The Songbird: Remembering Christine McVie
One of the most popular bands of the 70s and 80s hit something of a resurgence within the last several years, attributable to a number of reasons. A popular TikTok circulated with a man riding a skateboard, drinking cranberry juice, and listening to “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac; Harry Styles performed live with the band as well as covered their hit song “The Chain.” Stevie Nicks continues to perform live with popular artists like Taylor Swift, Gorillaz, and more. Throughout this resurgence, one band member, responsible for a large portion of the band’s catalog, remained on the sidelines, out of the spotlight, and thus not credited nearly as much as deserved for making the band as successful as they were.
Christine McVie, born Christine Perfect, joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970, before the band had emerged into the mainstream and before its music had transitioned out of blues and into rock. She was a preamble to Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, who would join soon after in 1975. She was one of the band’s vocalists and the primary keyboardist, both of which would set her apart from the rest as McVie held a uniquely beautiful and engrossing voice.
Despite not being as well-known as Stevie Nicks today, McVie wrote and performed a significant number of songs that gave the band its hit-making reputation. For example, of the 16 songs on Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits album, an octuple-platinum album, half of the songs were written or co-written by McVie: “Don’t Stop,” “Hold Me,” “Everywhere,” “You Make Loving Fun,” “As Long As You Follow,” “Say You Love Me,” “Little Lies,” and “Over My Head.”
McVie had a gift to capture her listeners in several ways, with songs like “Don’t Stop,” “Everywhere,” “Little Lies,” and “You Make Loving Fun” being upbeat, happy songs driving home the positives of love and life, the happiness we can find in smaller things. Others, like “As Long As You Follow,” “Say You Love Me,” and “Over My Head,” put McVie’s stunning keyboard at the forefront of the backing, her lyrics a telling ballad about our reaction to love.
Digging deeper into Fleetwood Mac’s catalog, McVie was responsible for a number of exceptional pieces that never made it that high on Billboard. “Oh Daddy” from Rumours is a major indication that McVie is not solely talented with upbeat songs. It is an emotional, melancholy tune written for the band’s drummer, Mick Fleetwood, the only father in the band. And “World Turning,” co-written with the band’s guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, combines the band’s signature blues-backing with a more country-rock aesthetic, giving the song an overwhelming power. McVie and Buckingham co-wrote numerous songs. They found they had an amazing chemistry for music, leading the pair to release an album separate from Fleetwood Mac titled Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie in 2017 that reached #17 on the US charts and #5 in the UK.
And, of course, “Songbird” has become the song most intimately associated with McVie since its release on Rumours. One of, if not the most introspective and emotional songs on the album, “Songbird” was initially written in only half an hour, with McVie being alone in the studio and thus having the space to be the most open and honest. The repeating lyrics, “It’s alright, I know it’s alright” and “I love you like never before,” contrast starkly with the tone of the keyboard and acoustic guitar, the only instruments to be featured in the song. Despite not being a single and not reaching as high as many of Fleetwood Mac’s other hits, “Songbird” was frequently performed at the end of concerts as a final goodbye to the audience from McVie.
Christine McVie passed away on Nov. 30, 2022, at 79-years-old. Since that day, “Songbird” and Rumours have skyrocketed in popularity once again. According to Billboard, the album is on track to return to the Top 10, cementing McVie’s significance in music history to today. McVie’s bandmates all paid homage in various ways: Mick Fleetwood tweeted, “Part of my heart has flown away today. I will miss everything about you.” Lindsey Buckingham posted to Instagram, “For over four decades, we helped each other create a beautiful body of work and a lasting legacy that continues to resonate today. I feel very lucky to have known her. Though she will be deeply missed, her spirit will live on through that body of work and that legacy.” Finally, Stevie Nicks wrote, “one song has been swirling around in my head, over and over and over. I thought I might get to sing it to her, and so, I’m singing it to her now.”
Very seldom does the world get a musician as impactful and talented as Christine McVie. As you go about your way these next few weeks, be sure to keep her and her music in mind—maybe even give it a few listens. The lessons our Songbird shares continue to exceed expectations and move hearts and will do so years and years after her passing.