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.
Rollin' Man
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't you want a man like me
Oh baby
Don't you want a man like me
I could give you so much lovin'
More than one woman ever seen
Oh baby
Oh baby
We're gonna make some love tonight
Well be rollin' out the blankets
I'm gonna make you feel alright
I'm your rollin' man
I've got all the love you need
Rollin' man
Got all the love you need
I've got so much lovin'
More than you've ever seen
In "Rollin' Man," Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green invites a potential lover to join him for a night of physical intimacy. The opening lines of the song, "Don't you want a man like me," reveal Green's confidence and suggest that he is trying to convey the message that he is the perfect man for the woman in question. Green further elaborates on his capability by stating that he could give her more loving than any woman has ever seen. The lyrics of the song indicate that Green is a “rollin’ man” who has everything that the woman needs in terms of love and attention.
In the second stanza, Green urges the woman to make love with him, and he assures her that they will be rolling out the blankets and that he is going to make her feel alright. The song's lyrics are straightforward and explicit, with Peter Green singing about his sexual prowess and how he is more than capable of providing satisfying love-making. The lyric “I’m your rollin’ man” and “Got all the love you need” reinforce Green's message that he is the man who can provide everything the woman desires.
Overall, "Rollin' Man" is a simple yet enjoyable blues-rock love song that highlights Green's skills as a guitarist and songwriter. The lyrics are straightforward, and the melody is catchy and engaging, making it one of the most memorable tracks in Fleetwood Mac's early work.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh baby
Expressing affection towards someone
Don't you want a man like me
Asking the person if they are interested in being with someone like the singer
I could give you so much lovin'
Claiming that the singer can give more love than any other woman has ever seen
More than one woman ever seen
The amount of love the singer can give is beyond the experiences of most women
Make some love tonight
Suggesting the idea of a romantic and sexual encounter
We're gonna make some love tonight
Confirming the plan of having a sexual encounter
Well be rollin' out the blankets
Preparing the space and atmosphere for the romantic encounter
I'm gonna make you feel alright
Assuring the person that the singer will provide a great romantic experience
I'm your rollin' man
Identifying himself as a person who can offer love and affection
I've got all the love you need
Asserting that the singer can provide all the love the person desires
Rollin' man
A playful way of describing himself as someone who moves or rolls in life confidently
Got all the love you need
Reassuring the person that the singer is capable of providing an abundant amount of love
I've got so much lovin'
Claiming once again that the singer can provide an extraordinary quantity of love
More than you've ever seen
Emphasizing that the amount of love provided by the singer is unprecedented and beyond the person's expectation
Lyrics © Mute Song Limited
Written by: Clifford Adams, Peter Green
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?