After 40 years, 16 different members, and several break-ups, Fleetwood Mac endures as one of the world's most popular groups, selling more than 100 million albums. Our look at this amazing survival story begins with Fleetwood Mac finding its artistic niche in soft rock driven by haunting lyrics and female vocals.
Mick Fleetwood and John McVie remained constant fixtures, while Christine McVie helped begin the group's transition to softer rock. With the arrival of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac developed its signature sound. The group produced albums such as "Fleetwood Mac," "Rumours" and "Tusk," and a string of hit singles including "Rhiannon," "Go Your Own Way," "Over My Head," and "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow."
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in 1967 in London. Due to numerous line-up changes, the only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood. Although band founder Peter Green named the group by combining the surnames of two of his former bandmates (Fleetwood, McVie) from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, bassist John McVie played neither on their first single nor at their first concerts, as he had to straighten things out with Mayall before joining the band permanently. The keyboardist, Christine McVie, who joined the band in 1970 while married to John McVie, appeared on all but two albums, either as a member or as a session musician. She also supplied the artwork for the album Kiln House.
The two most successful periods for the band were during the late 1960s British blues boom, when they were led by guitarist Peter Green and achieved a UK number one with "Albatross"; and from 1975 to 1987, with more pop-orientation, featuring Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood Mac's second album after the incorporation of Nicks and Buckingham, 1977's Rumours, produced four U.S. Top 10 singles (including Nicks' song "Dreams", which was the band's only U.S. number one) and remained at No.1 on the American albums chart for 31 weeks, as well as reaching the top spot in various countries around the world. To date the album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the eighth highest selling album of all time.
The band achieved more modest success in the intervening period between 1971 and 1974, with the line-up including Bob Welch, and also during the 1990s which saw more personnel changes before the return of Nicks and Buckingham in 1997, and more recently, the departure of Christine McVie. In 1998, Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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