On February 4, 1977 the world of rock and roll was greatly impacted by all elements of Fleetwood Mac’s newest and biggest album. “Rumours” is notably historical and one of the most iconic albums of the 1970s. But more happened behind the scenes than what meets the eye.
Prior to the release of “Rumours”, the band released a self-titled album which generated a decent amount of popularity and, within the year of its release, sold 500,000 copies. ‘Dreams’ reached the number one chart spot in June of ‘77 and the album as a whole held the number one spot for 30 weeks.
As of 2023, this specific album has sold over 40 million copies world wide. And according to Forbes, “Rumours” is on “the Top Rock Albums roster” at number six as of March 25, 2024.
The title did not come with ease, though. In the documentary “Fleetwood Mac- Classic Album: Rumours”, Stevie Nicks describes the endless blood, sweat, and tears everyone poured into the album.
She explains how each member would write about their personal experiences, sacrificing many hours of many days to ultimately birth the wonder of Rumours. To say the band “earned” the record-breaking titles, would be an understatement.
Fleetwood Mac was run by the Warner Bros. record label and included the five main members; Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, and of course Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
The romantic and substance abusive inner-workings of this group provided a basis for the spiraling chaos that birthed the infamous “breakup songs” of the album.
The two couples who were, at the time the album was being composed, the Mcvies’ dissolving marriage and the recently broken up Nicks and Buckingham.
To Rolling Stone Magazine, Christine McVie described the making of “Rumours” to just be filled with “Dra-ma”.
In contrast to the McVies’ calm demeanor and class, Nicks and Buckingham displayed utter chaos.
Throughout the tour, Nicks was mocked by Buckingham on stage and, in turn, fueled her addictive behaviors. They were rumored to alway be fighting and would only pull it together “while the recording light was turned on”, says Biography.
Even after the “Rumours” tour and during the following albums’ performances, public displays of dysfunctionality persisted on stage, one of the most infamous being the 1997 performance of “Silver Springs” that Nicks sang threateningly into Buckingham’s face, emphasizing that he would “never get away from the woman that loves [him]”.
Their seemingly ever-lastling feud seems to linger in Nicks’ mind throughout her performances today of many songs such as “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”.
From this iconic album, the audience can marvel at the majesty of Stevie Nicks, the dramatic energy between her and Lindsey Buckingham, the competition of the members of the band, and the utter enchantment of the music and lyrics. All of these elements set the stage for decades of speculation and success.