You know I like my lists! As a way to dive deep into the catalogs of one of my favorite bands, and inspired by my recent fascination with reaction videos, I’ve decided to rank my favorite Fleetwood Mac tracks, and particularly, explore my Top 50! That’s a lot of songs, but Fleetwood Mac has a pretty extensive catalog.
One of my favorite, if not my favorite band of all time, I discovered Fleetwood Mac in 1975 with the release of their Fleetwood Mac “white” album. My older siblings owned the album, and I was quickly captivated. Being a burgeoning young gay, I was drawn instinctively to the fact that there was not one, but TWO women in the band (although not knowing who was who, I thought one of them was named Lindsey Buckingham). A couple years later, Rumours hit, and Fleetwood Mac took the world by storm.
As a child (I was only 13 when I first heard their music), and a gay one at that, naturally I fell in love with Stevie Nicks. But as a piano player (even then) I was fascinated by Christine McVie. I somewhat dismissed Lindsey Buckingham, the male songwriter of the bunch, but as I’ve matured, Stevie grew a little tiresome, Christine rose to glorious heights, and I’ve learned to appreciate just how talented Lindsey Buckingham is, and what a huge gift he brought to the band. While I discovered this amazing group in 1975, I soon learned they had an extensive career dating all the way back to 1967 (and continuing on to today!)
The breakdown by songwriter was no surprise to me at this point in my life, but I suspect it would differ from most Fleetwood Mac fans, who gravitate to Stevie Nicks’ work. On my list, Christine McVie has the most song in the Top 50, with 25 (and 33 in the Top 70). Lindsey Buckingham follows at a distant 15 songs in the Top 50 (and 20 in the Top 70). Stevie Nicks has 10 songs in the Top 50 (and 12 in the Top 70). Rounding out the Top 50, Danny Kirwan and Bob Welch each had a single song in the Top 50. It is also of note that “The Chain” is credited to all five members of the classic line-up; McVie and Buckingham co-wrote a single song in the Top 50, is the Top 50, and there is a single cover song in the Top 50. There is only a single song in the Top 50 where one Mac member wrote the song, and a different Mac member single lead vocals (there is one other in the Top 70, and four that are essentially duets).
My list features songs from 1971 – 1990, and are pulled from a total of eleven albums. I don’t own, nor have I really listened to Fleetwood Mac’s first four albums (before Christine McVie joined): Fleetwood Mac (1968), Mr. Wonderful (1968), Then Play On (1969), and Kiln House (1970). Penguin, an album they released in 1973 doesn’t feature any songs in my Top 50 – although two Christine McVie tracks from the album show up in my Top 70 list. I do own their last two studio albums: Time (1995) and Say You Will (1993), but don’t know them very well, nor have any of the songs jumped out to appear on my list. Of the twelve albums that do feature songs on my Top 70, here they are in chronological order.
- Future Games (1971) – 2 songs in the Top 50
- Bare Trees (1972) – 2 songs in the Top 50
- Mystery to Me (1973) – 4 songs in the Top 50
- Heroes Are Hard to Find (1974) – 2 songs in the Top 50
- Fleetwood Mac (1975) – 11 songs in the Top 50
- Rumours (1977) – 9 songs in the Top 50
- Tusk (1979) – 11 songs in the Top 50
- Mirage (1982) – 5 songs in the Top 50
- Tango in the Night (1987) – 2 songs in the Top 50
- Behind the Mask (1990) – 1 song in the Top 50
- The Dance (1997) – 2 songs in the Top 50
Note – Fleetwood Mac (1975) is the only album where every song is featured in my Top 50. One of the songs from The Dance (1997) was intended for Rumours (1977) but cut to make space, and only appeared as the B-Side to the “Go Your Own Way” single.
To kick things off, I’m just going to list the songs that didn’t make the Top 50, still great songs, and on any given day, things might shift around a bit, but you can only have 50 songs in a top 50! Here are #’s 51 – 70 :
70. Danny’s Chant by Danny Kirwan – Bare Trees (1972)
69. Family Man by Lindsey Buckingham & Richard Dashut – Tango in the Night (1987)
68. Sunny Side of Heaven by Danny Kirwan – Bare Trees (1972)
67. Tusk by Lindsey Buckingham – Tusk (1979)
66. Beautiful Child by Stevie Nicks – Tusk (1979)
65. Show Me a Smile by Christine McVie – Future Games (1971)
64. Prove Your Love by Christine McVie – Heroes Are Hard to Find (1974)
63. Hard Feelings by Billy Burnette & Jeff Silbar – Behind the Mask (1990)
62. That’s All for Everyone by Lindsey Buckingham – Tusk (1979)
61. Everywhere by Christine McVie – Tango in the Night (1987)
60. Temporary One by Christine McVie & Eddie Quintela – The Dance (1997)
59. Gold Dust Woman by Stevie Nicks – Rumours (1977)
58. Eyes of the World by Lindsey Buckingham – Mirage (1982)
57. Remember Me by Christine McVie – Penguin (1973)
56. Dissatisfied by Christine McVie – Penguin (1973)
55. Keep On Going by Bob Welch – Mystery to Me (1973)
54. Wish You Were Here by Christine McVie & Colin Allen – Mirage (1982)
53. Save Me a Place by Lindsey Buckingham – Tusk (1979)
52. Only Over You by Christine McVie – Mirage (1982)
51. Bare Trees by Danny Kirwan – Bare Trees (1972)
I’d like to mention a couple of notes about this group. “Keep on Going” from the Mystery to Me album, was written by Bob Welch, but he thought it sounded better sung by Christine McVie; a rarity among Mac songs for a member to take lead vocals of a song they did not write. Two songs that I suspect would be much higher on others’ lists are “Gold Dust Woman” and “Everywhere,” the former being a Nicks classic, and the latter being one of their highest charting UK singles, climbing to #4.