TMS Muse of the Week: Christine McVie

(Associated Press)

When Grammy winning singer-songwriter-pianist Christine McVie died seven weeks ago, a couple of phrases kept being used throughout tributes to the music artist: ‘secret weapon’ and ‘key to success.’ This is in reference to, naturally, the most famous band Christine was a member of, Fleetwood Mac. Not Stevie Nicks, not Lindsey Buckingham, not even founding member Peter Green is the being credited as the reason for the ever-evolving group’s legacy, but Christine. The ‘less pretty’ female member and the one who people sometimes go, “oh yeah, there’s another woman in Fleetwood Mac,” over. Those who pay attention to FM and classic rock know this is a ridiculous line of thinking though. I like surprising people when I inform them that it wasn’t Stevie who wrote the most hit singles for the Mac, but Christine. I love Stevie’s songs and whole persona, yet in terms of catchy, ear-worm tunes with lovely lyrics, it’s hard to deny anyone in the band could knock them out effortlessly as much as the English blonde. Appropriately named Christine Anne Perfect at birth, the musician broke through her career as the frontwoman of the local UK band Chicken Shack in the late 1960s and even had a brief stint in The Spencer Davis Group before teen wonder Steve Winwood took over. Chris started becoming familiar in the FM circle when she began a relationship with bassist, John McVie, in 1968; and could already be heard on as early as the rock band’s second album, ‘Mr. Wonderful,’ with uncredited session playing the same year. She contributed more bits and pieces in the studio as favors for FM until 1971’s ‘Future Games,’ when Chris, guitarist Danny Kirwan and US based songwriter Bob Welch were given the reigns following the departures of Peter and another guitarist, Jeremy Spencer.

Suddenly one of the most popular, hard-rocking blues acts in the UK music scene was a little softer and poppier, and not in a bad way. In fact, Christine herself started out bluesy, which you can witness through her work with Chicken Shack and her first self-titled LP from 1970. One of her favorite songs to cover was Etta James’ ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ during this period. But by the time Chris was officially joining her husband’s band, she was gradually merging into her signature melodic, bittersweet romance and farewell themes. ‘Why,’ the closing track off the 1973 album ‘Mystery to Me,’ is a top 10 fave Mac song for me, which almost feels like a precursor to Stevie’s ‘Silver Springs’ five years later. Chris’ somber plea to John marked yet another transition for the Mac. By 1974, Bob convinced the band to move to California and in 1975, Stevie and Lindsey were added to the constantly changing line-up as Bob parted ways. The messy, chaotic, influential, mega successful music and backstories we all know and love quickly followed while Fleetwood Mac helped form the term ‘soft rock’ in the late 1970s. For Chris, she hit her prime as the queen of the new subgenre with tracks like ‘Say You Love Me’ and ‘Over My Head’ on the band’s self-titled 1975 LP, ‘You Make Loving Fun,’ ‘Don’t Stop’ and ‘Songbird’ on ‘Rumours’ (1977), and ‘Think About Me’ and ‘Brown Eyes’ from ‘Tusk’ (1979).

(David Redfern)

Unlike Stevie and Lindsey, who both had divisive critical reactions for their inputs on ‘Tusk,’ Christine was usually guaranteed safe within reviewers and fans. FM had a decent start to the 1980s with 1982’s ‘Mirage,’ which included ‘Hold Me,’ yet another hit by Chris; and the band’s ‘Tango in the Night’ (1987) featuring an impressive trio of popular singles, including Christine’s ‘Little Lies’ and ‘Everywhere.’ But the ‘80s would be the bigger decade for Lindsey’s and [especially] Stevie’s solo careers. Though Chris released her second solo record, ‘Christine McVie’ in 1984, including the hit pop tune ‘Got a Hold on Me;’ let’s just say she wasn’t popping up on MTV or VH1 as much as her younger bandmates. This isn’t necessarily terrible though. Considering her lowkey demeanor and restrained qualities when not performing, the keyboardist probably appreciated most of the press focusing on Lindsey & Stevie’s drama more than Chris & John’s; or Chris’ crazy romance with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys post-divorce from John in 1979-1982. Yet Chris’ bandmates could always count on her musically, which made it surprising when she retired after her third and final solo album, ‘In the Meantime’ (2004) and particularly following the triumphant FM reunion concert and live LP ‘The Dance’ (1997).

Chris’ impact and contributions were obvious when fans didn’t hold back making it clear how much they missed her during the absence. She eventually returned in 2014 along with co-composing and recording the 2017 LP ‘Buckingham McVie’ with Lindsey. The revived classic line-up would be somewhat short lived with Lindsey himself being kicked out less than a year after the BMcV record. Christine’s death only five years later was probably a shock to music listeners, especially with how many close-calls some of her bandmates have had over the years. Though her maiden name was Perfect, the respected artist never boasted her success and was candid about her past alcoholism and regret not having children. Like Stevie, she found peace with herself in a business where it’s hard to find a celebrity appearing genuinely human. Words, music, vocals, keys; friend, bandmate, lover. Christine was one for the ages.