defining name.
Often, and for whatever inexplicable reason, it can feel strangely complex to look at someone as impactful as Nicks and immediately delve into her influences. Perhaps it’s because she established herself in a space so competitive and with such distinctive fervour that it’s hard to imagine her ever looking up to anybody else, though that’s exactly what set her on a path to greatness to begin with.
For instance, Nicks has discussed her love for Browne repeatedly, not just in terms of how much she adored his music but with regard to how much he taught her about writing about love. For Nicks, Browne’s excellence didn’t just stem from writing love songs like everybody else; it stemmed from his ability to sing about all of its complexities with melodies that felt as lucid as they were simplistic.
For Nicks, this skill was something she adopted in her own work, especially when framing the intimacy of her own experiences in a way that felt accessible to anybody listening. After all, Nicks’ artistic expression was never about shutting people out but letting them into her kaleidoscopic world of love and heartbreak, and Browne taught her how to achieve that in a way that appeared refined yet authentic.
However, before that, Nicks discovered another extraordinary singer whose approach and technique she initially attempted to imitate. For many, Linda Ronstadt wasn’t just a breakthrough in the Laurel Canyon scene because she stood apart from the brazen and the timid—she also had a voice that cut through the noise and set a new standard for remaining intact with her roots and broader genre-blending excellence.
After paying tribute to her hero at her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nicks explained to Rolling Stone why she had such an impact on her before she became successful. “Because Linda was one of the first artists that really caught my eye when I was in high school,” she said. “And I really could sing just like her. I’m sure a lot of people could. Because if you study her, you can get her vibe.”
She also explained how her voice was “so spectacular” that all those surrounding her, from Don Henley to Browne, became immediately enamoured. “She was like myself,” she added, explaining how she felt the two of them adopted the same attitude towards music in terms of what they wanted to do and how they would push to get it.
“She was probably just like me,” she said, continuing, “She was just like the perfect storm of everything meeting at the same time in perfection when she hit the radio.”
Evidently, it wasn’t just Ronstadt’s voice that pulled Nicks in—it was also her ability to stand up for herself and hold her own against the countless resisting figures she would encounter throughout her life. Particularly for Nicks, also a woman in rock, this would be a trait she would go on to master through varying twists and turns, and Ronstadt was the first to demonstrate how that could be done with grace and purpose.
