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.
Preachin'
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
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I was up this mornin', ah, blues walkin' like a man
Worried blues, give me your right hand
And the blues fell mama's child, tore me all upside down
Blues fell mama's child, and it tore me all upside down
Travel on, poor Bob, just can't turn you 'round
Is a low-down shakin' chill
You ain't never had 'em I, hope you never will
Well, the blues, is a achin' old heart disease
Do it now, you gon' do it? Tell me all about it
The blues, is a low-down achin' heart disease
Like consumption, killing me by degrees
I can study rain, oh oh drive, oh oh drive my blues
I been studyin' the rain, I'm 'on drive my blues away
Goin' to the 'stil'ry, stay out there all day
In the song "Preachin'" by Fleetwood Mac, the lyrics use the metaphorical language of the blues to describe a speaker's emotional state. The singer is "blues walkin' like a man," implying that he is in a state of emotional distress, likely caused by heartbreak. He then describes the blues as a "low-down shakin' chill," which serves as an image for the visceral pain that comes with the emotional turmoil of heartbreak. The singer then states that he hopes the listener has never had the blues, implying that it is a terrible experience that he would not wish upon anyone.
Furthermore, the singer goes on to describe the blues as "an achin' old heart disease." This metaphor reinforces the idea that heartbreak is a true illness that is difficult to overcome, much like a physical disease. The singer then concludes the song by saying he will study the rain and go to the "stil'ry" to "drive [his] blues away," indicating that he will try to find solace in distraction and potentially alcohol.
Overall, the lyrics of "Preachin'" demonstrate the power of the blues as a metaphor for intense emotional pain, particularly that of heartbreak. The song expresses the singer's sense of struggle, loss, and desperation, reinforcing the idea that the blues are not only a genre of music, but a deeply felt emotional state.
Line by Line Meaning
I was up this mornin', ah, blues walkin' like a man
I woke up feeling down and defeated, my worries weighing heavily on my mind
Worried blues, give me your right hand
I'm asking for help and guidance from anyone who has experienced these same feelings
And the blues fell mama's child, tore me all upside down
I feel like I've been completely turned upside down by my sadness and despair
Travel on, poor Bob, just can't turn you 'round
I'm encouraging myself to move forward even though it feels impossible, like trying to change the course of a river
The blues, is a low-down shakin' chill, yes, preach 'em now
I'm acknowledging the deep pain and discomfort that comes with the blues, and encouraging others to recognize and speak up about it
You ain't never had 'em I, hope you never will
I wouldn't wish the blues on anyone, it's a truly terrible feeling
Well, the blues, is a achin' old heart disease
The way I'm feeling is like a sickness in my heart that won't go away
Do it now, you gon' do it? Tell me all about it
I'm challenging myself to face my feelings head-on, and asking if others are willing to do the same
The blues, is a low-down achin' heart disease
My sadness is consuming me and feels like it's slowly killing me from the inside out
Like consumption, killing me by degrees
The way I'm feeling is like a terminal illness, slowly wearing me down over time
I can study rain, oh oh drive, oh oh drive my blues
I'm going to try and distract myself and focus on other things to try and alleviate my sadness
I been studyin' the rain, I'm 'on drive my blues away
I've been trying to focus on the natural world and find some peace and solace there
Goin' to the 'stil'ry, stay out there all day
I'm going to lose myself in work or some other activity to try and forget about my troubles
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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?