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.
Lemon Squeezer
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and you know loving mama you can't squeeze them by yourself
let me be your lemon squeezer while i'm in your lonesome town
let me be your lemon squeezer till my love come on down
i like your apples on your tree i'm crazy about your peaches too
i'm crazy about your fruit because you know just how to do
you know that there ain't but one thing woman really makes me cry
ask you about all your lemons but you always tell me lies
ride you loving mama till you just can't take no more
i'm going to ride you on the floor ride you on the bed
ride you loving mama till this thing turn cherry red
In the song "Lemon Squeezer" by Fleetwood Mac, the singer expresses their desire to be with a woman who has an abundance of fruit but lacks the ability to squeeze them on her own. The lyrics suggest that the fruit can be seen as a metaphor for the love and affection that the woman possesses, and the singer offers to be the one to extract and enjoy it. The lyrics may also suggest a sexual connotation, as the singer states that they will "ride" the woman until she can take no more.
The song is a blues track, and its lyrics are typical of the genre's focus on love, relationships, and sexual desire. The use of fruit as a metaphor for love and affection is a common theme in blues music, often referring to the sweetness of a person's love or the potential for love to go bad. Overall, despite the song's explicit lyrics, it is a catchy and entertaining addition to Fleetwood Mac's blues-inspired repertoire.
Line by Line Meaning
well you got fruit on your tree lemons on your shelf
You have many options and opportunities available to you.
and you know loving mama you can't squeeze them by yourself
You need help to fully take advantage of these opportunities.
let me be your lemon squeezer while i'm in your lonesome town
Allow me to be the one to help you make the most of these opportunities.
let me be your lemon squeezer till my love come on down
Let me assist you until a better solution is available.
i like your apples on your tree i'm crazy about your peaches too
I appreciate and value all that you have to offer.
i'm crazy about your fruit because you know just how to do
I admire your talents and abilities in utilizing your resources.
you know that there ain't but one thing woman really makes me cry
There is only one thing that truly hurts me.
ask you about all your lemons but you always tell me lies
You don't share your struggles and difficulties with me.
i'm going to ride you on the bed i'm going to ride you on the floor
I will show you intense passion and desire.
ride you loving mama till you just can't take no more
I will continue until you reach complete satisfaction.
i'm going to ride you on the floor ride you on the bed
I will move you from one level of pleasure to another.
ride you loving mama till this thing turn cherry red
I will not stop until we both reach the peak of pleasure and ecstasy.
Contributed by Nolan P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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?