Chords for Fleetwood Mac/Lindsey Buckingham ~ 1983 Interview

_ _ [Am] _ [Em] _ _ [F] _ [Em] In the annals of rock music, [Am] few bands have sold more albums or [G] made more headlines than [F] Fleetwood Mac.
Starting out as a guitar-oriented blues [Bb] quartet [Am] and evolving through the years into a mainstream rock act,
[C] the band has endured [F] personnel problems, romantic troubles, and plain [Em] bad luck [Am] to become the supergroup that it is today.
A [Em] brief review of the band's career [F] provides a truly moving [Em] insight into [G] the trials and triumphs [Am] of Fleetwood Mac.
_ [N] Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks are known the world over
as the artists whose unique personalities and vast amounts of creative energy have taken the band to the top.
What isn't as well known is that Fleetwood Mac has a very rich history that spans over 15 years.
Charter member Mick Fleetwood.
Going back to the beginning of Fleetwood Mac, John McVie, this is 1967, John McVie and myself and Peter Green,
who was the [C] original member of Fleetwood Mac, who actually in fact [Eb] started Fleetwood Mac,
we played in a band called John Mayles Blues Breakers [D] all together.
We then formed Fleetwood Mac, or rather Peter did, and asked John and myself to be, you know,
the bass player, John, and me the drummer.
_ John at first didn't want to join because there wasn't enough money in it.
After a year or so, the quartet of Green, Fleetwood McVie, and slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer was joined by yet another guitarist,
[Dm] Danny Kerwin.
The band drew raves in England with hits like [N] Albatross, The Green Manalishi, and the original version of Black Magic Woman.
Despite this British success, American audiences remained cool toward the band,
but in 1970, Fleetwood Mac met with its first serious crisis.
Peter Green, the group's founder and most prominent member, quit the music business to pursue a [Dm] more spiritual way of life.
Jeremy Spencer took over as the band's leader, and [Am] Christine McVie, John's wife, joined [N] in to help on vocals and keyboards,
but the pressure proved to be too much for Spencer to handle.
Two weeks into their 1971 American tour, he mysteriously left to join the Children of God religious sect.
_ [Dm] _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ Leaderless once again, the remaining members started anew, this time recruiting Californian Bob Welsh.
His songs, combined with Christine's softer, more laid-back approach, made for a sound that attracted a larger American audience.
[G] The band had hits with Sentimental Lady, [Cm] Fair Trees, and Hypnotized.
This new pop sound caused more problems.
Fleetwood Mac's loyal British following accused them of selling out,
and Danny Kerwin left, feeling that he didn't fit in anymore.
The band suffered a devastating blowover when its manager put a fake Fleetwood Mac on tour in America.
[Bb] The real band won the legal [Eb] battle that followed, but it would take over nine months of touring to mend relations with promoters and fans.
[E] Fleetwood [A] Mac's luck finally changed when [Bm] Mick happened to hear the Buckingham Knicks album [E] while checking out a recording studio.
Shortly after he heard the album, Bob Welsh decided to leave the band.
Mick immediately contacted the duo, Lindsey Buckingham.
Mick is a very intuitive guy, _ so _ I think he just felt that the combination would be right, the chemistry would be right,
and he called and asked us to join, and of course we did.
_ This time, the chemistry was right.
Their first album together sold over four million copies,
but nothing could have prepared them for the monumental success of their follow-up, Rumors.
Having been a producer on that album, it was an exciting thing to see it be number one in America for six months.
I mean, that was outrageous.
I think the phenomena of the sales, the phenomena far outshined the music on the [D] album after a while.
The band surprised everyone [N] with the release of their next album, Tusk.
One of the reasons that we did the Tusk album was because we didn't want to put out a Rumors 2.
A lot of people were saying, well, Jay, what are you going to do now?
You guys must be scared.
How are you going to sell another 16 million albums?
Well, the point was, who cares about selling 16 million albums?
Who cares about trying to do another album just for the sake of selling the albums?
The whole point is to do something that means something.
As Fleetwood Mac moved into the 80s, Lindsey, Stevie and Mick [D] released solo albums.
The band shattered all rumors that the solo projects meant a split up with the release of Mirage.
Of course, the most publicized aspect of Fleetwood Mac's career has been the romantic problems that hit right at the peak of success.
Lindsey and Stevie ended their relationship and John and Christine divorced.
But the music was amazing and the feelings that were there when the songs were created still show [Am] through.
Some of those songs, you can't help it.
I mean, one of the reasons Rumors sold the amount it did probably was because it was the running musical soap opera.
And those things were all very real.
The emotions and the situations that were expressed on that album were all happening to us.
And I think when we sing that, it's still there.
This _
_ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ [C] _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ [Gb] _
month, in an exclusive Home [Em] Box office presentation recorded live,
HBO viewers can enjoy a dynamic view of Fleetwood Mac in concert,
singing the emotionally charged classics as well as some of their latest hits.
We play very differently, actually, from the way we record.
I think a lot of people are surprised at the [Am] difference [C] in energy [Em] output in terms of_
We're a lot more raucous on [Am] stage than the way that we [C] make [Em] records.
Let's put it that way.
There are visual aspects that you're dealing with on stage that you can't get across on a disc.
So this is what you'll probably be seeing a little bit of on the HBO thing.
It's going to demonstrate certainly a more intense aspect of my playing and Mick's playing in particular,
but also some elaboration of arrangements for sure.
So it should be good.
_ HBO viewers will also get to see [Am] one of the finest rhythm sections in rock music,
as Mick and John lay the foundation for the three singers to build upon.
A lot of people ask me what it is about the old rhythm section,
which of course has been forever in the background through all the incarnations of Fleetwood Mac.
Some people say that we're the people that drive them all around the bend,
but I'm sure it's not that sinister.
[Em] Rising to meet every new challenge, Fleetwood Mac has survived,
with its integrity and good name intact.
But band members have split up once again to work on new solo projects.
Whether they will regroup to record again, or whether the band will rise once more in yet another incarnation,
only time will tell.
In any case, it would appear that the trials and triumphs of Fleetwood Mac will [Am] go on.
_ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ _
[Am] _ _ [C] _ [Em] _ _ _ _ _
[Am] _ _ [C] _ [Em] We were together
We [Am] _ _ were [Em] together _ _
[Am] _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ _