Stevie Nicks

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stevie Nicks
Nicks with Lindsey Buckingham during Fleetwood Mac's 2003 tour.
Nicks with Lindsey Buckingham during Fleetwood Mac's 2003 tour.
Background information
Birth name Stephanie Lynn Nicks
Born May 26, 1948 (1948-05-26) (age 60)
Origin Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Genre(s) Pop, Rock
Instrument(s) Vocals, Tambourine, Piano, Guitar
Years active 1973 – Present
Label(s) Polydor
Modern Records
Atlantic Records
Reprise Records
EMI (UK)
Warner Bros. Records (UK)
Associated acts Fleetwood Mac
Buckingham Nicks
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Website NicksFix.com

Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over twenty Top 50 hits. Her ethereal visual style and heavily symbolic lyrics have brought her critical acclaim.

Nicks was invited to join Fleetwood Mac in 1975 after Mick Fleetwood heard "Frozen Love," a song she wrote and recorded with then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham. (Initially Fleetwood only intended to hire Lindsey Buckingham; however Buckingham told him, "We come as a package deal.") With the success of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album in 1977, Fleetwood Mac regained international fame. Nicks began her solo career in 1981 with Bella Donna, and has produced five more solo studio albums to date.

Nicks has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, and with Fleetwood Mac won the 1977 Grammy for Album of the Year for Rumours. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, she was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Nicks was born at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona to Jess and Barbara Nicks. As a young child, she had difficulty pronouncing her given name Stephanie, and as a result, began calling herself "Stevie". The nickname stuck.

Her mother fostered in her a love for fairy tales, while her grandfather, a struggling country singer, began teaching her to sing at the age of four.[1] Stevie has a brother named Christopher who was married to Lori Perry, one of Stevie's backup singers and ex-wife of producer Gordon Perry.

With her first guitar Goya, at age sixteen, she wrote her first song called "I've Loved and I've Lost, and I'm Sad But Not Blue". She soon joined her first band 'The Changing Times' (named after a Bob Dylan song) while attending Arcadia High School in Arcadia, California.[2]

Nicks first met her future musical and romantic partner Lindsey Buckingham during her senior year at Menlo Atherton High School.[3] She and Buckingham attended a religious meeting called Young Life, where together they sang California Dreamin'. Buckingham remembered Nicks' enchantingly unique voice. A few years later, he contacted Nicks and asked her to join a band (with Javier Pacheco and Calvin Roper) called Fritz, which became popular as a live act from 1968 until 1972. Fritz opened for big-name acts Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, among others, in the San Francisco Bay Area.[4] Both Nicks and Buckingham attended San Jose State University in Northern California, where Nicks majored in Speech Communication.

[edit] History

[edit] Pre–Fleetwood Mac

[edit] Buckingham Nicks

After Fritz disbanded in 1972, Nicks and Buckingham continued to write and record as a duo, producing demo tapes at Buckingham's father's Morris' Coffee Plant. By this time, the two had become romantically involved as well. They secured a deal with Polydor Records, which was attracted by their melodic, California pop harmonies, and photogenic quality.

After selecting songs from the demo tapes, Polydor released the album Buckingham Nicks in 1973. Nicks and Buckingham composed original material for the album, which included the epic "Frozen Love," one of the few songs that the two have written together. The album displayed Buckingham's distinctive guitar work on both electric and acoustic models (showcasing his now trademark finger-picking style), as well as the pair's melodically engaging vocals. Buckingham's songs veered towards blues-rock ("Don't Let Me Down Again"), funk ("Lola (My Love)"), and instrumental folk ("Stephanie," "Django"), while Nicks' material was more pop-inspired ("Crying in the Night") and romantic ("Crystal"). The cover portrait shows Nicks and Buckingham in a topless pose.

The album was not a commercial success, even though the duo played shows to support it. Polydor subsequently dropped them from the recording label. To keep the pair financially afloat, Nicks worked a variety of jobs, which included waiting tables and a stint cleaning engineer/producer Keith Olsen's house while Buckingham, who was recovering from mono, lived there, writing music and practicing guitar.

Nicks and Buckingham briefly relocated to Aspen, Colorado. While there, Buckingham landed a guitar-playing gig with the Everly Brothers. Buckingham decided to tour with them, while Nicks stayed behind. During this time, Nicks wrote "Rhiannon" and "Landslide". In late 1974, a new opportunity arose.

[edit] Joining Fleetwood Mac

[edit] 'Fleetwood Mac'

The debut album Buckingham Nicks caught the attention of drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac. He heard the album playing while visiting a recording studio, Sound City, in Sausalito, California. The band was looking for a new guitar player, following the departure of Bob Welch who left to pursue a solo career, leaving Fleetwood Mac as a trio with only one songwriter, keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie. Initially, Fleetwood was interested only in Buckingham, but Buckingham stated that he would only join if Nicks was also invited into the group, stating firmly that he and Nicks were a "package deal". The band members agreed, and Fleetwood asked the duo to join Fleetwood Mac on December 31, 1974. In 1975, the new band released their self titled album Fleetwood Mac which went to the number one spot and spawned top twenty songs in 1976. Nicks' "Rhiannon" reached #11 and became the song that would shape her image as a Welsh Witch and a sultry rock and roll princess. Almost as enduring as "Rhiannon," the introspective "Landslide" became a popular radio item as well as a Nicks milestone.

[edit] Rumours

in the music video "Dreams"
in the music video "Dreams"

Fleetwood Mac's second album with their new lineup, Rumours, began recording in early 1976 and continued until late in the year. Sessions were dogged by faulty drum tracks, disintegrating tapes, and the tension between the band members, which influenced the songwriting. Nicks' contributions were the jaunty, tight harmony "I Don't Want to Know" (intended for a second Buckingham Nicks album in 1974); the dark, mystical "Gold Dust Woman," a diatribe about the dangers of cocaine and the rock and roll lifestyle; the dramatic "Silver Springs," a b-side about her relationship with Buckingham; and the atmospheric "Dreams," which became the band's only Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit single. Other songs written for the album, but released later, included "Think About It" (recorded for Bella Donna) and "Planets of the Universe" (recorded for Trouble in Shangri-La) Both these tracks were reissued on the expanded and remastered edition of Rumours in 2004.

Rumours was finally released to widespread acclaim in February 1977. It became one of the best-selling albums of all time, selling more than 19 million copies in the U.S., and spending 31 weeks atop the Billboard 200 album chart, being finally replaced by Linda Ronstadt's Simple Dreams. The ensuing tour was another great success for the band, during which time they all began relationships outside the group.

During this period, Nicks had a relationship with singer/songwriter Don Henley of The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac concert promoter David Pesnell which would influence her next batch of songs.

Nicks also had breast augmentation surgery during this period, feeling her physical appearance inadequate given the media attention she was suddenly receiving. The silicone implants were, however, to give her problems later in life. Plagued by chronic fatigue and persistent malaise, Nicks believed the implants to have broken, blaming them for her declining health and consulted numerous physicians in order to prove her theory. After several test results proved negative, against medical advice Nicks had the implants surgically removed. She subsequently claimed that the implants had indeed been broken.[5]

Due to her belief that she suffered from high levels of silicone left in her bloodstream by the implants, Nicks spent the next year in and out of hospital, as well as making several visits to acupuncturists and undergoing numerous sessions with "cleansing" IV drips to "remove" the toxic silicone from her blood.[6] Reflecting in 2004 Nicks remarked "It was truly awful...I'd advise against having them."[7]

After a successful album and tour in 1977–78, Fleetwood Mac settled down to record their third album with the "classic line-up" in the spring of 1978. Helmed largely by Lindsey Buckingham, Tusk ventured into more experimental territory, incorporating odd percussion and arrangements (mostly applied to Buckingham's songs). The band's unorthodox work ethic, and copious amounts of cocaine, led to the album costing approximately $1 million, the most expensive album ever made at the time. The high levels of Nicks's cocaine abuse at this time led to one of the more enduring rumours of her career when it was alleged that she favoured administering the drug anally with the assistance of a roadie employed for this purpose.[8]

In 1978, Nicks sang back-up on Walter Egan's "Magnet & Steel" from Egan's 1978 album Not Shy. The album was produced by Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut.

[edit] Tusk

After a difficult thirteen months of recording and editing, Tusk was released as an 18-track double album in October 19, 1979. The increased price, unusual nature of the songs, and the fact that it was aired on US radio prior to release, contributed to relatively disappointing sales of four million copies.

Nicks' contributions to the album mainly focused on her romantic relationships with Pesnell and Henley during this period. The somber "Storms" and piano ballad "Beautiful Child" were speculated to be about her doomed relationship with Mick Fleetwood, while the Billboard Hot 100 #7 hit "Sara" alluded to her relationships with Fleetwood and Pesnell.

Nicks hinted at the sound of her future solo projects on the rock-inspired "Angel" and the dark "Sisters of the Moon,"(which reached a disappointing #86 on the Billboard Hot 100) about her hectic touring schedule being handled by Pesnell at the time. Nicks also attempted to record another up-tempo rock number, "The Dealer," for Tusk, but it was shelved.

Around this time Nicks had her first 'solo' hit, with a duet with Kenny Loggins on "Whenever I Call You Friend." Another top-five 'solo' hit Nicks had around this time was, in the form of a duet with John Stewart, the country-tinged "Gold." During 1979, while work for Tusk was still ongoing, Nicks began laying down early demos for a solo album. During the exhaustive year-long world tour for the album, in 1979–80, she continued to write and gather material for a new project outside Fleetwood Mac. She ended her relationship with Henley at the beginning of the tour, but her relationship continued with Pesnell until it was ended at the end of the concert tour.

By 1978, Nicks became concerned with an increasing backlog of songs, dating back to her Buckingham/Nicks days that she was unable to record and release with Fleetwood Mac, due to the constraint of having three songwriters. With Danny Goldberg and Paul Fishkin, Nicks founded Modern Records, a vehicle to record and release her own material. During the making and touring of the Tusk album, Nicks began working on demos for a planned solo record.

The earliest band sessions for the album came in April 1980 with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Tom Moncrieff, tracking songs including an early version of "Gypsy." Further work commenced once the Tusk tour ended in late 1980, with sessions lasting from then until the spring of the following year, helmed by Jimmy Iovine and featuring various contributions from Petty and his band. During 1981 Nicks toured with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and New Zealand band Split Enz as a guest.

[edit] Mirage

During 1981, the individual members of Fleetwood Mac continued their careers with solo projects (see below), but at the end of the year they reconvened to record a follow-up to Tusk in France. The album took on a more melodic, commercial sound akin to Rumours, but the band's performances were notably less passionate, and the song quality was arguably not as high. Buckingham's material was more 1950s rock 'n roll-inspired, while Christine McVie turned to piano ballads. Nicks offered "Gypsy," one of the album's hit singles, which was originally tested for her solo album Bella Donna, as well as the country-inspired "That's Alright," written during the Buckingham Nicks days a decade earlier, and the dark, newly-written "Straight Back." The second single from "Mirage", "Gypsy" reached #12 and was the subject of a dramatic award winning video featuring Nicks as a Depression era waif.

Playing up to the media image of Fleetwood Mac as two sparring, romantically entangled couples, Mirage was released in June 1982 with a cover photo featuring Nicks in the arms of her former partner, Lindsey Buckingham. The album quickly went double platinum and spent a considerable amount of time on the album charts, producing several hit singles. The short Mirage tour took place between September and October 1982, and included Nicks' performance of "Sisters of the Moon", her 1979 Tusk album track and concert encore. This performance has been designated the "speaking in tongues version" by some fans as Nicks, entranced in the performance, seems to speak in tongues at the song's climax. The video of this performance is highly collectible.

Other Nicks' songs considered for the album but unreleased include another version of "If You Were My Love," also tried for Bella Donna, and "Smile At You," originally planned for Tusk and finally issued more than two decades later on Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Will" album. After the tour, Nicks settled down to record her second solo album.

[edit] Tango in the Night

in the music video "Seven Wonders"
in the music video "Seven Wonders"

In 1986, Fleetwood Mac began work on Tango in the Night. The album marked a return to a more commercial pop sound, and was propelled by a string of hit singles.

Released in April 1987, the album Tango in the Night included Nicks' performance of "Seven Wonders" (Billboard #19); however, creative differences and unresolved personal issues within the band (between Nicks and Buckingham, in particular) led Buckingham to quit the group right before their Tango in the Night world tour. Buckingham has never attributed that decision directly to his volatile relationship with Nicks, but it is often speculated to be the reason. In the Fleetwood Mac segment of British TV program Rock Family Trees (broadcast in 1995), John McVie described the confrontation between Nicks and Buckingham at Christine McVie's house in August 1987 as "physically ugly". Nicks admitted that Buckingham almost killed her, after she violently rejected Buckingham's decision to leave the band. After Buckingham chased her through the house and out onto the street and, according to Mick Fleetwood in his disputed autobiography, threw her against a car and strangled her, Nicks warned him that if he killed her and none of the other band members came to get him, her brother Christopher and father Jess would murder him.[9] This interview was held at a time when many of the members of Fleetwood Mac were not speaking; Stevie and Mick had disputed over the use of the song "Silver Springs" (recorded in 1976) for her solo retrospective album in 1991, while Fleetwood intended to premier it on the Fleetwood Mac box set The Chain: 25 Years in 1992, as well as items considered scandalously exaggerated in his autobiography. Therefore, claims over what really happened before Buckingham left in 1987 are unclear, and have often been misinterpreted and discounted.

Though set back by Buckingham's departure, Fleetwood Mac eventually toured anyway, replacing Buckingham with Rick Vito and Billy Burnette for the Shake The Cage Tour, from September to December 1987. The set-list included "Stand Back"; this would later be performed on every Fleetwood Mac tour in which Nicks participated. However, the set-list had some major omissions mid-tour (especially "Rhiannon" and "Gypsy"), several shows had to be delayed or canceled and the tour was cut short (particularly, dates in Australia were canceled and European dates were pushed forward to May 1988) due to Nicks' bout with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (in addition to her dependence on tranquilizers). A concert performed at the Cow Palace in San Francisco was taped and later released.

Tango in the Night had returned Fleetwood Mac to huge critical and commercial success on the tenth anniversary of Rumours. The surge in popularity led to the release of their Greatest Hits album in November 1988. The new line-up recorded two new songs for the release, Christine McVie's "As Long As You Follow" and Nicks' "No Questions Asked". The album, which became a major chart fixture, has sold more than eight million copies to date in the US alone.

[edit] Behind the Mask

In 1990, Nicks set to work with Fleetwood Mac on a new album. This was the first studio album with the new line-up featuring Vito and Burnette (though this line-up had already recorded two new songs that were featured on the 1988 Greatest Hits album).

Nicks' contributions included the co-writes "Love is Dangerous," "Freedom," and "The Second Time," as well as her self-penned, melodic "Affairs of the Heart." The album, entitled Behind the Mask, was released to mixed reviews April 10, 1990 and marked the end of the "classic era" line-up and the beginning of a second "wilderness" period for Fleetwood Mac.

The album was certified gold and still hit the Top 20 on the Billboard 200, but it was nowhere near the level of success of previous Fleetwood Mac albums, and it is one of the band's least commercially- and critically-successful albums. After the Behind the Mask tour (on the last night, Buckingham and Nicks reunited to perform "Landslide"), Nicks left the group to concentrate on her solo career, and Christine McVie retired from touring.

[edit] Bill Clinton Inauguration

During the 1992 U.S. presidential campaign, Bill Clinton used the Fleetwood Mac hit "Don't Stop" (written by Christine McVie) as his campaign theme song. The Rumours-era line-up of Fleetwood Mac reunited to perform the song at his 1993 Inaugural Gala, sowing the seeds for a later reunion album and tour. Because of Nicks' inactivity due to chronic fatigue syndrome as well as a debilitating addiction to painkillers, she had gained an alarming amount of weight. Disgusted by her physical appearance, Nicks vowed at the time to never set foot on a stage again.

[edit] The Chain

Fleetwood Mac also released a four-disc box set, The Chain, in November 1992 featuring songs spanning the band's entire career, although focusing much more on the 1975–87 era. The compilation, later also issued as a slimmer two-disc volume,and featured album tracks, b-sides, alternate mixes, and previously unreleased tracks like "Heart of Stone", "Love Shines", "Make Me a Mask", and "Paper Doll" (which Nicks co-wrote).

[edit] The Dance

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Rumours, the "classic" Fleetwood Mac line-up reunited for an album and tour beginning in May 1997. Lindsey Buckingham enlisted the help of the band's rhythm section Mick Fleetwood and John McVie for a planned solo album, which gradually mutated into a full-scale reunion. The tour was an immense success, with the opening shows recorded for video and album release. The video, which was recorded on their first and second nights performing together in 10 years and in surround sound, garnered critical acclaim. It was recorded on a Hollywood sound stage at Warner Bros. Studios before many of Hollywood's elite and featured the USC Trojan Marching Band on the song "Tusk."

This live release, The Dance, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 in the autumn of 1997 and earned the group a Grammy nomination. Two promotional singles — both Nicks songs — were released: an emotional, acoustic reading of "Landslide" and the epic "Silver Springs," which had been originally planned for Rumours but was shelved due to its length, as each vinyl side contained only 24 minutes. Instead, the song was relegated to b-side status for "Go Your Own Way," but on The Dance earned Nicks a Rock Vocal Performance nomination. In 1998, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won the Outstanding Contribution at the BRIT Awards.

Nicks once again had to put plans for a new solo album on the back burner when she was approached by Warner Brothers to release a solo career-spanning box set, to finish her contract with Atlantic Records. After the culmination of the Fleetwood Mac reunion tour, Nicks settled down in Los Angeles and Phoenix with close friends and colleagues to devise a track list for this three-disc collection.

In 2002, a second greatest hits album from Fleetwood Mac, The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, was released, becoming another successful platinum smash with a more in-depth track list.

[edit] Say You Will

In 2001, while touring for Trouble in Shangri-La, Nicks received the news that the other members of Fleetwood Mac were planning a new studio album. The line-up consisted of the rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, as well as Lindsey Buckingham, but Christine McVie opted out of the project in its early stages, as she had retired from the group's heavy touring schedule (she had to be coaxed into participating in the 1997 reunion tour).

Nicks sent off a demo tape of around 20 previously unreleased songs, some of which had already been considered for previous Fleetwood Mac albums or solo albums. After the end of her solo tour, Nicks convened with the other members of the band for recording during 2002. The album, which Buckingham had planned as a two-disc set, became a half-Buckingham, half-Nicks record, with nine songs each. The decision to reduce the album to a single disc album was not reached without much drama within the band, as can be seen in the "Destiny Rules" documentary of the making of "Say You Will," which aired on VH1 and is also available on DVD release. Lindsey Buckingham pressed for a 2-disc set, while Nicks and eventually Mick Fleetwood as well opposed it, due to uncertainty in the music industry. Buckingham's material was notably more experimental and unusual (some coming from his unreleased Gift of Screws album), and Nicks contributed a series of passionate songs, including her reaction to 9/11 terrorist attacks, "Illume," an ode to Sheryl Crow, "Silver Girl," and various songs from earlier eras: "Smile At You" had been written for Tusk and also recorded during the Mirage sessions; "Running Through the Garden" was originally intended for Rock a Little; and "Goodbye Baby" was written around 1976 as a piano ballad, "The Tower."

Nicks was ranked #52 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists in 2002.

The album was released on Reprise Records, although Fleetwood Mac had been shopping around with a new record deal. They had been offered a deal by Interscope Records, run by Nicks' former lover and producer Jimmy Iovine. Eventually the band decided to stick with their former label, Reprise Records, due to a "larger advance offer" by Reprise, according to Lindsey Buckingham. According to Forbes Fleetwood Mac was given a "lucrative" 2-album contract for the release of "Say You Will."

The album, Say You Will, was released to mixed reviews in April 2003, but still became a Top 3 hit on the Billboard 200 selling over 300,000 copies in its first week of release. The group supported the album by embarking on a mammoth world tour lasting until September 2004. They later released two DVD releases: the concert film Live in Boston (RIAA certified Platinum) and the documentary Destiny Rules. The tour become one of the highest grossing concert tours of 2003, headlining at such venues as Madison Square Garden, Staples Center, Philips Arena, Allstate Arena, Ford Center, MGM Grand, Rose Garden, Fleet Center, Hershey Park and many more.

Fleetwood Mac won an American Music Award in 2003 for Best Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group, up against Matchbox 20 and Three Doors Down. Fleetwood Mac accepted the award at a hotel via satellite from Hamburg, Germany where they were on tour supporting "Say You Will."

In an interview with the UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph (8/9/07), Nicks noted that she is unwilling to carry on with the band unless Christine McVie returns. However, in March 2008 it was announced that singer Sheryl Crow would be joining Fleetwood Mac, one point being made that she would be a support for Stevie when they began work. Crow declared 2009 as the year when the public would again experience the group but stopped short of confirming whether it would be with new material or by touring.

[edit] Solo career

[edit] Bella Donna

in the music video "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"
in the music video "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"

In an effort to provide an output for the numerous songs she had written that would not end up finding their place on Fleetwood Mac albums due to the fact that the band consisted of three songwriters, Nicks began working on a solo album in 1980. She released Bella Donna on July 27, 1981. Its lead single, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", was a collaboration with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and it reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other singles included "Leather and Lace" (#6) with Don Henley, "Edge of Seventeen" (#11), and "After the Glitter Fades" (#32). Bella Donna reached #1 on the Billboard 200, and as of 1990 it is certified five times platinum. The short, successful White Winged Dove tour resulted, with Nicks performing many of her Fleetwood Mac songs like "Dreams", "Sara", "Angel" and "Rhiannon", the aforementioned singles, other Bella Donna album tracks like "How Still My Love", and non-album tracks like "Gold and Braid", "Blue Lamp," and Petty's "I Need to Know". (The day Bella Donna reached #1 on the Billboard 200, Nicks' best friend since the age of 15, Robin Anderson, was diagnosed with leukemia.)

The album consisted of ten songs; half new material and half from earlier eras, but all recorded from 1980 to 1981. New material included "Bella Donna", "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", "Edge of Seventeen", "How Still My Love", and "Outside the Rain", while older material included "After the Glitter Fades" (1972), "Think About It" (1974–75), "Leather and Lace" (originally written for Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter to sing), "Kind of Woman" (1975), and "The Highwayman" (1975). During the album sessions, Nicks accumulated a number of delicate solo piano demos, as well as full band songs that remain unreleased, including "If You Were My Love", "The Dealer", "Julia", among others. Another unreleased song, "Gold and Braid", made its debut on Nicks' first solo tour in late 1981. Two songs recorded for the album, but cut from the final version, were released on soundtracks: "Blue Lamp" on the Heavy Metal soundtrack; and "Sleeping Angel" for Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Bella Donna was the first album to feature Stevie Nicks' two back-up singers, Sharon Celani and Lori Perry. Nicks met Perry in the mid-1970s while working with her then-husband, producer Gordon Perry. She asked Perry to lay down back-up vocals for the tracks that she was working on, and the two became friends. During a trip to Hawaii, Nicks met Celani in a club where Celani was performing. The two bonded onstage during a rendition of "Poor Pitiful Me". Celani later accepted Nicks' invitation to join her forthcoming solo project. Sharon Celani and Lori (Perry) Nicks (now married to Nicks' brother) have become staple vocalists on all of Nicks' albums.

Her concerts on December 12 and December 13, 1981, at the Fox Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills, California, were filmed for a (now out-of-print) one-hour video and laserdisc entitled Stevie Nicks In Concert. The release was also called White Winged Dove in some markets, such as Australia. The concert also aired on HBO. The concerts featured an outstanding band including Waddy Wachtel on guitar, Roy Bittan on piano, Benmont Tench on organ, and Russ Kunkel on drums. This tour, the White Winged Dove tour, had to be cut short so that Nicks could return to Fleetwood Mac for the recording of the Mirage album.

[edit] The Wild Heart

in the music video "Stand Back"
in the music video "Stand Back"

In the spring of 1983, Nicks worked on her second solo album. Inspired in part by the death of her close friend Robin Anderson from leukemia in late 1982, the album was recorded mostly live and retains a rock-inspired, live quality.

Nicks released The Wild Heart on June 10, 1983. The album featured much the same cast of musicians and producers, but it also introduced songwriter and performer Sandy Stewart who lent a synthesized sound prevalent in early 1980s rock music.

The Wild Heart went double platinum, reached #5 on the Billboard 200, and featured three hit singles: "Stand Back" (Billboard #5), "If Anyone Falls" (#14), and "Nightbird" (#33). Nicks says that she got the musical idea for the song "Stand Back" from Prince's "Little Red Corvette", and that Prince himself laid down some of the synthesizer parts used on the studio track. She adds that he declined credit for his minor contributions. Several promo only singles (songs released exclusively to radio) placed on the Mainstream Rock chart: "Enchanted" (#12); "Nothing Ever Changes" (#19); and "I Will Run to You" (#35), another duet with Tom Petty A lesser-known track, "Beauty and the Beast" featured lyrics devoted to Mick Fleetwood with whom Nicks later admitted to having a short love affair in the late 1970s.

On Memorial Day weekend (May 28 - May 30, 1983), Nicks performed a 90-minute set at the second US Festival at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, California. She toured from June 1983 to November 1983 throughout the United States in support of The Wild Heart album, playing sports arenas and amphitheaters. Her band included Waddy Wachtel on lead guitar, Wizard on bass, Benmont Tench on organ, Roy Bittan on piano and electric piano, Liberty DeVitto on drums, and Bobbye Hall on percussion. The songs "Beauty and the Beast", "Stand Back", and "If Anyone Falls", all from The Wild Heart album, were mainstays of the tour set that year. While promoting the album on MTV, Nicks admited that her favorite song from the set was "Nightbird", a thematic successor to "Edge of Seventeen".

A variety of songs were recorded for the album, but only ten made it to the final version. The title song, "Wild Heart", was partially written during 1981, and footage exists from a Rolling Stone magazine cover photo shoot where Nicks, while getting her make-up done, sings the work-in-progress to the instrumental line from Lindsey Buckingham's "Can't Go Back" (from Mirage).

[edit] Rock a Little

Following the tour for The Wild Heart, Nicks commenced work on her third solo album. Originally titled Mirror Mirror, Nicks recorded a host of dark and angry rock songs for the projected album during 1984 and 1985, including "Mirror Mirror," "Thousand Days," "Running Through the Garden," and "At the Fair". However, Nicks was unhappy with the recordings for the album "Mirror Mirror," and instead scrapped the planned album, opting to record a different batch of songs in 1985.

Rock a Little, as it was re-titled, was released November 18, 1985 and issued to platinum success the next month. It showcased a harder-edged Nicks, both in her songs and her ragged vocal performances. The album hit #12 on the Billboard 200, and scored more hit singles: "Talk To Me" (#4), "I Can't Wait" (#16), and "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You", a lyric for The Eagles member Joe Walsh (#60). A solo outing with Tom Petty and Bob Dylan in Australia came after, but Nicks was threatened by Australian authorities with expulsion from the country for not carrying a work permit. The tour marked a striking point in Nicks' career. Although she had achieved significant critical acclaim, drugs were taking a toll on her performing, limiting her vocal range and pitch severely and changing her on-stage persona. It was at the end of the Australian tour that Nicks checked herself into the Betty Ford Center to recuperate and wean herself off of her all-consuming cocaine addiction.

Following the release of Rock A Little, Nicks toured in 1985–86. Widely successful, the tour resulted in a one-hour filmed concert released on VHS/DVD as Stevie Nicks: Live at Red Rocks filmed at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado in August. The tour ended on October 10, 1986 in Sydney, Australia.

[edit] The Other Side of the Mirror

in the music video "Rooms on Fire"
in the music video "Rooms on Fire"

In 1988, at age 40, Nicks began work on a fourth solo album with producer Rupert Hine.

Nicks released The Other Side of the Mirror on May 11, 1989. It was recorded in the Netherlands, Buckinghamshire, England, and Los Angeles. The album is themed loosely around Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and features imagery of castles, princesses, and burning houses. The album reached #10 on the U.S. Billboard album charts, propelled by the major hit single "Rooms on Fire" (#16), written about the album’s producer and Nicks’ love interest Rupert Hine, the album eventually achieved platinum status.

Although sales were not as solid as previous releases, the album nevertheless went platinum. It also includes the single "Two Kinds of Love", a duet with Bruce Hornsby (and including a solo from Kenny G) and "Juliet", a new version of the instrumental b-side to Fleetwood Mac's 1987 "Seven Wonders" single, "Book of Miracles". "Two Kinds of Love" proved to be Nicks' first solo flop, failing to make the Billboard Hot 100. Instead, "Long way To Go" gained airplay, reaching #11 on Billboard's Rock Track chart. Although never a single in the United States, Nicks treated "Whole Lotta Trouble" as the follow up, releasing a video clip and including it on later greatest hits packages like "Timespace", "Enchanted", and "Crystal Visions". Nicks voice was more powerful and melodic than on her previous two recordings (solo and with Fleetwood Mac), but it also developed a nasal quality attributed to her cocaine abuse and subsequent dependence on tranquilizers.

The album's other material found Nicks in melodic mood, with the likes of "Ghosts" and "Fire Burning", and the record also featured the epic Lewis Carroll-inspired "Alice" and a dark, cautionary tale about the end of her drug addiction on the dramatic "Doing the Best I Can (Escape from Berlin)". Nicks also included a cover of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone (Blue Eyes)".

A tour of the U.S. and Europe from August to November 1989 was modestly successful.

[edit] TimeSpace: The Best of Stevie Nicks

On the tenth anniversary of her solo career debut, Nicks' record label, Modern Records, issued a fourteen-song retrospective gathering selected tunes and new material. Released September 3, 1991, TimeSpace - The Best of Stevie Nicks (#30 on The Billboard 200) included contributions from Jon Bon Jovi ("Sometimes It's a Bitch", for which a video was shot to promote the compilation), and Bret Michaels of Poison ("Love's a Hard Game to Play"). The third new song, "Desert Angel," was dedicated to the men and women serving in Operation Desert Storm.

The compilation included some of her most commercially successful fully re-mastered hit singles, including "Stand Back", "Edge of Seventeen," "I Can't Wait," and "Rooms on Fire," as well as lesser-known songs such as "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You" and "Beauty and the Beast." The album eventually went platinum in 1997.

[edit] Street Angel

In late 1993, while Nicks held a baby shower at her house, she tripped and gashed her forehead on a fireplace. Not feeling any pain, Nicks realized she needed help and endured a painful 47-day detox from Klonopin in the hospital. Her weight had ballooned to 175 lb (79.4 kg), and her short stature aggravated this.

Due to her dependence on Klonopin, Nicks strung together a haphazard solo album in 1993 and 1994, with material written mostly in previous eras, with "Greta," "Love Is Like a River," and "Listen to the Rain" dating from the mid-1980s, "Destiny" from the early 1970s Buckingham Nicks era (it shares some lyrics with the song "Enchanted"), and "Rose Garden," originally written when Nicks was 17. Other material came from various co-writers, including frequent late '80s/early '90s collaborator Mike Campbell and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman."

Released May 23, 1994, Street Angel (#45 on the Billboard 200 albums chart) became the most poorly-received record of her solo career. "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind" from the album made #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and "Blue Denim" was an even less successful hit, although the song did gain more promotion, such as her appearance on "Late Night With David Letterman". Nicks was crushed by the focus on her weight and the poor reception of the album despite her successful, three-month tour featuring friends and old band musicians including drummer Russ Kunkel and Fleetwood Mac lead guitarist Rick Vito.[10] Highlights from the tour included "Stand Back"; "Rhiannon"’ and "Talk To Me"; "Edge of Seventeen"; and a rare solo version of the Fleetwood Mac hit, "The Chain".

[edit] Enchanted

Following the Street Angel tour, Nicks, unhappy with her weight, vowed never to perform live again in such a physical state. Nicks slimmed down to levels that were more acceptable to her. She continued to write and record, formulating ideas for a new solo album (which would not see a release until 2001). She contributed the song "Twisted" to the Twister movie soundtrack (a duet with Lindsey Buckingham), the Sheryl Crow penned "Somebody Stand By Me" to the Boys on the Side soundtrack and remade Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" for Fox's TV hit Party of Five.

The box set Enchanted, was released to acclaim on April 28, 1998 with liner notes from Nicks, as well as exclusive and rare photographs. Featuring successful solo hits, Nicks also included b-sides ("Garbo," written in 1973 and recorded for The Wild Heart era), rare soundtrack contributions ("Blue Lamp," "Sleeping Angel," "Battle of the Dragon," "Violet and Blue"), duets ("Whenever I Call You Friend" with Kenny Loggins; "Gold", with John Stewart), and covers ("It's Late," "Free Fallin'," and Warren Zevon's "Reconsider Me"). Nicks also included demos ("Twisted," "Sweet Girl") and "Long Distance Winner" from the Buckingham/Nicks album. Live versions of "Edge of Seventeen" and "Gold and Braid" from her 1981 tour were also scattered in the set. Nicks recorded a special solo piano rendition of "Rhiannon." The box set was supported with a successful US tour with a more varied set list incorporating rare material such as "Rose Garden," "Garbo" and "Sleeping Angel." The set sold 56,000 units in its first week (an excellent achievement for a three-disc box set) and was certified Gold.

In 1998, Nicks contributed songs to the Practical Magic soundtrack, recording a new version of "Crystal," with Nicks on lead vocals (Lindsey Buckingham sings lead in the original) and "If You Ever Did Believe," originally a mid-'70s demo which shared the lyrics "And the days go by/Doing nothing about them/How much time will I have to spend?" with another mid-70's demo, "Forest Of The Black Roses." Sheryl Crow produced the two tracks for the soundtrack, and Nicks and Crow released a music video to VH1 to follow for "If You Ever Did Believe". The song became a moderate radio hit. She also took part in a benefit concert for Don Henley's Walden Woods Project. She sang two songs including the classic "At Last", which would later be featured on an AT&T promotional CD.

Accolades continued when People Magazine named Nicks one of the 50 Most Beautiful People, and in 1999, she ranked #14 on a list of VH1's Greatest Women of Rock, and #1 Greatest Woman of Rock voted by VH1 viewers. VH1 also featured an episode of their "Behind The Music" documentary program on Nicks' career and comeback. In viewer polls, it was voted the best episode at the time of its broadcast. Nicks was a featured artist on the acclaimed VH1 Storytellers Concert Program that same year.

[edit] Trouble in Shangri-La

Nicks began writing actively for Trouble in Shangri-La in 1994 and 1995 with "Trouble in Shangri-La" and "Love Is," as she came out of her Klonopin dependency. She says it was friend and former musical partner Tom Petty who convinced her to write again.

In 1999, Nicks began recording songs for Trouble in Shangri-La with Sheryl Crow, who produced five tracks. When Crow dropped out of the project due to a scheduling conflict, Nicks approached R&B producer Dallas Austin to work on tracks at his Atlanta recording studio. She had been impressed with his production work on TLC's song Unpretty. The Dallas Austin sessions have never surfaced. Nicks finally settled with John Shanks to produce the remainder of the album, but producers David Kahne, Rick Nowels, Pierre Marchand, and Jeff Trott also contributed.

The album featured songs that Nicks had originally written and rehearsed in the '70s such as "Candlebright" (known in some fan circles as "Nomad," from 1970), "Sorcerer" (circa Buckingham Nicks), and "Planets of the Universe" (written around 1976).

Nicks' voice on the new recordings was more tuneful and passionate than on Street Angel, her previous solo outing. Nicks had worked with a voice coach since 1997, lending her voice more control and protecting it from lengthy touring schedules.

Released May 1, 2001, Trouble in Shangri-La restored Nicks' solo career to critical and commercial success. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, her best album chart position since The Wild Heart almost two decades earlier, which also hit #5. The singles "Every Day," "Planets of the Universe," and "Sorcerer" (which originally appeared on the 1984 Streets of Fire soundtrack with Marilyn Martin singing lead and Stevie singing backup) helped promote the album, performing well in the Adult Album Alternative radio markets. One of the dance remixes for "Planets of the Universe" reached #1 on the Billboard Dance and Club Play chart. The original Trouble in Shangri-La album version of the song was later nominated for a Grammy Award (Best Female Rock Vocal Performance). The RIAA certified the album Gold in June 2001.

VH1 named Nicks their "Artist of the Month" for May 2001, airing short interviews and Nicks' catalog of videos throughout the month, including a new video for "Every Day." She also made a video for "Sorcerer," which began airing later in the year. The album featured collaborations with Natalie Maines (Dixie Chicks) on the country duet "Too Far from Texas," Sarah McLachlan on the ballad "Love Is" and Macy Gray on the soft, funky "Bombay Sapphires." Sheryl Crow was also featured playing various instruments as well as on background vocals on many of the tracks. Sheryl Crow lent a hand in production of nearly half of the album. Nicks performed the new track "Fall From Grace" at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards on FOX in March of 2001, with Sheryl Crow on backing vocals. Crow also presented Nicks with a Songwriters Award at the ceremony.

Nicks promoted the album with various appearances on television including an interview and performances on the Rosie O'Donnell Show, as well as Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and other appearances. In August of 2001 she performed the single "Sorcerer" at the 2001 Radio Music Awards, introduced by Bush front-man Gavin Rossdale.

Nicks supported the album with a successful tour, although some shows were canceled or postponed due to Nicks' bout with acute bronchitis. Shows were also canceled due to the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on 9/11/01.

[edit] Crystal Visions...The Very Best of Stevie Nicks

On March 27, 2007, Reprise Records released Crystal Visions - The Very Best of Stevie Nicks in the US. The album debuted at #21 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart. The compilation includes the solo hits "Stand Back", "Edge of Seventeen", "Rooms On Fire", "Leather and Lace", "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (with Tom Petty), among others; and live performances of "Landslide" and "Edge of Seventeen," recorded with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in February 2006.

Also included are the original Fleetwood Mac version of "Silver Springs"; as well as live performances of "Rhiannon" and "Stand Back" (iTunes-only bonus track); and Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll." The CD also includes Deep Dish's dance cover of Nicks' Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams," for which Nicks re-recorded the vocals in 2005.

A DVD component, compiling 13 of Nicks' music videos, accompanies the CD release. It includes optional voice over commentary from Nicks and rare footage from the making of her first solo album Bella Donna in 1981.

A tour with Chris Isaak, opening in Concord, California on May 17 supported the release.

Reprise Records initially released two radio only promos, the live version of Landslide with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and also her cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll". Both tracks failed to garner much airplay making an impact on the charts. Reprise Records released "Stand Back" (issued with club mixes) on May 29th, 2007. "Stand Back", which peaked at #5 on the pop singles chart in 1983, has reached #2 on the "Billboard Club Chart". Nicks previously reached #1 on this chart, with "Planets Of The Universe" (from Trouble In Shangri-La) in 2001. The Remix single of "Stand Back" debuted on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales Chart on September 15, 2007 at #10 peaking at #4 the following week. It also debuted on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Chart at #3 peaking at #1.

[edit] Plans for 2008

In January 2008, according to the Tennessean, she was spotted "in Nashville recording an album with Joe Thomas for a CD that accompanies a DVD of PBS Soundstage". Stevie is to release the CD/DVD set of her October 25, 2007 Soundstage performance on July 15, 2008. The DVD features special guest Vanessa Carlton whom Stevie provided backing vocals for on her 2007 album Heroes & Thieves. Stevie has played two concerts in April, the first in Reading, PA on April 18 and the second in at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, CT on April 20.

An official summer 2008 tour has been announced kicking off in the beginning of June. Stevie will perform in Toledo, OH, St. Louis, MO, Atlantic City, NJ, Boston, MA, Biloxi, MS, Tampa, FL, Hollywood, FL, Alpharetta, GA, Chicago, IL, Clarkston, MI, Orillia, Ontario, Cincinnati, OH, Wantagh, NY, and Holmdel, NJ

According to an interview for the May issue of Q magazine, when asked if she is working on a new solo album, Stevie replied "Yes, I've been writing continually. Here [she hands me a sheet of paper titled: The Soldier's Angel, inspired by her charity work]. It's one of the many poems that is ready to go to the piano right now. I'm always writing."

[edit] Recent tours

After a few months' respite from the Say You Will tour, Nicks did a four-night stint in May 2005 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and then did a 10-show tour with Don Henley. Nicks continued the tour solo with pop singer Vanessa Carlton as the opening act, playing over 20 dates nationwide during the summer of 2005. She played such venues as Boston's Tweeter Center, Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Amphitheatre in Wantagh, NY., Giant Center in Hershey, PA., Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO., Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., and the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. She ended the tour where it began, at Caesar's Palace. There her set included the rarely-performed-live "If Anyone Falls," the moving "How Still My Love" from Bella Donna and a rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll." At the "Fashion Rocks" concert of September 2005 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, soul singer Joss Stone and singer Rob Thomas covered the Stevie Nicks – Tom Petty 1981 smash hit "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" to kick-start the Fall Fashion Week.

In October 2005, she attended the Melbourne Cup Week in Australia, and one of the horse racing stakes was named after her: The Stevie Nicks Plate. She used this opportunity to launch her promotion of an Australian/New Zealand extension to her Gold Dust Tour in February and March 2006. Nicks toured in Australia and New Zealand with popular Australian performer John Farnham.[10] She also appeared in concert with Tom Petty in June near Manassas, Virginia and at the Bonnaroo Music Festival that same month.[11]

In 2006, Nicks also performed with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for the first leg of their tour in the summer, and later in the year returned as a guest performer for a number of songs on the tour celebrating Petty's 30th anniversary since his debut album. Tom Petty's Homecoming Concert in Gainesville, FL, which contained performances with Stevie Nicks, was filmed for PBS Soundstage as well as DVD release for March of 2007. Nicks was also the featured performer for Bette Midler's benefit function, Hullaween, in October 2006.[12] On December 8, 2006, Nicks performed at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip near Las Vegas, Nevada as a benefit for the Epicurean Charitable Foundation.

On February 4, 2007 Nicks performed her classic solo hit song "Stand Back" at the 2007 Super Bowl XLI Pre-game Show on CBS. She also made performance appearances on NBC's The Today Show and The Ellen Degeneres Show.

Nicks began touring with pop/rock artist Chris Isaak beginning in May of 2007. The last Stevie Nicks/Chris Isaak show was June 17th, 2007 at the Tweeter Center in Boston, MA. Nicks continued the tour solo, with Vanessa Carlton opening on some dates. The tour finished off at The Borgata in Atlantic City on August 24, 2007.

Touring Band
(2007)

[edit] Stevie Nicks' Band of Soldiers

In late 2004, Nicks began visiting Army and Navy medical centers in Washington D.C. While visiting wounded service men and women, Nicks became determined to find an object she could leave with each soldier that would raise their spirits, motivate, and give them something to look forward to each day. She eventually decided to purchase hundreds of iPod Nano's, load them with music, artists, and play-lists which she would hand select, and autograph them. She now regularly delivers these tokens of her appreciation, bringing her closest friends to share the experience.[13]

In 2006, Nicks held a get-together to raise money for her charity work. Many of her peers made contributions. Nicks continues to develop this philanthropic endeavor.[14]

“ I call it a soldiers' iPod. It has all the crazy stuff that I listen to, and my collections I've been making since the '70s for going on the road, when I'm sick...Or the couple of times in my life that I have really been down, music is what always dances me out of bed. „

—Stevie Nicks, The Arizona Republic
“ So, as Mick [Fleetwood] and I went from room to room delivering their tiny iPod, they told us their stories. Mick became his tall, loving, father figure, English self, taking in every word they said, remaining calm (at least on the outside) inspiring them. We floated from room to room down thru the halls of the 2 hospitals over a three-day period. We gave out all our iPods. Right before I left for D.C., Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry dug into their pockets and came up with $10,000 for me. In my eyes they went from the coolest rock stars to generous great men; as my press agent Liz Rosenberg said, every returning wounded soldier should be given an iPod. It will be an integral part of their recovery. „

—Stevie Nicks, Journal Entry

[edit] Influence

One of the reasons for Nicks' continued career is the devotion she inspires in her fans. Belinda Carlisle, Sheryl Crow, the Dixie Chicks, Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch, Tori Amos, Courtney Love, Michelle Hotaling, Jennifer Hanson, and Laura Branigan have cited her work as an inspiration. She has participated in duets or provided guest vocals for several of their albums and some have returned the favour, notably Crow and the Dixie Chicks. The Dixie Chicks covered her 1975 classic "Landslide," which became a Top 10 hit (#1 on the Adult Contemporary chart) and a #1 Hit on the Country Chart. She recorded a duet of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" with Chris Isaak on his 2004 Christmas album Chris Isaak Christmas and sang with Isaak on his PBS Christmas television special. Other successful covers have included The Corrs' "Dreams", and Courtney Love's former band Hole with "Gold Dust Woman." "Edge Of Seventeen" was sampled on Destiny's Child's 2001 #1 single "Bootylicious". Nicks appeared in the video for "Bootylicious" and in an episode of MTV's Making The Video that featured it, in which she expressed her admiration for both the song and the group. Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys has expressed extreme interest in working with Nicks. Deep Dish fulfilled their "Dreams" of working with Nicks in 2005 when Nicks offered to re-record vocals on a remix of her #1 penned song, Dreams. The Deep Dish version went on to reach #2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Airplay Chart, as well as providing Nicks with her third UK top 40 hit. She helped with additional vocals and writing on Vanessa Carlton's 2007 album Heroes and Thieves. Carlton was on tour with Stevie in 2005 and 2006.

The Dixie Chicks cover of Stevie Nicks' Fleetwood Mac classic "Landslide" also earned Stevie Nicks a BMI Songwriters Award in 2003. The award is given to the songwriter of the track, regardless of the performer, and Stevie Nicks' "Landslide" won the prestigious "Song Of The Year" award.

According to BMI: "Landslide" earned songwriter Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac the 35th Robert J. Burton Award as Most Performed Country Song of the Year. This distinction is given to the song tallying the most feature US broadcast performances during the eligibility period. Nicks is also publisher of the song, through her company Welsh Witch Music. Included on the Dixie Chicks' platinum Monument album Home, "Landslide" was a Country, Adult Top 40, Hot 100 and AC Billboard charts smash. Nicks previously collected a Pop Award in 1998 for Fleetwood Mac's recording of the song, which has achieved Million-Air status with over three million airplays. (BMI) [15]

[edit] Personal life

On August 10, 2005 her father, Jess Nicks, died. Jess introduced his daughter during several of her concert tours and was a large influence on Nicks. Nicks remarked, after Jess's health had deteriorated, that she asked her father to "hang on" for her to finish her tour and his death came shortly after Nicks wrapped up her summer 2005 Gold Dust Tour. She was able to be with him in his final hours.

Of her lifestyle today, Nicks stated "I am a very different girl from the girl that was so wrapped up in rock and roll and the drugs and everything else. I'll never take it all for granted again, ever. Because I also now really realize how quickly that it can go, and that you can be the darling one year, and be nobody the next year. So you have to learn to accept and deal with that." (VH1 "Behind The Music, 1998) [16]

Up until July 2007 Nicks lived in Paradise Valley, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix in a home she built in 1981 and shared with brother Chris, his wife Lori and their daughter Jessica. She announced in mid-2007 that her Paradise Valley home would be put up for sale, citing her aspirations to "downsize" and focus more on her charity work, and the fact that in the last year she had only "spent about two weeks there." The house was put on the market for a reported $3.8 million and many fans (feeling it was the end of a major era in her life and career) tagged it as a "Kingdom Up For Sale," a line from the song "Gold Dust Woman." She also owns a home in Pacific Palisades, CA.

According to a September 2007 article in the Weekly Telegraph (UK), Nicks says she is again selling her home, her recently purchased Pacific Palisades home (purchased 2 yrs ago by Nicks, right down the street from a rental home she had for years in Pacific Palisades). She has said it's a "house for adults," "And even though I'm pushing 60 I don't feel that I'm that old yet." She will be moving to a penthouse apartment on the beach and the old house is already on the market.[17]

[edit] Image

Stevie Nicks is known for her mystical image, created by her graceful movements, possessed performances and her billowing chiffon skirts, shawls, top hats, layers of lace and long blonde hair. Margi Kent, a designer from California, has worked with Nicks since the 1970s to perfect her style. Perhaps the most famous part of Nicks' wardrobe is her platform boots. Nicks has worn suede platform boots in various colors, usually black, cream, tan or maroon in almost all of her performances since 1975. Standing at 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m), Nicks is not particularly tall and has stated she felt a little ridiculous standing next to the much taller Mick Fleetwood (High Times, 1982).[18] For this reason she developed a penchant for 6-inch platform boots. "Even when platforms went completely out of style, I kept wearing them because I didn't want to go back to being 5-foot-3 inches in heels," she told Allure magazine in 1995.[19] Over the years, Nicks has developed a style which she calls her "uniform" (Spotlight on Stevie Nicks, 96.1 WSRS, August 5, 2001),[20] which is best exemplified by the outfit worn on the cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours", perhaps the base inspiration for many of her costumes. Another trademark of Nicks' is a Dickens-style gentleman's formal top hat, which she began wearing in the late 1970s. During the early 80s she wore velvet Renaissance poets' berets with plume feathers (as shown in the vintage photo used on the cover of her March 2007 CD release "Crystal Visions - The Very Best of Stevie Nicks"). In the late 1980s and early 90s, she wore fashionable ladies hats onstage and to this day, often still sports a black top hat adorned with giant plumes.

Many of Nicks' shawls/capes also have an association with her songs in her live performances, many becoming as signature in live performances as the songs themselves. These include a red/crimson shawl for "Sara", white for "Edge of Seventeen", gold for "Gold Dust Woman" and black with round gold circles for "Stand Back". One of her trademarks is twirling across the stage with shawls flying during the interlude of her classic songs, notably "Stand Back" and "Gypsy".

Nicks has said that her vocal style and performance antics evolved from female singers like Grace Slick and Janis Joplin. She admitted inspiration when she saw Joplin perform live (and opened for with her first band "Fritz") shortly before Joplin's death. Nicks owns a strand of Joplin's stage beads. She also commented that she once saw a woman in her audience dressed in dripping chiffon with a Gibson Girl hairstyle and big boots and Nicks knew she wanted something similar. She took the look and made it her own.[21] Another important part of Nicks' image is her jewelry. Nicks typically introduces one signature piece of jewelry during each tour. Such items have included silver bracelets, crescent moon pendant, pyramid shaped pendant, winged-heart pendant, gold crosses and, most recently, a Tiffany pendant with diamonds meaning "longevity." The crescent moon pendant is arguably the most iconic of all Nicks' jewelry – the original was bought while she was in England on tour with Fleetwood Mac during the "Tusk" era. Nicks then had her personal jeweler, Henri David of Philadelphia, make replicas of the moon pendant which become treasured gifts to her friends. In recent years, celeb pals such as Bette Midler and ice-skating star Tai Babilonia have been photographed wearing their "Stevie moons".

Nicks has even commented in interviews recently that she never would have dreamed that her trademark "Bella Donna/Witchy Woman" image would have been taken so seriously by her fans, often joking that she doesn't live her private life in her stage clothes and "Stevie garb" as many people seem to think. However, she greatly credits her career/stage image for its role in giving her a trademark that has made her unique and "timeless".

[edit] Microphone and tambourine

Stevie Nicks is known for her use of the Sennheiser MD-441-U5. Its interesting appearance has made it synonymous with Nicks' early tours. Also synonymous with Nicks' microphone are the items she chooses to decorate her microphone stand with. Over the years, such items have included roses, ribbons, chiffon, crystal beads, scarves and small stuffed animals.

In addition to this, it is also well known that Nicks tends to leave the mic on its stand for the majority of her performances, rarely taking it in hand.

Upon being asked in a question forum on her official website about playing the tambourine, Nicks stated that she began playing the tambourine upon joining Fleetwood Mac in 1975, feeling the need to do something onstage during songs that featured Lindsey or Christine. Like her microphone, her tambourine usually features scarves and/or streamers. Nicks' trademark tambourine since the early 1980s is in the shape of a black half-moon.

[edit] Rumors of witchcraft

One of the more persistent rumors which has trailed Nicks through the years is that she is a witch and is heavily involved in Wicca. While she admits to having a high regard for the mythic and gothic, she denies any solitary dedication to any one religion, including Wicca. She speaks about this erroneous image in a 2006 interview.[22] Though her work is copyrighted under the name Welsh Witch Music, some allege that the name is a retrospective reference to the name Rhiannon and does not provide any proof or suggestion that Nicks, herself, is a witch, while others would disagree with this characterization and mention simply that the name speaks for itself. It is quite plainly known to dedicated Fleetwood Mac fans that between 1975 and 1977, Stevie would always start Rhiannon by stating "This is a song about a Welsh witch." In a Yahoo interview on April 28, 1998, Nicks said of the infamous rumor: "I have no idea what precipitated those rumors...I am not a witch. Get a life!" Nicks also stated in a 1983 Entertainment Tonight interview: "I spent thousands of dollars on beautiful black clothes and had to stop wearing them for a long time because a lot of people scared me. And that's really unfair to me, I think, for people – other people – to conjure up their ideas of what I am or what I believe in." In a 1998 Redbook magazine article, Nicks spoke of her faith, stating that she believes in angels and knows that she is alive today because "there was a god looking out" for her during her years of addiction.

[edit] Pop culture references

  • In the South Park episode "Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants" a goat is mistaken for her when she and Fleetwood Mac are scheduled to perform in Afghanistan for U.S. soldiers.
  • Stevie is mentioned in two different episodes of The Simpsons. The first is in the episode "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder" when Homer takes out a "Before I Die I Want To -" list; at the bottom of the list is the phrase "See Stevie Nicks Naked." It is checked off three times. The second is during a Halloween special "Treehouse of Horror XII" in which Mr. Burns comments that Lisa's character possesses "more wicked witchery than Stevie Nicks."
  • Lucy Lawless performs "Stevie Nicks Fajita Roundup" skit on SNL, including popular Nicks' songs "Dreams", "Rhiannon", "Landslide" and "Gold Dust Woman", with altered lyrics for Mexican food. Episode airdate was October 17, 1998.
  • Southern California punk rock group The Rotters released "Sit On My Face, Stevie Nicks" as their first single in 1978,[23] which received a lot of publicity and was banned by radio stations.
  • In the 1986 film "Sid and Nancy" (based on the real-life relationship of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen), Nancy sees herself reflected in a window while wearing clothing belonging to Sid's mother and unhappily exclaims, "I look like f---in' Stevie Nicks in hippie clothes!" Nicks admirer Courtney Love appeared in the film and had actually auditioned to play Spungen.
  • A New York City festival in honor of Nicks, called Night of 1,000 Stevies,[24] began in 1991 and has grown larger each year. The festival inspired a 2001 film, Gypsy 83, about two fans who drive from Ohio to perform in the show.
  • Appeared on SNL as a musical guest in 1983, performing "Stand Back" and "Nightbird".
  • In the short lived 1999-2000 NBC series Freaks and Geeks, episode #14 "Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers" Lindsay and Kim reference to Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

"I heard Fleetwood Mac is amazing live." - Lindsay "I heard Stevie Nicks is a witch." - Kim "What do you mean?" - Lindsay "I dunno, she does witch stuff. She casts spells on people. I heard she cast a love spell on Lindsey Buckingham." - Kim

  • In 2001, the HBO drama series Six Feet Under had a scene in one episode where Nate Fisher purchases hydroponic raspberries that he claims were "grown by a guy named Gunter who once slept with Stevie Nicks".
  • Nicks' solo track "Edge of Seventeen" contributed the guitar part for the Destiny's Child song "Bootylicious". Nicks appeared in the video as well. An interview about her role in the song and video is featured in the corresponding Making the Video documentary.
  • The song "Edge of Seventeen" was also featured in the 2003 comedy film School of Rock starring Jack Black. The character played by Joan Cusack says Stevie is her favorite artist.
  • The song "Edge of Seventeen" is heard as part of Liberty Rock Radio, one of many radio stations in the videogame "Grand Theft Auto IV".
  • In the 2003 version of the Disney film Freaky Friday, the mother character (Jamie Lee Curtis) exclaims at one point when she is wearing her daughter's (Lindsay Lohan) clothes, "I look like Stevie Nicks!" (prompting the response from her daughter, "Who's he?"). Incidentally, Lohan covered Nick's "Edge of Seventeen" on her 2005 album, "RAW (A Little More Personal)".
  • In 2003, Linus Loves heavily sampled "Stand Back" on his club hit "The Terrace", and this eventually evolved into a fully-fledged cover of the track, with vocals added by Irish singer Sam Obernik. Accompanied by a school formal-themed video, the single reached No. 30 on the UK Singles Chart. When Loves' first album eventually emerged in 2006, "Stand Back" was conspicuous by its absence from the tracklisting, though "The Terrace" does appear.
  • The sixth track on The Hold Steady's 2005 album Separation Sunday is named "Stevie Nix".
  • In 2005, Nicks contributed new vocals to a remake of the Fleetwood Mac song "Dreams" by DJ and house music duo Deep Dish. The song appears on their album George Is On.
  • At the November 2005 American Music Awards, actress-turned-singer Lindsay Lohan covered Nicks' 1981 hit "Edge Of Seventeen" to a popular reception. Lohan has since recorded it for her studio release album A Little More Personal.
  • The Tucson based indie band Calexico wrote a song, performed on their 2003 album Feast of Wire, called "Not Even Stevie Nicks". During their 2003 concert in Stockholm the band introduced the song as being "called 'Not Even Stevie Nicks'. Why? Nobody knows".
  • The MMORPG game World of Warcraft has many subtle Stevie Nicks references. Players collect "Wild Hearts", "Gold Dust", and "White Winged Dove Feathers" to complete quests.
  • In an episode of the second season of Bravo's reality show Project Runway, designer Chloe Dao tells fellow contestant Diana Eng that the outfit she is designing looks very Stevie Nicks. Eng then asks, "What's a Stevie Nick?"
  • Running with Scissors author Augusten Burroughs references Stevie's music in his book and has commented that the one thing missing from the movie's soundtrack is Stevie's music.
  • In the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Quest of the Delta Knights (episode 913), Pearl Forrester comments on how one of the characters who is wearing peasant rags appears to be impersonating Stevie Nicks.
  • Wierd Al Yankovic parodied her song "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" in "Stop Dragging My Car Around".

[edit] Discography

Further information: Stevie Nicks Discography

[edit] Solo

[edit] as Buckingham Nicks

[edit] with Fleetwood Mac

[edit] References

  1. ^ VH1 Behind the Music: Stevie Nicks
  2. ^ bellaillume.com
  3. ^ MTV.com: Stevie Nicks
  4. ^ Javier Pacheco Question and Answer Session
  5. ^ Stevie Nicks - iVillage Interview
  6. ^ Stevie Nicks - iVillage Interview
  7. ^ Stevie article
  8. ^ "Sounds" UK rock weekly 28th March 1978
  9. ^ Sykes, Graham. Rock Family Trees Transcript.
  10. ^ By Sharon Krum, Women's Weekly, December 2005
  11. ^ The 2006 Stevie Shows
  12. ^ Liz Smith (journalist), 'HULAWEEN' SUCCESS - New York Post, November 2, 2006
  13. ^ Stevie's Journal entries from Jan 14-31, 2006
  14. ^ Stevie Nicks downsizes life, upsizes charity work
  15. ^ Stevie Nicks Wins in a ‘Landslide’ at BMI Country Awards, Broadcast Music Incorporated, November 3, 2003
  16. ^ VH1's Behind the Music, TV episode: "Stevie Nicks", 1 November 1998
  17. ^ By Mick Brown, Weekly Telegraph (UK), September 8, 2007
  18. ^ Interview by Liz Derringer, High Times Magazine - March 1982
  19. ^ "How I Got That Look", Allure (magazine), April 1995 Interview
  20. ^ Transcribed by Jane Fijal, "Spotight on Stevie Nicks", Aired on 96.1 WSRS Worcester, MA on August 5, 2001
  21. ^ on someone who influenced her look, Glamour (magazine), December 1981.
  22. ^ A magical life - Music - Entertainment - theage.com.au
  23. ^ breakmyface.com ~ Rotters
  24. ^ Night of 1,000 Stevies

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites

[edit] Miscellaneous

v • d • e
Fleetwood Mac
John McVie · Mick Fleetwood · Stevie Nicks · Lindsey Buckingham
Christine McVie · Peter Green · Jeremy Spencer · Bob Brunning · Danny Kirwan · Bob Welch · Bob Weston · Dave Walker · Billy Burnette · Rick Vito · Dave Mason · Bekka Bramlett
Studio albums
Key Singles/Songs
Compilations and box sets
Live albums
Related articles