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Fleetwood Mac (formed in 1968) are an influential
and commercially successful United
Kingdom|British/United States|American rock and
roll|rock band.

In the late 1960s, the group experienced limited
success as a fiery British blues band, consisting
of acclaimed guitarists Peter Green, Danny Kirwan
and Jeremy Spencer, drummer Mick Fleetwood and
bass guitarist John McVie (the later two providing
the band’s name). After Green and Spencer left,
Fleetwood Mac continued with guitarist Bob Welch
and keyboardist Christine McVie, wife of John
McVie. 

After Welch left, the group recruited American
guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer/songwriter
Stevie Nicks, who added greater popular music|pop
sensibilities to the group. This incarnation
became phenomenally popular in the late 1970s,
selling 18 million copies of their 1977 album
Rumours, a emotionally harrowing album fueled by
the crumpling relationships of Nicks and
Buckingham and the McVies. (Fleetwood also was
going through a divorce from wife Jenny Boyd.)

In the 1980s and 1990s, Fleetwood Mac’s albums
became more sporadic and less critically and
commercially successful. However, a 1997 reunion
of the Rumours-era line-up revived the group.

Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits include "Dreams"
"Gypsy," "Little Lies," "Go Your Own Way" and
"Don't Stop," which famously became the campaign
song of President of the United States|American
presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992. The
group remains a perennially popular rock band,
selling an estimated 100 million albums worldwide
and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame. In cable music channel VH1’s 2000
countdown of the List of VH1's greatest artists of
rock and roll|100 greatest artists in rock and
roll, Fleetwood Mac ranked 22.

==Once singing the blues==
The group began as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac in
1968 in music|1968 by guitarist Peter Green
(musician)|Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood,
and bassist John McVie, after the three left (or
were fired from) John Mayall & the
Bluesbreakers|John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. They
were then joined by Jeremy Spencer and Danny
Kirwan. Fleetwood Mac would release a series of
straightforward blues albums which did moderately
well in the United Kingdom. Early singles included
"Oh, Well", "Albatross (composition)|Albatross",
and "Black Magic Woman" (which was re-recorded by
Santana (band)|Santana and became a U.S. hit).

==Welch jellies the Mac==
Fleetwood Mac went through many personnel changes,
losing multiple lead guitarists (including Peter
Green) and gaining blues singer Christine McVie
(John McVie's wife). When American guitarist
Bob_Welch_(musician)|Bob Welch joined them, the
band adopted a southern California country-rock
flavour, still tempered by the blues influence of
the British members.  Some of Fleetwood Mac's
early hits in the Welch era include "Sentimental
Lady" (from 1972 in music|1972's Bare Trees),
which Welch himself remade during his solo career
in 1977 in music|1977, and the stirring
"Hypnotized" (from 1973 in music|1973's Mystery To
Me). Paul Stocks is the current bass player after
Fleetwood persuaded him with a six figure sum.

==Rumours are flying==
In late 1974 in music|1974, Bob Welch left the
band, and Mick Fleetwood needed to fill the
vacancy. To show Fleetwood his recording skills,
Keith Olsen played a track titled "Frozen Love",
which he had mixed for Buckingham Nicks (from
Buckingham Nicks, Polydor PD 5058, September
1973). Liking guitarist Lindsey Buckingham's
playing, Mick asked Buckingham to join the band.
Buckingham agreed, on the condition that his
musical partner and girlfriend Stevie Nicks also
be invited to the band.

In 1975 in music|1975, the new lineup released the
eponymous Fleetwood Mac (album)|Fleetwood Mac. The
album proved to be a breakthrough for the band and
became a huge hit, and the group was catapulted
into stardom. Among the hit singles from this
album included McVie's "Over My Head" & "Say You
Love Me", and Nicks' "Rhiannon (Will You Ever
Win)".

But in 1976 in music|1976, with the success of the
band also came the end of John McVie|John and
Christine McVie's marriage, as well as Lindsey
Buckingham|Buckingham and Stevie Nicks|Nicks'
longtime romantic relationship. Huge pressure was
placed on the band to release a successful
followup album, which, when combined with the
newly found wealth, led to large amounts of drug
and alcohol consumption.

The resulting concept album was Rumours in 1977 in
music|1977, in which the band laid bare the
emotional turmoil of the time. It became the best
selling album of the year, and sold over 18
million copies worldwide by 1998. The RIAA
certified Rumours as a diamond album.  It spawned
more hit singles than its predecessor, including
Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way", Nicks' "Dreams",
"Gold Dust Woman" and "The Chain" (the last song
credited to the entire group, but actually
composed by Nicks and Buckingham, and the chorus
by Christine McVie from her song "Butter Cookie
(Keep Me There)". The signature bass line at the
end, composed by John McVie, was used as the main
theme for BBC television coverage of Formula 1
racing, before it moved to ITV. The group has said
"The Chain" was very much a jumble of pieces of
music slapped together, but it was enough to make
it a staple of their concerts and FM radio.) For
Christine McVie, the album yielded two major hits,
"You Make Loving Fun" and her anthemic "Don't
Stop", which became the group's signature song
that usually closed their live concerts.

==The elephant comes to the Mac==
Rumours (album)|Rumours was the peak of Fleetwood
Mac's popularity. Sales of future albums declined
but the band still maintained critical success.
This was particularly true of the followup album. 
Lindsey's response to the overwhelming popularity
of Rumours (album)|Rumours was to avoid making a
sequel. His larger role as producer for the next
album was influenced by the new wave music|new
wave style.

This resulted in the quirky double album Tusk
(album)|Tusk. It was released in 1979 in
music|1979 and spawned three hit singles:
Buckingham's "Tusk", which featured the University
of Southern California|USC marching band, McVie's
"Think About Me", and Nicks' seven minute opus
"Sara" (cut to three-and-a-half minutes for the
first CD version release— it has since been
restored for CD reissue). Tusk (album)|Tusk
remains Fleetwood Mac's most ambitious album to
date. 
 
The band embarked on a one year tour to support
Tusk (album)|Tusk. They travelled extensively
across the world including USA, Australia, New
Zealand, Japan, France, Belgium, Germany, the
Netherlands, and the United Kingdom,. During that
time, the band recorded music for the (Live
(Album)|Live, 1980 in music|1980).   

The next album Mirage (album)|Mirage was a return
to the conventional. Hits included: McVie's "Hold
Me", Nicks' "Gypsy", and Buckingham's "Oh Diane"
which went Top 10 in the UK. A minor hit was also
scored by Buckingham for his "Eyes Of The World".
Unlike the Tusk Tour, the band only embarked on a
short tour over 18 American cities. They also
headlined the first US Festival for which they
were paid $500,000.   

The band went on hiatus which allowed members to
pursue solo careers. Nicks released "Bella Donna",
Buckingham "Law and Order" and McVie a self-titled
album. All three met with relative success but it
was Nicks who proved to be the most viable.  

The Mac would record one more album, Tango In The
Night (album)|Tango In The Night, in 1987 in
music|1987. The album was hugely popular,
especially in the UK where it hit no.1 three times
over a year. The album proved that Fleetwood Mac
still had selling power and the album spawned four
hits:  McVie's "Little Lies" and "Everywhere",
Nicks' "Seven Wonders" and Buckingham's "Big
Love".

The band intended to tour to support the album but
Buckingham felt that he had fulfilled his
commitments to the band, and wanted to leave. The
split was not amicable but his relationship with
the band would heal in later years.

==The Mac carries on==
Fleetwood Mac added guitarists Billy Burnette and
Rick Vito and recorded more albums through the
late 1980s and early 1990s, beginning with Behind
The Mask, with which the group ended up with a
more adult contemporary than rock and roll|rock
style.  However, Behind The Mask (which yielded
several high-ranking singles including McVie's
"Skies The Limit" and "Save Me" as well as the
Nicks single "Love Is Dangerous" ) did go to gold,
but it is seen by music critics as a low point for
the band in the absence of Lindsey Buckingham.

The Buckingham/Nicks/McVie(s)/Fleetwood lineup
would reunite from time to time in the 1990s. The
first time was for the inauguration of President
Bill Clinton, who had made Fleetwood Mac's "Don't
Stop" his campaign song. The second time was for a
live concert recorded on a Warner Brothers
Burbank, California soundstage, which resulted in
the 1997 in music|1997 album The Dance|The Dance. 
A hugely successful stadium tour followed the MTV
premiere of The Dance which kept the reunited Mac
on the road throughout much of 1997.  This would
be the final phase of the 1970s lineup with
Christine McVie.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
inducted Fleetwood Mac in 1998.

In 1998 Christie McVie left the band (and the US
as well, in favor of England) permanently to
retire from touring, though not from the music
business completely, as she released an album In
The Meantime in 2004. This left Buckingham and
Nicks to handle the vocals for the band's latest
album, Say You Will.  The album debuted at #3 on
the Billboard 200 and a well attended arena tour
lasted through 2004.  Drummer Mick Fleetwood and
bassist John McVie are the only original members
still with the group.

== Discography ==
* Fleetwood Mac (1968 album)|Peter Green's
Fleetwood Mac (Blue Horizon, 1968)
* Mr. Wonderful (1968 album)|Mr. Wonderful (Epic,
1968)
* English Rose (Epic, 1969)
* Then Play On (Reprise, 1969)
* Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits
(Reprise, 1970)
* Kiln House (Reprise, 1970)
* Future Games (Reprise, 1971)
* Bare Trees (Reprise, 1972)
* Mystery to Me (Reprise, 1973)
* Penguin (album)|Penguin (Reprise, 1973)
* Heroes Are Hard to Find (Reprise, 1974)
* Fleetwood Mac (album)|Fleetwood Mac (Reprise,
1975)
* Rumours (Warner, 1977)
* Tusk (album)|Tusk (Warner, 1979)
* Live (Fleetwood Mac)|Live (Warner, 1980)
* Mirage (album)|Mirage (Warner, 1982)
* Tango in the Night (Warner, 1987)
* Greatest Hits (Fleetwood Mac album)|Greatest
Hits (Warner, 1988)
* The Blues Collection (Unknown label, 1989)
* Behind the Mask (album)|Behind the Mask (Warner,
1990)
* 25 Years - The Chain (album)|25 Years - The
Chain (Warner, 1992)
* Time (Fleetwood Mac album)|Time (Warner, 1995)
* The Dance (Reprise, 1998)
* The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (Warner, 2002)
* Say You Will (Warner, 2003)
* Fleetwood Mac (album)|Fleetwood Mac Enhanced
reissue with bonus material (Warner, 2004)
* Rumours Enhanced reissue with bonus material
(Warner, 2004)
* Tusk (album)|Tusk Enhanced reissue with bonus
material (Warner, 2004)

==See also==
*Best selling music artists

== External links ==
* http://www.fleetwoodmac.com/ Official website of
Fleetwood Mac
*
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=1FLEE
TWOODMAC AMG Entry on Fleetwood Mac
*
http://musicmoz.org/Bands_and_Artists/F/Fleetwood_
Mac/ MusicMoz directory for Fleetwood Mac
* http://petergreen.oyla.de/ Peter Green-Fanpage
Deutschland/Germany
* http://www.go2lyrics.com/F/Fleetwood+Mac/
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
* http://www.stevienickschain.com Fleetwood Mac
FAN CLUB
* http://www.fleetwoodmac-uk.com Go Your Own Way -
The UK's resource for Fleetwood Mac