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.
Crystal
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Special knowledge holds true, bears believing
I turned around and the water was closing all around like a glove
Like the love that had finally, finally found me
Then I knew in the crystalline knowledge of you
Drove me through the mountains
Through the crystal-like and clear water fountain
To the sea
To the sea
To the sea, yeah
How the faces of love have changed, turning the pages
And I have changed, oh, but you, you remain ageless
I turned around and the water was closing all around like a glove
Like the love that had finally, finally found me
Then I knew in the crystalline knowledge of you
Drove me through the mountains
Through the crystal-like and clear water fountain
Drove me like a magnet
To the sea
To the sea
To the sea, yeah
To the sea, yeah
The song "Crystal" by Fleetwood Mac is a song about the power of love and following your instincts. The lyrics start with a question, "Do you always trust your first initial feeling?" The singer emphasizes that special knowledge holds true and should be believed. Then, the song describes being surrounded by water, like a glove, as well as finally finding love. The singer emphasizes a "crystalline" knowledge of love, having driven through the mountains to the sea.
The second verse describes the changing faces of love, implying that although love changes, the person singing the song will always remain devoted to their lover. Again, the imagery of water surrounding the singer is used, emphasizing the power of love to envelop and protect them. The song ends with a strong emphasis on being driven by love, like a magnet to the sea.
Overall, "Crystal" is a song about the transformative power of love and the importance of trusting one's instincts. It uses vivid imagery of water, mountains, and magnets to illustrate the strength of love and the depths of its emotional impact.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you always trust your first initial feeling?
Do you have faith in your gut reaction?
I turned around and the water was closing all around like a glove
I found myself surrounded by water that enveloped me like a glove
Like the love that had finally, finally found me
Like love that finally discovered me after a long search
Then I knew in the crystalline knowledge of you
Then I was certain with deep and sparkling knowledge of you
Drove me through the mountains
Compelled me through the rocky terrain
Through the crystal-like and clear water fountain
Through a water fountain that shone like crystal and was transparent
Drove me like a magnet
Pulled me irresistibly like a magnet
To the sea
Toward the ocean
How the faces of love have changed, turning the pages
How the faces of love have altered, as time moved forward
And I have changed, oh, but you, you remain ageless
And I have changed, but you stay timeless
To the sea, yeah
To the ocean, yeah
To the sea, yeah
To the ocean, yeah
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Stevie Nicks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Henri Hudson
on Tusk
Why don't you ask him if he's going to stay?
Why don't you ask him if he's going away?