Rock History 101: Fleetwood Mac

Home , Fleetwood Mac, Go Your Own Way, Lindsey Buckingham, Little Lies, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks

Fleetwood Mac has set the stage for being one of the best bands in Rock n’ Roll. Let’s dig a little deeper and learn more about this influential band and enjoy some of their best songs.

Props and Preparations: Be prepared to play the following YouTube videos:

● Little Lies ● Go your Own Way ● Rhiannon ● Family Man ● Save me a Place

How To’s:

● Play each song and then read and discuss the information ● Encourage participants to move to the music by tapping their toes, clapping, dancing or swaying side to side in their chair etc.

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Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the lineup for their self-titled debut album. Danny Kirwan joined as a third guitarist in 1968. Let’s take a look at some of Fleetwood Mac’s most famous songs!

Little Lies

"Little Lies" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from their fourteenth studio album Tango in the Night (1987). Written by band member Christine McVie and her then-husband, Eddy Quintela, the lead vocals were performed primarily by McVie, although the chorus of the song featured brief solo passages by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The song was released on 31 August 1987, by Warner Bros. Records, as the third single from Tango in the Night. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Lies)

● Can you guess? There haven’t been many covers of this song however in 2015 a quite popular artist decided to cover this song for a dubstep project. Was it Hilary Duff or Miley Cyrus?

Answer: It was Hilary Duff. Hillary Duff covered the song for the TV Comedy drama, Younger, turning it into a dubstep project. Duff plays Kelsey Peters, a friend of the lead character of the show.

● Listen and Learn “Little Lies” is known for its upbeat rhythm. What is the main instrument used in the song? Is it Guitar or Synthesizer?

Answer: Synthesizer

● Finish the Lyric

Tell me lies, tell me ______(Sweet little Lies) Tell me lies Tell me, tell me lies Oh no-no, you can't disguise

● Reflection:

● What did you think when you were listening to this song? And why? ● If you were a movie producer and had to use this song, which type of movie and/or movie scene would you choose to pair with it? ● Does this music remind you of anything in your life?

● Finish the Lyric

Although I'm not making plans I hope that you'll understand there's a reason why Close your, close your, close your eyes No more ______(Broken Hearts) We're better off apart, let's give it a try

Go your Own Way

“Go your own way” is a song that was written from Fleetwood Mac’s eleventh studio album, Rumours. The song was released as the album's first single in December 1976 on both sides of the Atlantic. Written and sung by Lindsey Buckingham, it became the band's first top-ten hit in the United States. In what he described as "a stream of consciousness", he sang the opening line, "Loving you isn't the right thing to do". By 1976 the romantic relationship between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham had come to an end. While Buckingham and Nicks were still on speaking terms, their conversations often devolved into yelling and screaming matches. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Your_Own_Way

● Finish the Lyric

Loving you Isn't the ______(right thing to do) How can I ever change things That I feel

● Can you guess?

Lindsey Buckingham wrote this song as a message to Stevie Nicks. It describes their break up, with the most obvious line being, “Packing up, shacking up is all you do,” and concluding that he is better off without her - She can go her own way as far as he’s concerned. Do you think Stevie asked Lindsay to take this lyric out? Or did she not realize it was about her and never thought about asking?

Answer: Stevie Nicks definitely knew this lyric was about her! In fact, Stevie insisted that she never did in fact shack up when they were together. Stevie begged Lindsay to take this lyric out of the song, however Lindsay wouldn’t do it.

● Listen and Learn

“Go your own way” has turned into a stadium sing a long song when Fleetwood Mac performs it to their audience! Can you identify 3 different instruments that are being used during the song?

Answer: Any of the following instruments could be answered: Guitar, Drums, Tambourine, Snare drum, Maracas, Organ

Lindsay was inspired by the band, Rolling Stones and their song, “Street Fighting Man” when writing the song, “Go your Own Way”

Answer: True. Buckingham sought to incorporate a variation of the groove in "Go Your Own Way". On "Street Fighting Man", the drumbeat alternates between the tom-tom and the snare drum, which Buckingham wanted Fleetwood to play on "Go Your Own Way"'s verses.

● Reflection

● Have you heard this song before? If so, where? And how did it make you feel to how it makes you feel now. ● What patterns did you notice in the music? ● What word best describes this music? Why did you choose this music?

● Finish the Lyric

Tell me why Everything turned around Packing up Shacking up is all you want do do

If I could Baby, ______(I’d give you my world) Open up Everything’s waiting for you

“Rhiannon”

"Rhiannon" is a song written by Stevie Nicks and originally recorded by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac on their eponymous album in 1975; it was subsequently issued as a single the following year.

● True or False

Answer: True.

● Can you guess?

Can you guess 3 different musicians that Stevie Nick’s has inspired over her musical career?

Answer: Nicks has inspired, mentored and/or befriended a diverse array of artists over the years, including rockers (Courtney Love, Sheryl Crow), pop artists (Vanessa Carlton, Katy Perry, Lana Del Rey), country acts (Dixie Chicks, Taylor Swift), R&B stars (Destiny's Child) and indie-pop acts (Best Coast).

● Finish the Lyric

Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night And wouldn't you love to love her? Takes to the sky ______(Like a bird in flight). And who will be her lover? All your life you've never seen Woman taken by the wind

● Reflection

Nicks discovered the Rhiannon character in the early 1970s through a novel called Triad by Mary Bartlet Leader. “It was just a stupid little paperback that I found somewhere at somebody’s house, lying on the couch,” Nicks says more than 40 years on. “It was called Triad [written by Mary Leader] and it was all about this girl who becomes possessed by a spirit named Rhiannon. I read the book, but I was so taken with that name that I thought: ‘I’ve got to write something about this.’ So I sat down at the piano and started this song about a woman that was all involved with these birds and magic. loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-song-rhiannon-by-fleetwood-mac

How does this song make you feel when listening to it? Would you recommend this piece of music to a friend?

● Finish the Lyric

She is like a cat in the dark And then ______(She is to darkness) She rules her life like a fine skylark And when the sky is starless

“Family Man”

Family Man was the fifth single off 1987's "Tango In The Night" album, that was Fleetwood Mac's second-biggest selling album behind the behemoth "Rumours" that is one of rock's best known albums. The single stalled at No. 90 on the charts in 1988 and was the last record to

Copyright 2021, Creative Connections by Jess Jones Recreation Therapy chart with all five of Fleetwood Mac's most popular lineup of Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, John and Christine McVie and of course, Mick Fleetwood. (https://www.tampabay.com/leave-fleetwood-mac-alone-they-had-a-family-man-hit-too/2182 831/)

● Finish the Lyric

Walk down this road In the cool of the night Don't know ______(What’s wrong) But I do know what's right

● Listen and Learn

What makes this song so different then some of their other pieces of music? Can you identify the style of music?

Answer: Flamenco Guitar is used throughout this song.

● True or False

Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham describes the making of Tango in the Night as the “worst recording experience of my life”

Answer: True. Singer Stevie Nicks was addicted to the tranquilliser Klonopin and spent just two weeks in the studio, drummer Mick Fleetwood had declared bankruptcy a few years prior and was still very much loving his drugs (Buckingham: “half the time Mick was falling asleep”) while none of them could truly claim they weren’t indulging their vices.(https://www.shortlist.com/news/fleetwood-mac-tango-in-the-night-nicks-buckingham- mcvie)

● Reflection

● What aspects of the composer's life most intrigues you? (Stevie Nicks). ● How did this song make you feel? (No right or wrong answers). ● What pictures did the music create in your mind? Discuss further.

Tusk is the 12th studio album after their famous album, “Rumours.” As they were preparing to record this album it was very important to Lindsey Buckingham that it didn’t sound anything like Rumours, although according to the band that is what Warner Brothers wanted from them. From the beginning of writing this album they decided it was to be a double album and in 1979 it was released on October 12th.

● Finish the Lyric

Don't know why I have to work Don't know why I can't play Turn me off turn me out But don't turn me away ______(Save me a place) I'll come running if you love me today

● True or False

Buckingham demoed several of his songs at home before bringing them to the band. When he got to the studio, he lobbied for — and received — a replica of his personal bathroom in order to capture the “amazing sound” he was churning up.

Answer: True.

● Reflection

● What did you think about this piece while you were listening? (Listening is key here) ● What do you like most/worst about this song? ● How does this song compare to the other songs we have listened to today?

● Can you guess?

Copyright 2021, Creative Connections by Jess Jones Recreation Therapy Lindsey Buckingham loved the complexity of vocal harmonies, widescreen production and avant garde arrangements. Can you guess who his biggest influence was during his writing years?

Answer: The Beach Boys. Buckingham reportedly consulted the Beach Boys’ then-unreleased Smile recordings for “research purposes” during the sessions, taking his Brian Wilson obsession to a new level. (https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/fleetwood-mac-tusk-things-you-didnt-know-896796/)

● Finish the Lyric

Don't know why I have to go Don't know why I can't stay Guess I want to be alone And I guess I ______(need to be amazed) Save me a place I'll come running if you love me today I'll come running if you love me today

References:

Little lies. (2021, February 10). Retrieved April 03, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Lies

Wuench, K. (2019, August 26). Leave Fleetwood mac alone, they had a 'family Man' hit too. Retrieved April 03, 2021, from https://www.tampabay.com/leave-fleetwood-mac-alone-they-had-a-family-man-hit-t oo/2182831/

Dissecting Tango in the Night: Fleetwood MAC'S pop masterpiece. (2017, January 30). Retrieved April 03, 2021, from https://www.shortlist.com/news/fleetwood-mac-tango-in-the-night-nicks-buckingha m-mcvie