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.
Don't Stop
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If it takes just a little while
Open your eyes and look at the day
You'll see things in a different way
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be, better than before
Why not think about times to come?
And not about the things that you've done
If your life was bad to you
Just think what tomorrow will do
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be, better than before
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone
All I want is to see you smile
If it takes just a little while
I know you don't believe that it's true
I never meant any harm to you
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be, better than before
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be, better than before
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone
Ooh, don't you look back
Ooh, don't you look back
Ooh, don't you look back
Ooh
The song "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac is an uplifting track that encourages listeners to focus on the future and not dwell on past mistakes or negative experiences. The lyrics suggest that if you wake up feeling down or unhappy, you should open your eyes and look at the day with a different perspective. This is followed by the iconic chorus, which repeats the phrase "don't stop thinking about tomorrow" as a way to motivate people to look forward to what the future holds.
The second verse of the song suggests that people should focus on the positive things that are yet to come, rather than dwelling on past experiences or regrets. The message of the song is further emphasized in the bridge, where the singer expresses a desire to see the listener smile and tries to reassure them that they never had any harmful intentions.
Overall, "Don't Stop" is a song that encourages positivity and hope, reminding listeners that better days are still to come. It's a classic example of the type of upbeat, optimistic music that Fleetwood Mac became famous for in the 1970s and 1980s.
Line by Line Meaning
If you wake up and don't want to smile
If you feel unhappy as soon as you wake up
If it takes just a little while
If it takes only a little time to change your perspective
Open your eyes and look at the day
Take a fresh look at the day ahead
You'll see things in a different way
You will have a different perspective and feel better
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Keep looking ahead to the future
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
Keep a positive attitude, good things are coming
It'll be, better than before
The future will be better than the past
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone
Let go of past regrets and worries
Why not think about times to come?
Why not focus on the future?
And not about the things that you've done
Instead of dwelling on the past, focus on the future
If your life was bad to you
If your life has been difficult for you
Just think what tomorrow will do
Imagine how much better tomorrow could be
All I want is to see you smile
I just want to see you happy
I know you don't believe that it's true
I know you don't think that things can get better
I never meant any harm to you
I never intended to hurt you
Ooh, don't you look back
Don't dwell on the past
Ooh, don't you look back
Don't get stuck in the past
Ooh, don't you look back
Don't let past regrets hold you back
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Christine McVie
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?