The hit ‘Bella Donna’ song that took Stevie Nicks a decade to release
Stevie Nicks knows more about the pitfalls of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle than anyone. She might be one of the most highly regarded women in music today, but she has also lived a thousand lives, not just in terms of the hardships of trying to make it in a male-dominated industry but at the hands of another beast, too: drug addiction.
Venturing back a little further, however, Nicks’ story often begins during the Buckingham Nicks years, the first and only album she recorded with her then-partner, Lindsey Buckingham. The pair worked together for years after this seminal venture, but during these years, Nicks learned a lot about the volatility of the business and the very real prospect of failure.
During this time, Buckingham would often go to work to make a living while Nicks was left at home, writing and reluctantly facing the possibility of suddenly having nothing when it once seemed like having everything was just around the corner. The music was good, of course, it was—Nicks and Buckingham were two of the most qualified players in the business, but the talent pool made it tough, and labels made it tougher, and no one was sure the duo had exactly what it took to stand out longterm.
That said, this was also a period during which Nicks wrote some of her best songs, ones that would come to define her entire career. For instance, ‘Landslide’ and ‘Rhiannon’ were written during this time, proving that Nicks always had what it took but that earning success was rather frustratingly concerned with opportunity and timing.
However, her despair and disillusionment also led her to write ‘After the Glitter Fades’, a sobering track about the loneliness of achieving the American dream and how having high hopes for success can leave you with nothing but disappointment. Within the track, the hopes and dreams surrounding well-sought-after aspirations are compounded by an ethereal piano intro before Nick begins with the lamentation: “Well, I never thought I’d make it here in Hollywood.”
Like many other hits, Nicks would store this one away until years later when she began work on her debut solo album, Bella Donna. She had already dusted off her previous gems ‘Landslide’ and ‘Rhiannon’ for Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled 1975 record, but clearly something about ‘When The Glitter Fades’ felt like a more personal affair, something with unfiltered edges that would find an even better home in Bella Donna.
This isn’t too difficult a decision to get behind when looking at the different avenues Nicks explored during her time with the band and as a solo artist. For instance, many of her hits with Fleetwood Mac became best celebrated for their whimsical and otherworldly themes, whereas in her solo work, she incorporated these elements but also began to address some of her more personal experiences.
Interestingly, Nicks originally had Dolly Parton in mind to perform the song, which also could have factored into its delayed release, but mainly, it showcased Nicks’ ability to channel her more intimate musings into an array of genres and musical elements, something she could only fully explore when faced with the freedom of putting together an album that was completely her own.
