TMS Muse of the Week: Stevie Nicks

(Bob West)

If Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick was the female sex symbol of rock music in the 1960s, then there are only two ladies I can think of who could fit the bill for the 1970s: Stevie Nicks and Debbie Harry. While Debbie definitely had all the sex appeal any female superstar would need, I think most people would agree that Blondie’s music is just as much pop as it is rock. Although there are plenty of poppy and catchy tunes in Fleetwood Mac, let’s say you can’t bop to them on the dancefloor like you can with Blondie. So for this MOTW, I’m going to focus on Gypsy Queen herself, Stevie [born Stephanie Lynn Nicks]. I’ve always felt the Californian blonde has quite a lot in common with her fellow NorCal native, Grace. Both began their careers in the San Fran music scene, both had infamous, messy relationships with their bandmates, both quickly became the frontwoman of their legendary bands after replacing past members, both had unique public personas that were controversial for different reasons, both are beautiful and, of course, both are musically talented.

A couple of differences between the two rock women are that Stevie didn’t become a mother like Grace, and Grace’s solo career was never as mega successful as Stevie’s. The Mac vocalist is also more traditional with her songwriting [i.e. love songs and break-up tunes]. And unlike Grace, who’s tumultuous history with Paul Kantner was after she joined Airplane, Stevie and her former boyfriend and music collaborator Lindsey Buckingham are rooted all the way back to high school. Within no time, the couple joined a local band called Fritz in 1967, then abandoned San Jose State University to head down to Los Angeles and form their own duo music act Buckingham Nicks in 1971. After a flop self-titled debut album in 1973 and hardly any money coming in from SoCal concerts, drummer Mick Fleetwood happened to fatefully be in the same studio where the BN LP was recorded and heard Lindsey’s guitar solo on the final track, ‘Frozen Love.’ Instantly impressed, he contacted the musician and offered him to be the latest lead guitarist in his band Fleetwood Mac, as their previous frontman, Bob Welch had just parted ways. Lindsey naturally was interested—but on one condition. His girlfriend had to join too.

From 1975 to 1980, the world saw Stevie, Lindsey and third songwriter Christine McVie at the prime of Fleetwood Mac’s success. We experienced Stevie’s penchant for witchy and mystical themes with songs like ‘Rhiannon’ off FM’s self-titled 1975 LP, ‘Gold Dust Woman’ on ‘Rumours’ (1977) and ‘Sisters of the Moon’ from ‘Tusk’ (1979); her somber, yet optimistic ballads like ‘Landslide’ (1975), ‘Dreams’ (1977) and ‘Beautiful Child’ (1979); epic tracks such as ‘Silver Springs’ (1977) and ‘Sara’ (1979); and catchy pop-rock with ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’ (1977) and ‘Angel’ (1979). All of this blended with Lindsey’s own power pop preference and Christine’s signature easy listening made for a ton of records and concert tickets sold. Stevie was also consistently listed as one of the best live performers and sexiest music artists by rock publications.

Though FM continued in the 1980s with the albums ‘Mirage’ (1982) and ‘Tango in the Night’ (1987), Stevie’s main focus that decade was her solo career. Skyrocketing individually with her first solo album, ‘Bella Donna,’ in 1981, Stevie gained superstardom with the hit singles ‘Edge of Seventeen,’ ‘Leather and Lace’ [a duet with Don Henley] and ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ [a collab with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers]. Along with an additional Petty/Heartbreakers duet with ‘Insider’ on Tom’s 1981 LP ‘Hard Promises,’ Stevie was the woman on top of the music scene in the early ‘80s, save for maybe Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde. The light-haired songstress carried on with sold-out shows and more hits including ‘Stand Back’ and ‘If Anyone Falls’ from her LP ‘The Wild Heart’ (1983), and ‘Talk to Me’ and ‘I Can’t Wait’ on 1985’s ‘Rock a Little.’

(Fin Costello)

While I’ve always enjoyed Stevie as a performer and singer, I’ve never actually been completely in love with her lyrics. She’s often described as a poet who happens to sing, and I think that rings true a lot. Her habit of featuring multiple themes on one song can be a mixed bag on occasion and sometimes sound confusing [see: ‘Sara’ covering a break-up, abortion and former friend within six minutes]. I much prefer when she focuses on one subject, like ‘Dreams’ or ‘Rhiannon.’ My favorite Stevie composition is ‘Storms’ off FM’s ‘Tusk,’ which is a mellow, soft song about regret and acceptance. Something I related to a lot when I first started really getting into FM while I was in college. Like a lot of music acts, the delivery and showmanship are usually distracting enough for any less than par lyrics. And deliver, Stevie did. Not many musicians up to her point were using magical imagery as part of their public persona. This brought an original layer to her femininity, a fairytale like quality young girls gravitated to, and a lot of ridiculous rumors of the artist being a real witch. For someone so associated with her good looks too, the singer-songwriter has to be one of the very few beauties in music to very rarely show skin; save for maybe some minor cleavage, and choose to don long capes and flowy dresses instead.

Some people like to joke that Stevie’s singing vocals sound ‘like a goat,’ which were most famously mocked during the 9/11 episode of Matt Stone & Trey Parker’s “South Park” in 2001. But whether you enjoy the rockstar’s singing or not, you can’t deny her tone and vibrato are distinctive and instantly recognizable. One of rock’s great bachelorettes, many of Stevie’s songs are about famous past lovers including Lindsey, Don, Mick, Joe Walsh and J.D. Souther. Stevie’s ‘Dreams’ is the rock lady’s remorseful response to her break-up with Lindsey, while the guitarist’s FM anthem ‘Go Your Own Way’ also on ‘Rumours’ is a more up-front take. Both Mick and Don are subtly referenced in ‘Sara’ and the Eagles’ 1976 classic hit ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ was supposedly inspired by Lindsey & Stevie’s tempestuous history. Interestingly, out of all her legendary beaus, it’s actually Joe who was Stevie’s favorite. One thing refreshing about Stevie as a celebrity is how she doesn’t try to completely sugarcoat some of her mistakes, such as being open about failed relationships, previous drug addictions and cosmetic surgery. It’s a testament to how beloved and admired the blonde has been since the mid-1970s since she not only has an avid fanbase who will ‘ride or die’ for her, but also younger women in the music industry regularly considering her a mentor; such as Sheryl Crow, Courtney Love, Vanessa Carlton, Florence Welch, Taylor Swift and Lorde. The main riff of ‘Edge of Seventeen’ is even noticeably sampled on hip-hop group Destiny’s Child’s 2001 single ‘Bootylicious’ with Stevie making a cameo in the music video.

Like Grace, Debbie, Sheryl, Vanessa and Taylor, Stevie has left a lasting impression that is hard to deny.