The Real Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac in Chicago
This post begins with a journey down the rabbit hole known as ‘Fleetwood Mac’. When we were starting to build our vinyl record collection, one of our favorite record sellers suggested we get the ‘Fleetwood Mac in Chicago’ double disc album. Well, I remember how much I enjoyed Fleetwood Mac in my youth, however something seemed out of place when looking at the photos on the back of the album cover - no girls…and definitely no Stevie Nicks. But, hey, I really trust our ‘record man’.
Back of ‘Fleetwood Mac in Chicago’ versus ‘Rumours by Fleetwood Mac’
Once home, I took this album for a spin…and had my introduction to Chicago Blues. But that still left me wondering about the name ‘Fleetwood Mac’. So, I turned my curiosity over to the internet and I discovered the Peter Green ‘Fleetwood Mac’.
First off, the name. Fleetwood Mac's name comes from the last names of the original drummer and bassist: Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. But neither of them suggested that name. Original guitarist, singer and songwriter Peter Green came up with the name and Mick Fleetwood later said it was an example of Green's selflessness.
Next, Peter Green. This is where I had my mind blown. You see I’ve always loved masterful electric guitar solos, with Santana being one of my favorites. But I didn’t know about bluesman Peter Green, a white kid who grew up in England and whom B.B. King commented that "He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats."
And I now know exactly what B.B. King was talking about. My internet search turned up the attached Fleetwood Mac live recording of a song, later made famous by Santana’s cover of it, written by Peter Green and featuring the best guitar duet, between Peter Green and Danny Kirwan, I’ve ever heard. Recorded in 1970 at the Boston Tea Party, I can’t get enough of the real ‘Black Magic Woman’!
…And the cold sweats continue…!
Fleetwood Mac Peter Green - Black Magic Woman (Live Boston Tea Party)
This is where it gets interesting. Peter Green and Danny Kirwan, the genius writer and guitarists from the late 60’s Fleetwood Mac had a tough time with drugs, alcohol and mental health., resulting in their exits from Fleetwood Mac. The result was Mick Fleetwood and John McVie carrying on, adding Christine Perfect (later married John, becoming Christine McVie) and Stevie Nicks, with husband Lindsay Buckingham. Anyways, lots of drama ensued…along with some classic pop rock music created by the more well-known Fleetwood Mac.
One of my favorites is the entire Fleetwood Mac Rumours album (1977). Pretty much every song brings back fun high school memories of mine, with the highlight of my friend Mary and I in Grade 12 doing a lip-syncing routine to ‘Don’t Stop…thinking about tomorrow’ for our boarding school house of girls for Halloween. It’s a long story…but let’s just leave it with our school matrons being unimpressed by ‘our music’…lol!!
And then there’s just Stevie Nicks…though the entire Fleetwood Mac group helped pull this album together…
I hope this post helps anyone the next time they go into our record collection, pull ‘Fleetwood Mac in Chicago’, put it on to play…and discover something they weren’t expecting, maybe even discovering a musical world they never knew existed.
