The day Stevie Nicks met “the greatest singer-songwriter ever”
In a famous 1973 letter Stevie Nicks wrote to her parents, you can see how determined the future rock and roll star was to make it in the industry.
In a now-famed piece of rock and roll history, Nicks wrote to her parents, ensuring them that despite the seemingly endless pursuit of stardom, she really was close to breaking the mould. With Lindsey Buckingham by her side, she felt as though they were onto something, and finally, the songwriter she believed she always could be was about to emerge.
At that point, Nicks was just one year away from joining Fleetwood Mac along with Buckingham, drastically kick-starting her pursuit and putting her on a path to stardom. But in the year of writing that letter, in 1973, the dream-like state of Fleetwood Mac’s success must have felt a world away.
Because despite her genius, which is obvious to us now, you could forgive her parents for quietly harbouring concerns. ‘73 was a year when Pink Floyd were releasing Dark Side Of The Moon and Marvin Gaye was following up What’s Going On with Let’s Get It On. The bar was incredibly high, and there was no real knowing if Nicks, or any newcomer, could reach it.
But luckily for us, the listeners, Nicks had faith. She didn’t look at those dominating the music charts with envy or fear, but rather with inspiration. She was motivated by how rich the quality of art was in the ‘70s and ultimately used it to shape her own style of songwriting. While a generation of rock and roll icons lit a pathway for her, it was Joni Mitchell who came and musically held her hand as she took her first steps upon it.
In a time when patriarchy was as rife as ever in music, Mitchell proved that there was a space for crucial female songwriting and how deeply personal lyrics could be expanded into universally adored pop songs. Without Court And Spark, Nicks may have never been able to blend her own stories into the pop-laced soundscapes of a song like ‘Dreams’.
While her fame from ‘75 onwards afforded Nicks a ton of privileges, one was her ability to meet Mitchell face-to-face and tell the great songwriter just how formative she was in building her career.
Nicks recalled the nerve-racking experience of meeting Mitchell, “I said, ‘If it wasn’t for you, I would not be standing here’,” adding that she told her, “’You, in my opinion, are the greatest singer-songwriter ever.'”
She continued, “Then I gave her a hug and I just walked away, ’cause I didn’t even want her to start to say anything back. She’s a little scary, you know.”
In that moment, Nicks retreated to the artist she was in ‘73. Determined yet scared at the same time, desperate to make it in the music industry but leaning on cultural figures who were showing her how it could be done. We all, not least Nicks’ parents, have Mitchell to thank for one of the greatest musicians to ever do it.
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