Band Session I 2024: Fleetwood Mac
Since the band was formed in 1967, Fleetwood Mac’s membership has famously been a bit of a revolving door. In 1974 drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie and keyboardist and vocalist Christine McVie recruited guitarist and singer Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks to form the perhaps best-known version of the band, and Fleetwood Mac’s sound began to evolve from British blues to pop rock.
Although the band’s lineup continued to shift over the decades, through make-ups, break-ups, betrayals and, at one point, a complete disbanding in the middle of a tour (Wikipedia has a huge, complicated chart breaking down who was a member when, if you’re curious), the drama somehow seemed to fuel the musical output rather than hamper it.
Their 1975 album, eponymously titled “Fleetwood Mac,” was a No. 1 hit in the US, and four US Top 10 singles emerged from their 1977 Grammy-winning “Rumours” album alone: “Go Your Own Way,” “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop” and “You Make Loving Fun.” In 1998 Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
What can we learn from Fleetwood Mac? In addition to choosing your bandmates wisely and turning conflict into musical inspiration, we can learn to embrace unusual musical collaborations (“Tusk” featured the USC Trojan Marching Band, and the band has toured with everyone from former Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell to Neil Finn of Crowded House in the line-up) and put our own spin on existing songs (Santana’s hit “Black Magic Woman” was originally an early blues-heavy Fleetwood Mac song that Santana infused with Latin grooves and percussion instruments like conga, bongos, timbales and guiro).
Check out these classic Fleetwood Mac songs and covers for inspiration as you plan your performance (see the Spotify playlist on the right for links):
Landslide (and the cover by The Chicks)
Go Your Own Way (and the cover by The Cranberries)
Second Hand News
Never Going Back Again
Tusk
Rhiannon (and the cover by Best Coast)
I Don’t Want to Know
Monday Morning
Don’t Stop
Little Lies
Dreams
The Chain (and the cover by Harry Styles)
You Make Loving Fun
Think About Me
Hold Me (and the cover by HAIM)
Say You Love Me
Gold Dust Woman
Everywhere (and the cover by Paramore)
What Makes You Think You’re the One
World Turning
More covers: https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-fleetwood-mac-covers
Important Dates:
Start date: September 3, 2024
End date: November 1, 2024
Dress Rehearsal: November 1, 2024
Show: November 3, 2024
(9 weeks)
Holidays:
– September 2, 2024
Further reading:
Official website
Wikipedia