Primarily a British blues band, Fleetwood Mac scored a UK number one with "Albatross", and had other hits such as the singles "Oh Well" and "Man of the World". All three guitarists left in succession during the early 1970s, to be replaced by guitarists Bob Welch and Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker. By 1974, all three of them had either departed or been dismissed, leaving the band without a male lead vocalist or guitarist. In late 1974, while Fleetwood was scouting studios in Los Angeles, he was introduced to American folk-rock duo Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood Mac soon asked Buckingham to be their new lead guitarist, and Buckingham agreed on condition that Nicks would also join the band.
The addition of Buckingham and Nicks gave the band a more pop rock sound, and their 1975 self-titled album, Fleetwood Mac, reached No. 1 in the United States. Rumours (1977), Fleetwood Mac's second album after the arrival of Buckingham and Nicks, produced four U.S. Top 10 singles and remained at number one on the American albums chart for 31 weeks. It also reached the top spot in various countries around the world and won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978. Rumours has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in history. The band went through personal turmoil while recording the album, as both the romantic partnerships in the band (one being John and Christine McVie, and the other being Buckingham and Nicks) separated while continuing to make music together.
The band's personnel remained stable through three more studio albums, but by the late 1980s began to disintegrate. After Buckingham and Nicks each left the band, they were replaced by a number of other guitarists and vocalists. A 1993 one-off performance for the first inauguration of Bill Clinton featured the lineup of Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Nicks, and Buckingham back together for the first time in six years. A full reunion occurred four years later, and the group released their fourth U.S. No. 1 album, The Dance (1997), a live compilation of their hits, also marking the 20th anniversary of Rumours. Christine McVie left the band in 1998, but continued to work with the band in a session capacity. Meanwhile, the group remained together as a four-piece, releasing their most recent studio album, Say You Will, in 2003. Christine McVie rejoined the band full-time in 2014. In 2018, Buckingham was fired from the band and was replaced by Mike Campbell, formerly of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House.
Fleetwood Mac has sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling bands. In 1979, the group was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1998 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
Danny Kirwan, guitarist, songwriter and early member of Fleetwood Mac (1968–1972) died in London, England, on 8 June 2018, aged 68. An obituary in The New York Times said he had died in his sleep after contracting pneumonia earlier in the year. The British music magazine Mojo quoted Christine McVie as saying: "Danny Kirwan was the white English blues guy. Nobody else could play like him. He was a one-off ... Danny and Peter [Green] gelled so well together. Danny had a very precise, piercing vibrato – a unique sound ... He was a perfectionist; a fantastic musician and a fantastic writer." One of Kirwan's songs, "Tell Me All the Things You Do" from the 1970 album Kiln House, was included in the set of the 2018–19 An Evening with Fleetwood Mac tour.
On 28 May 2020 Neil Finn, featuring Nicks and McVie, with Campbell on guitar, released the song “Find Your Way Back Home” for the Auckland, New Zealand homeless shelter Auckland City Mission.
Founding member Peter Green died on 25 July 2020 at the age of 73. In October 2020, Rumours again entered the Billboard top 10. The album received 30.6 million plays on streaming platforms the week of October 15, after a TikTok video of the song "Dreams" went viral.
On 30 November 2022, it was announced that band member Christine McVie died at the age of 79, after a short illness.
Big Love
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the night so still
Oh, I'll build you a kingdom
In that house on the hill
Lookin' out for love
Big, big love
And that you always will
Oh, you begged me to keep you
In that house on the hill
Lookin' out for love
Big, big love
I wake up
Alone with it all
I wake up
But only to fall
Lookin' out for love
Big, big love
Just lookin' out for love
Big, big love
The first verse of Fleetwood Mac's "Big Love" is a description of someone who is searching for love. The feeling of the night being still is juxtaposed with the urgency of finding love. This is followed by the lyric, "Oh, I'll build you a kingdom in that house on the hill." This figurative language is a promise of a better life and future filled with happiness and love. The singer's desire to provide this to someone demonstrates their commitment and longing to find that one person to share their lives with.
The second verse, however, is associated with heartbreak. The same person who was looking for love is questioning and describing their vulnerability as they wake up alone. The lines "I wake up but only to fall" suggests that the person has been let down before and is afraid of this happening again. The chorus, "Lookin' out for love, Big, big love," is a reminder that their search for love remains unwaveringly. All they want is someone to love them, and they are constantly searching for it. They are looking for a love that will be intense and will fill their deepest desires.
Interpretation is subjective, but the overall theme of "Big Love" is a desire for love, happiness, and fulfillment. The lyrics are applicable to anyone who has ever been searching for that perfect love. Fleetwood Mac's song Big Love has had commercial success and has been featured in various popular movies and TV shows.
Line by Line Meaning
Looking out for love
The singer is searching for love
In the night so still
It's quiet and calm around the singer at night
Oh, I'll build you a kingdom
The singer is willing to create a perfect world for the person they love
In that house on the hill
The singer imagines their perfect world to be in a high place, with a clear view of everything
You said that you love me
The person the singer is addressing claimed to love them
And that you always will
The love the person has for the singer is ongoing and forever
Oh, you begged me to keep you
The person has asked the singer to keep them close
I wake up
The singer has just awoken
Alone with it all
Despite the love, the singer is still lonely
But only to fall
The singer's longing for love causes them to feel a sense of dropping or falling
Just lookin' out for love
The singer is still searching for love
Big, big love
The singer is looking for a grand, powerful love
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Lindsey Buckingham
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Hot_Hard_Cowboy
Looking out for love
In the night so still
Oh, I'll build you a kingdom
In that house on the hill
Lookin' out for love
Big, big love
You said that you love me
And that you always will
Oh, you begged me to keep you
In that house on the hill
Lookin' out for love
Big, big love
I wake up
Alone with it all
I wake up
But only to fall
Lookin' out for love
Big, big love
Just lookin' out for love
Big, big love
@matthewmckee9914
Who's listening in 2024, this music is timeless. Fleetwood Mac.
@williammayfield5846
❤
@user-jm3hy8ne9b
I loved this song that came out 5 years ago and still it now in 2024 😊
@cwick13
Fake ass bot
@Hadi_baby234
Hearing it right now for the first time, wished was born 30 years earlier
@nikosivanov5500
From Russia with love
@johanvandooren6901
RIP Christine McVie 😭😭😭😭
@smoothoperator7023
R.I.P. Fleetwood Mac
No Christine, no Lindsey 😫
@jhill6337
I had to find out in a YouTube comment... wth.
@matimus100
Was he a Christian?