Stevie Nicks

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Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 120 million albums. She has been noted for her ethereal visual style and symbolic lyrics.

Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975 along with her then boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham. Fleetwood Mac's second album after the incorporation of Nicks and Buckingham, 1977's Rumours, produced four U.S. Top 10 singles (including Nicks' song "Dreams", which was the band's first and only U.S. number one) and remained at #1 on the American albums chart for over 30 weeks, as well as reaching the top spot in various countries around the world. To date the album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide.

Nicks began her solo career in 1981 with the 5 million selling album Bella Donna, and she has produced five more solo studio albums to date. After the release of her first solo album, Rolling Stone deemed her "The Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll". Overcoming cocaine addiction, dependency on tranquilizers, and chronic fatigue syndrome, Nicks remains a popular solo performer. She has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards and, with Fleetwood Mac, won the 1977/1978 Grammy for Album of the Year for Rumours. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Nicks has a contralto vocal range.

Early life

Nicks was born at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona to Jess Nicks, a corporate executive, and Barbara Nicks, a homemaker. Nicks' grandfather, Aaron Jess Nicks, a struggling country music singer, taught Nicks to sing, performing duets with her by the time she was four years old. Nicks' mother was very protective of her, keeping her at home "more than most people were" and fostering in her a love of fairy tales. As a young child, Nicks had difficulty pronouncing her given name Stephanie, instead pronouncing it "tee-dee", which became the nickname "Stevie". As Stevie's father Jess, a food business executive, climbed the ladder of success, he and the family moved from one Southwestern outpost to another. The list of places where Stevie lived sounds like an uninspired lyric from a blues country tune; baby years in Phoenix, a year in Albuquerque, New Mexico, five years in El Paso, Texas, two years in Salt Lake City, Utah, two years in Los Angeles, several years in the suburbs of San Francisco. With the Goya guitar that she received for her sixteenth birthday, Nicks wrote her first song called "I've Loved and I've Lost, and I'm Sad But Not Blue". She joined her first band "The Changing Times" while attending Arcadia High School in Arcadia, CA, a suburb of Los Angeles

Nicks first met her future musical and romantic partner Lindsey Buckingham during her senior year at Menlo Atherton High School She attended a Young Life social event, saw Buckingham playing "California Dreamin'", and joined in with the harmony Buckingham contacted Nicks a few years later and asked her to join him and his bandmates Javier Pacheco and Calvin Roper in a band called Fritz. Fritz became popular as a live act from 1968 until 1972, opening for popular musicians Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, among others, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Both Nicks and Buckingham attended San Jose State University in Northern California, where Nicks majored in Speech Communication. They dropped out in 1968 and moved to Los Angeles together to pursue a career in music when Nicks' family moved to Chicago.

Buckingham Nicks: 1972–1974

After Fritz disbanded in 1972, Nicks and Buckingham continued to write and record as a duo, producing demo tapes at the coffee plant belonging to Buckingham's father Morris. They secured a deal with Polydor Records. Polydor used tracks from the demo tapes to release the album Buckingham Nicks in 1973. The album was not a commercial success, despite the live shows that Nicks and Buckingham performed together to support it, and Polydor dropped the pair from the label. To support herself and Buckingham, who wrote music while recovering from mononucleosis, Nicks worked a variety of jobs, which included waiting tables and a stint cleaning engineer/producer Keith Olsen's house, where Nicks and Buckingham lived for a time. Nicks says that she first used cocaine during this time.

Nicks and Buckingham briefly relocated to Aspen, Colorado. While there, Buckingham landed a guitar-playing gig with the Everly Brothers, and toured with them while Nicks stayed behind. During this time, Nicks wrote "Rhiannon" after seeing the name in the novel Triad by Mary Leader, unaware at the time of the Mabinogi legend of Rhiannon. She also wrote "Landslide", inspired by the scenery of Aspen and her inner turmoil over her decision to pursue music.

Fleetwood Mac and Rumours: 1975–1978

Nicks and Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac on December 31, 1974, after Keith Olsen played their track "Frozen Love" for drummer Mick Fleetwood, who had come to Studio City, California to find a new studio to record Fleetwood Mac's next studio album. Fleetwood remembered Buckingham's guitar work after guitar player Bob Welch's departure to pursue a solo career. Initially extending the offer only to Buckingham, Fleetwood later included Nicks in the offer when Buckingham insisted that they were "a package deal".

In 1975, the band released the album Fleetwood Mac, which hit number one, sold 5 million in the US alone, and had three Top 20 songs in 1976. Nicks' "Rhiannon" reached #11, and the album also included Nicks' "Landslide", and "Crystal", though the latter featured lead vocals by Buckingham. That same year, Nicks worked with clothing designer Margi Kent to develop Nicks' unique onstage look, with costumes that featured flowing skirts, shawls and platform boots.

Following the success of Fleetwood Mac, increasing tension between Nicks and Buckingham began to take its toll on their creativity, and Nicks ended the relationship. Fleetwood Mac began recording their follow-up album, Rumours, in early 1976 and continued until late in the year. Sessions were marked by heavy drug use, faulty drum tracks, and tension between the band members, which influenced the songwriting. Also, Nicks and Buckingham sang back-up on Warren Zevon's debut album.

Nicks' contributions to Rumours were "I Don't Want to Know", "Gold Dust Woman", and "Dreams" (which became the band's only Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit single to date), as well as co-writer on "The Chain". Nicks had also written and recorded the song "Silver Springs", but it was ultimately not included on the album because of space limitations for studio albums on vinyl records (24 minutes per side). Instead, it was relegated to the B-side of the "Go Your Own Way" single release, and would remain in some obscurity for many years until its triumphant re-release as part of the 4-disc Fleetwood Mac retrospective 25 Years - The Chain in 1992. The song was, and has always been, very special to Nicks - song rights are owned by her mother, Barbara Nicks - and she was not told about the omission from "Rumours" until after the decision had been made. Nicks was devastated.

Rumours was released to widespread acclaim and Grammy award for album of the year in February 1977. By 2008, Rumours had sold over 20 million copies in the U.S. alone (certified as a diamond album by the RIAA) and today is officially accredited with worldwide sales of over 40 million, maintaining its status as one of the biggest-selling albums of all time. In November 1977, after a New Zealand concert for the Rumours tour, Nicks and Fleetwood, who was married to Jenny Boyd, secretly began an affair. The affair ended the next year, in October 1978, when Mick Fleetwood left his wife for Nicks' best friend Sara Recor. After the success of the Rumours album and tour in 1977–78, Fleetwood Mac began recording their third album with Buckingham and Nicks, Tusk, in the spring of 1978. That year, Nicks sang back-up on Walter Egan's "Magnet & Steel" from Egan's 1978 album Not Shy, which was produced by Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut.

Tusk, Bella Donna and Mirage: 1978–1982

By 1978, Nicks had amassed a large backlog of songs dating back to her Buckingham Nicks days that she was unable to record and release with Fleetwood Mac because of the constraint of having to accommodate three songwriters on each album.[26] During Tusk sessions in 1979, Nicks began laying down demos for a solo album, continuing to write and record for the solo project during the world tour for Tusk in 1979–80. With Danny Goldberg and Paul Fishkin, Nicks founded Modern Records, a vehicle to record and release her own material. Between Tusk sessions, Nicks recorded two duets that became hits: with Kenny Loggins on "Whenever I Call You Friend" (1978), and with John Stewart on "Gold" (1979).

After thirteen months of recording and editing, Tusk was released as a 20-track double album in October 19, 1979. Nicks' wistful ballads "Storms" and "Beautiful Child" were speculated to be about her doomed affair with Mick Fleetwood, while the Billboard Hot 100 #7 hit "Sara" alluded to the love-triangle between herself, Fleetwood and Sara Pesnell (later Sara Fleetwood). Other Nicks tracks included "Angel" and "Sisters of the Moon". One notable Nicks omission from Tusk was Planets of the Universe, originally written in 1976 as part of the "Rumours" sessions. Buckingham is said to have had unresolvable problems with production on the song, and it would not be until 2001 that a release would be forthcoming via a Nicks' solo album Trouble in Shangri-La.

During the huge 18 month sellout Tusk Tour of 1979 and 1980, Nicks began writing and recording demos for what would become her first and most successful solo effort. Band sessions for Nicks' solo debut album began in April 1980, with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Tom Moncrieff. Sessions continued through the end of the Tusk tour in late 1980, ending in the spring of 1981, helmed by Jimmy Iovine and featuring various contributions from Petty and his band. During 1981 Nicks toured with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and New Zealand band Split Enz as a guest.

Nicks released Bella Donna on July 27, 1981. The album reached #1 on the Billboard album chart in September. As of 1990 it was certified 'quadruple platinum' for sales of over 4 million copies in the US alone. All four of its singles (Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, Leather and Lace, Edge of Seventeen, and After the Glitter Fades) charted in the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's ten tracks included five songs written in previous years, and five new songs. Several unreleased songs from the Bella Donna sessions were included on soundtracks, in concert sets, and later Fleetwood Mac albums. Other tracks remain unreleased.

Bella Donna was the first album to feature Nicks' back-up singers, Sharon Celani and Lori Perry. Nicks met Perry in the mid-1970s while working with her then-husband, producer Gordon Perry. Nicks befriended Perry after inviting her to contribute back-up vocals for the tracks she was working on. During a trip to Hawaii, Nicks visited a club where Celani was performing and joined her on stage during a rendition of "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me". Celani later accepted Nicks' invitation to join her forthcoming solo project. Sharon Celani and Lori Perry-Nicks, who is married to Nicks' brother Christopher, have contributed vocals to all of Nicks' solo albums since then.

The day that Bella Donna reached #1 on the Billboard 200, Nicks' best friend since the age of 15, Robin Anderson, was diagnosed with leukemia. Robin managed to give birth to a son, appointing Nicks as the child's godmother. Robin died six months before medical research discovered a treatment. Following Robin's death in 1982, Nicks married Robin's widower Kim Anderson. They divorced eight months later.

In October 1981 Nicks embarked on the hugely successful White Winged Dove tour, which she had to cut short to record the Mirage album with Fleetwood Mac.

For Mirage, Nicks contributed the track "Gypsy", a song originally tested for Bella Donna, which became one of the album's hit singles. "Gypsy" reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in Canada. Nicks' other tracks included "That's Alright", written during the Buckingham Nicks era, and a new track entitled "Straight Back". The short Mirage tour took place between September and October 1982, and included Nicks' performance of "Sisters of the Moon", her 1979 Tusk album track and concert encore. After the tour, Nicks prepared to record her second solo album.

Wild Heart and Rock a Little: 1983–1986

Nicks released The Wild Heart on June 10, 1983, inspired in part by the death of Robin Anderson. The album introduced songwriter and performer Sandy Stewart who co-wrote three tracks, and contributed backing vocals, keyboards, and synthesizer. The Wild Heart went double platinum, reached #5 on the Billboard album chart, and featured three hit singles. Nicks performed a 90-minute set at the second US Festival at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, California, and later went on an arena and amphitheater tour from June 1983 to November 1983 throughout the United States in support of The Wild Heart album. The album produced three Top 40 singles in "Stand Back (#5), "If Anyone Falls (#14) and "Nightbird" (#33). Nicks appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1983, performing Stand Back and Nightbird. The album sold nearly 3 million copies in the United States.

Following the tour for The Wild Heart, Nicks commenced work on her third solo album. Originally titled Mirror Mirror, Nicks recorded songs for the album during 1984, including "Mirror Mirror", "Thousand Days", "Running Through the Garden", and "At the Fair". However, Nicks was unhappy with the lead track "Mirror Mirror", and opted to record a new batch of songs in 1985.

Rock a Little, as it was re-titled, was released November 18, 1985 and quickly became Stevie's third consecutive platinum album success. The album reached #12 on the Billboard album chart, and scored two major hit singles in "Talk To Me" (#4) and "I Can't Wait" (#16). Both tracks were aided by popular music videos. A third single, "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You" was written for the Eagles member Joe Walsh. "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You" became Nicks' first solo single to miss the Top 40, peaking at #60 on the Billboard Hot 100.

A solo outing with Tom Petty and Bob Dylan in Australia followed, but Nicks was threatened by Australian authorities with expulsion from the country for not carrying a work permit. The tour marked a turning point in Nicks' career: although she had achieved significant critical acclaim, drugs were taking a toll on her performing, limiting her vocal range and pitch severely and changing her on-stage persona. She saw a plastic surgeon in 1986 who warned her of severe health problems if she did not stop using cocaine. It was at the end of the Australian tour that Nicks checked herself into the Betty Ford Center to recuperate and wean herself off of her cocaine addiction. Later that year, a doctor prescribed the tranquilizer Klonopin to help her avoid a cocaine relapse.

Following the release of Rock A Little, Nicks toured in 1986. The successful tour resulted in a one-hour filmed concert released on VHS/DVD as Stevie Nicks: Live at Red Rocks, filmed at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado in August. The tour ended on October 10, 1986 in Sydney, Australia.

Tango in the Night and The Other Side of the Mirror: 1987–1990

In 1985, Fleetwood Mac began work on Tango in the Night, which was released in April 1987, five years after Mirage. Joined in the latter stages of production in late 1986 by a detoxed Nicks (following a stint at Betty Ford), the album included Nicks' performance of "Seven Wonders" (Billboard #19), and well as two other self-penned tracks.

Creative differences and unresolved personal issues within the band led Buckingham to quit the group right before their world tour. A "physically ugly" confrontation between Nicks and Buckingham ensued when Nicks violently rejected Buckingham's decision to leave the band.

Fleetwood Mac toured despite Buckingham's departure, replacing him with Rick Vito and Billy Burnette for the Shake The Cage Tour from September to December 1987. The tour had to be cut short due to Nicks' bout with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and developing addiction to tranquilizers, though resumed in 1988.[13] A concert from this tour performed at the Cow Palace in San Francisco was filmed and released on video and later on DVD.

Following the triple platinum success (10-million worldwide) of Tango in the Night, Fleetwood Mac released their Greatest Hits album in November 1988, to which Nicks contributed the new song "No Questions Asked". A massive multi-platinum seller worldwide, the album has spent almost 500 weeks to date on the US charts alone.

Also in 1988, Nicks began work on a fourth solo album with British producer Rupert Hine. The Other Side of the Mirror was released on May 11, 1989. The album reached #10 on the U.S. Billboard album charts and #3 on the UK chart, propelled by the album's biggest hit single "Rooms on Fire" (#16), which Nicks wrote about Hine with whom she was romantically involved for a time. The follow-up single, "Two Kinds of Love", a duet with Bruce Hornsby, became Nicks' first solo single that failed to achieve any position on the charts. The album was certified Gold shortly after its release, and finally reached Platinum status in 1997.

Nicks toured the U.S. and Europe from August to November 1989, the only time she has toured Europe as a solo act. She has famously been quoted since as stating that she has 'no memory of this tour' due to her increasing dependancy on the tranquillizer Klonopin, prescribed in ever increasing amounts by a psychiatrist between 1987 and 1994 in an attempt to keep Nicks from regressing to her former abuse of cocaine.

In 1989, Nicks set to work with Fleetwood Mac on a new album, Behind The Mask. Nicks' contributions included the co-writes "Love is Dangerous", "Freedom", and "The Second Time", and also "Affairs of the Heart" which she wrote herself. Released in 1990, the album was only a moderate success in the U.S., peaking at #18 and achieving Gold status. In the UK, however, the album entered the chart at #1 and has been certified Platinum there. The band went on a world tour to promote the album, on the last night of which Buckingham and Nicks reunited on stage to perform "Landslide".[36] After the tour concluded, Nicks left the group over a dispute with Mick Fleetwood, who would not allow her to release the 1977 track "Silver Springs" on her album Timespace – The Best of Stevie Nicks, because of his plans to release it on a forthcoming Fleetwood Mac box set.

Timespace and Street Angel: 1991–1996

On the tenth anniversary of her solo career debut, Nicks' record label, Modern Records, issued a fourteen-song retrospective gathering selected tunes and new material. Released September 3, 1991, Timespace – The Best of Stevie Nicks (#30 on The Billboard 200) included contributions from Jon Bon Jovi ("Sometimes It's a Bitch", for which a video was shot to promote the compilation), and Bret Michaels of Poison ("Love's a Hard Game to Play"). The third new song, "Desert Angel", was dedicated to the men and women serving in Operation Desert Storm. The compilation also included re-mastered editions of some of Nicks' most commercially successful singles. The album went platinum in 1997.

Fleetwood Mac also released a four-disc box set, 25 Years – The Chain, which featured the previously unreleased Nicks track "Paper Doll" (which Nicks co-wrote), and the afore-mentioned "Silver Springs". The full 5 1/2 minute version of "Gypsy" would also be included, as well as a punchy live version of Stand Back from 1988.

During the 1992 U.S. presidential campaign, Bill Clinton used the Fleetwood Mac hit "Don't Stop" as his campaign theme song, and Nicks joined her band mates to perform the song at Clinton's 1993 Inaugural Gala. No plans for an official reunion were made at that time, while Nicks was widely observed as being massively overweight and under the visible effects of Klonopin.

In late 1993, while Nicks held a baby shower at her house, she tripped and cut her forehead near a fireplace. Not feeling any pain from the injury, Nicks realized she needed help and endured a painful 47-day detox from Klonopin in a hospital. Her weight had also reached a peak at 175 lb (79.4 kg).

Nicks used material written mostly in previous years to record a solo album in 1992 and 1993 entitled Street Angel, which was ultimately released following her detox in May 1994. The album included "Greta", "Love is Like a River", and "Listen to the Rain" dating from the mid-1980s Rock a Little sessions, "Destiny" - a new take on 1983's Enchanted, and "Rose Garden", originally written when Nicks was 17. Other material came from working with various co-writers, including the single "Blue Denim" with frequent late '80s/early '90s collaborator Mike Campbell, and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman". Nicks has expressed major disappointment with the album, claiming that a lot of production work took place during her second stint in rehab, meaning she had little to no say over the final product.

Released May 23, 1994, Street Angel (#45 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and #16 on the UK chart) became the most poorly received record of her solo career. "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind" as the lead single from the album made #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #42 on the UK chart, while "Blue Denim" was an even less successful hit in the summer, although the song did gain more promotion, such as her appearance on Late Night With David Letterman, and was accompanied by a promotional video. Despite praise from critics and fans for her vocals on the three-month Street Angel tour, which also featured friends and old band musicians including drummer Russ Kunkel and Fleetwood Mac lead guitarist Rick Vito, Nicks was crushed by the focus on her weight and the poor reception of the album itself. Highlights from the tour included "Stand Back"; "Rhiannon" and "Talk To Me"; "Edge of Seventeen"; and a rare solo version of the Fleetwood Mac hit, "The Chain". But disgusted by the criticism she received during the tour for being overweight, Nicks vowed to never set foot on a stage again unless she slimmed down.

In 1995, Nicks was reunited with Lindsey Buckingham and contributed the duet "Twisted" to the Twister movie soundtrack, while in 1996 the Sheryl Crow penned "Somebody Stand By Me" featured on the Boys on the Side soundtrack, and Nicks also remade Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" for Fox's TV hit Party of Five.

The Dance: 1997–1998

In 1996 Lindsey Buckingham, working on a planned solo album, enlisted the help of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, which eventually led to a reunion of the entire band. A newly invigorated and slimmed down Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac for The Dance, a 1997 tour that coincided with the 20th anniversary of the release of Rumours. Prior to the tour, Nicks started work with a voice coach, to lend her voice more control and protect it from the stress of lengthy touring schedules. The tour was a major success, with the opening shows recorded for video and album release. The video, which was recorded in surround sound on the first and second night of the tour, featured the band performing a full set together for the first time in 15 years and garnered huge critical acclaim, ultimately selling over 2 million copies in the US alone. It was recorded on a Hollywood sound stage at Warner Bros. Studios with an audience that included many of Hollywood's elite, and featured the USC Trojan Marching Band on the songs "Tusk" and "Don't Stop".

The live CD release, The Dance, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 in the autumn of 1997, sold over 5 million copies in the US, and earned the group a Grammy nomination. Two promotional singles — both Nicks songs — were released: "Silver Springs", for which Nicks earned a Rock Vocal Performance Grammy nomination, and "Landslide". In 1998, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won the Outstanding Contribution at the BRIT Awards.

Nicks put work on a new solo album on hold when she was approached by Warner Music to release a solo career-spanning box set, to finish her contract with Atlantic Records in the US. After the culmination of the Fleetwood Mac reunion tour, Nicks settled down in Los Angeles and Phoenix with close friends and colleagues to devise a track list for this three-disc collection.

Enchanted and Trouble in Shangri-La: 1998–2001

The box set Enchanted, was released to acclaim on April 28, 1998 with liner notes from Nicks, as well as exclusive rare photographs, and pages from her journals. Featuring successful solo hits, Nicks also included b-sides, rare soundtrack contributions, duets, covers, demos, live recordings, and a solo piano rendition of "Rhiannon" recorded for the set. The box set was supported with a successful US tour with a more varied set list incorporating rare material such as "Rose Garden", "Garbo" and "Sleeping Angel". The set sold 56,000 units in its first week and was certified Gold.

In 1998, Nicks contributed songs to the Practical Magic soundtrack, including a new version of "Crystal" with Nicks on lead vocals, and "If You Ever Did Believe", both produced by Sheryl Crow. Nicks and Crow released a music video to VH1 for "If You Ever Did Believe". Nicks also took part in a benefit concert for Don Henley's Walden Woods Project, singing two songs including "At Last", which would later be included on an AT&T promotional CD.

Nicks received further accolades when People magazine named her one of the 50 Most Beautiful People, and in 1999, she ranked #14 on a list of VH1's Greatest Women of Rock, and #1 Greatest Woman of Rock voted by VH1 viewers. VH1 also featured an episode of their Behind The Music documentary program on Nicks' career and comeback. In viewer polls, it was voted the best episode at the time of its broadcast. Nicks was a featured artist on the acclaimed VH1 Storytellers Concert Program that same year.

Nicks had begun writing actively for Trouble in Shangri-La in 1994 and 1995 with "Trouble in Shangri-La" and "Love Is", as she came out of her Klonopin dependency. According to Nicks, friend and former musical partner Tom Petty was responsible for convincing her to write music again when he rebuffed her request that he write a song with her. The "Trouble in Shangri-La" concept, which emerged during the final months of the O.J. Simpson trial, deals with those who reach the height of their field and are unable to handle the ensuing pressure.

In 1999, Nicks resumed recording songs for the Trouble in Shangri-La album with Sheryl Crow, who produced five tracks. When Crow dropped out of the project over a scheduling conflict, Nicks approached R&B producer Dallas Austin to work on tracks at his Atlanta recording studio. She had been impressed with his production work on TLC's song "Unpretty". The Dallas Austin sessions have never surfaced. Nicks finally called on John Shanks to produce the remainder of the album, with contributions from producers David Kahne, Rick Nowels, Pierre Marchand, and Jeff Trott, and even produced and played on one of the tracks herself, "Bombay Sapphires".

Released May 1, 2001, Trouble in Shangri-La restored Nicks' solo career to critical and commercial success. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, her best album chart position since The Wild Heart almost two decades earlier, and sold a staggering 500,000 copies in its first week of release. The singles "Every Day", "Planets of the Universe", and "Sorcerer" (which originally appeared on the 1984 Streets of Fire soundtrack with Marilyn Martin singing lead and Stevie singing backup) helped promote the album, performing well in the Adult Album Alternative radio markets. One of the dance remixes for "Planets of the Universe" reached #1 on the Billboard Dance and Club Play chart. The original Trouble in Shangri-La album version of the song was later nominated for a Grammy Award (Best Female Rock Vocal Performance). The RIAA certified the album Gold in June 2001.

VH1 named Nicks their "Artist of the Month" for May 2001, airing short interviews and Nicks' catalog of videos throughout the month, including a new video for "Every Day". The video for "Sorcerer" began airing later in the year.

The album featured collaborations with Natalie Maines (Dixie Chicks) on the country duet "Too Far from Texas", Sarah McLachlan on the ballad "Love Is" and Macy Gray on the soft, funky "Bombay Sapphires". Sheryl Crow was also featured playing various instruments and performing on background vocals on many of the tracks. Nicks performed the new track "Fall From Grace" at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards on Fox in March 2001, with Sheryl Crow on backing vocals. Crow also presented Nicks with a Songwriters Award at the ceremony.

Nicks promoted the album with various appearances on television including an interview and performances on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, as well as Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and other appearances. In August 2001 she performed the single "Sorcerer" at the 2001 Radio Music Awards, introduced by Bush front-man Gavin Rossdale.

Nicks supported the album with a successful tour, although some shows were canceled or postponed because of Nicks' bout with acute bronchitis. Shows were also canceled because of the September 11 attacks in the U.S.

Say You Will: 2001–2004

In 2001, while touring for Trouble in Shangri-La, Nicks received the news that the other members of Fleetwood Mac were planning a new studio album. The line-up consisted of the rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, as well as Lindsey Buckingham, but Christine McVie opted out of the project in its early stages, as she had retired from the group's heavy touring schedule.

Nicks sent a demo tape of around 20 previously unreleased songs. After the end of her solo tour, Nicks convened with the other members of the band for recording during 2002. The album, which Buckingham had planned as a two-disc set, became a half-Buckingham, half-Nicks record, with nine songs each. Nicks contributed the 'Phoenix Four' (a set of songs specially written at her home prior to recording sessions): "Say You Will", "Illume" (her reaction to the September 11 attacks), "Destiny Rules" and "Silver Girl" (a tribute to friend Sheryl Crow), plus five songs from earlier eras: "Smile At You", "Thrown Down" "Everybody Finds Out", "Running Through the Garden", and "Goodbye Baby".

Nicks was ranked #52 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists in 2002, while Say You Will was released on Reprise Records to mixed reviews in April 2003, becoming a Top 3 hit on the Billboard 200 (#6 in the UK), and selling over 300,000 copies in its first week of release. Nicks joined the group to support the album with a world tour lasting until September 2004.

A limited 2-disc deluxe edition of Say You Will also featured another Nicks composition "Not Make Believe", as well as a live version of the title track. Nicks has recently stated in several interviews that she was not happy with the album or the successful world tour that followed, citing production disputes with Buckingham as a core factor, as well as the marked absence of fellow female band member Christine McVie. A documentary of the making of the album, "Destiny Rules", was released on DVD in 2004 and chronicles the sometimes turbulent relationships between band members, especially Buckingham and Nicks, during that time in the studio.

In 2002, prior to the release of Say You Will, and as a lead promotion for it, a second greatest hits album from Fleetwood Mac, the 2-disc The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, was released, becoming a platinum-selling success and featuring a more expansive track list of the Buckingham-Nicks era than the previous greatest hits release.

Crystal Visions and Soundstage Sessions: 2007–2009

On March 27, 2007, Reprise Records released Crystal Visions – The Very Best of Stevie Nicks in the U.S. The album debuted at #21 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart.

The compilation includes her hit singles, a dance remix, and one new track, a live version of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll". There are two versions of this album, one with just the audio CD and another version with an included DVD featuring all of Nicks' music videos with audio commentary from Nicks, as well as rare footage from the Bella Donna recording sessions.

A tour with Chris Isaak, opening in Concord, California on May 17, 2007 supported the release.

Reprise Records initially released two radio only promos, the live version of "Landslide" with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and "Rock and Roll". Both tracks failed to garner much airplay making an impact on the charts. Reprise Records released "Stand Back" (issued with club mixes) on May 29, 2007. "Stand Back", which peaked at #5 on the pop singles chart in 1983, reached #2 on the "Billboard Club Chart". Nicks previously reached #1 on this chart, with "Planets Of The Universe" (from Trouble in Shangri-La) in 2001. The remix single of "Stand Back" debuted on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales Chart on September 15, 2007 at #10 peaking at #4 the following week. It also debuted on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Chart at #3 peaking at #1.

According to The Tennessean, in early 2008, Nicks was spotted "in Nashville recording an album with Joe Thomas for a CD that accompanies a DVD of Soundstage".[42] On March 31, 2009, Stevie released the album, The Soundstage Sessions, via Reprise Records. The album debuted at #47 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The first single from the album was "Crash Into Me" and was released as a digital download, along with "Landslide" (orchestra version) as a B-side, on March 17, 2009.

Along with the CD, Nicks also released a DVD on the 31st, titled Live In Chicago. Both are of her October 2007 Soundstage performance which was filmed and recorded before an intimate audience at Grainger Studio in Chicago. The DVD features special guest Vanessa Carlton for whom Nicks provided backing vocals on her 2007 album Heroes & Thieves, and rare solo performances of stand-out tracks such as the Fleetwood Mac standard "Sara" and the celebrated blues ballad "How Still My Love" from Bella Donna. For unknown reasons, the soaring encore of "Beauty and the Beast" was omitted from the DVD release, but included on the CD.

A New Album and Other Projects: 2010

Stevie playing tambourine on her new album.In February 2010, Michelle Branch commented on her Twitter account that she was recording a song for a Fleetwood Mac tribute album, a cover of the Christine McVie 1975 hit "Say You Love Me", and that Nicks was producing the track.

In late February 2010, David A. Stewart (musician and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics) revealed, using his Twitter account, that he was working with Nicks on at least four new songs, including one called "Everybody Loves You".A 38-second snippet of the song was posted on Stewart's Twitter account. He confirmed that he and Stevie are working on an album, and said that it is being done "in a very new way".

On March 16, 2010, Dave reported on his Twitter that he and Stevie are now recording songs together. Later, on April 9, Dave (in reply to a question) stated that he and Stevie's new album could be out this year. On BBC Radio 2 on May 3, 2010, he stated in an interview with DJ Simon Mayo that the new album will be recorded throughout June with a release later this year.

On July 5, 2010, Dave tweeted several pictures and messages about him and Stevie working in the studio. In one of the tweets, Dave stated that he, Stevie, Waddy Wachtel, Mike Campbell (of the Heartbreakers), Mike Rowe, and Steve Ferrone were all working on the album - Mick Fleetwood has also contributed drums to at least one track. Waddy Wachtel has been Stevie's lead guitarist for most of her solo career, featuring prominently on all of Stevie's albums to date. Dave also stated in that tweet that seven tracks have been completed thus far and it was their final day of these sessions in the studio together. Stevie will now play five dates in cities in the US in August, and then return to the studio to complete writing and recording on the album.

Tours

After a few months' respite from the Say You Will tour, Nicks did a four-night stint in May 2005 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and then did a 10-show tour with Don Henley. During the summer of 2005, Nicks continued the tour solo with pop singer Vanessa Carlton as the opening act, playing over 20 dates nationwide. She played venues at: Boston's Tweeter Center, Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Amphitheatre in Wantagh, New York, Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO, Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, and the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. She ended the tour where it began, at Caesars Palace. There her set included the rarely performed-live "If Anyone Falls", the moving "How Still My Love" from Bella Donna and a rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll". At the "Fashion Rocks" concert of September 2005 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, soul singer Joss Stone and singer Rob Thomas covered the Stevie Nicks – Tom Petty 1981 smash hit "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" to kick-start the Fall Fashion Week.

In October 2005, she attended the Melbourne Cup Week in Australia, and one of the horse racing stakes was named after her: The Stevie Nicks Plate. She used this opportunity to launch her promotion of an Australian/New Zealand extension to her Gold Dust Tour in February and March 2006. Nicks toured in Australia and New Zealand with popular Australian performer John Farnham. She also appeared in concert with Tom Petty in June near Manassas, Virginia and at the Bonnaroo Music Festival that same month. She later appeared as a guest performer with Petty during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August of the same year.

In 2006, Nicks also performed with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for the first leg of their tour in the summer, and later in the year returned as a guest performer for a number of songs on the tour celebrating Petty's 30th anniversary since his debut album. Tom Petty's Homecoming Concert in Gainesville, FL, which contained performances with Stevie Nicks, was filmed for PBS Soundstage as well as DVD release for March 2007. Nicks was also the featured performer for Bette Midler's benefit function, Hullaween, in October 2006. On December 8, 2006, Nicks performed at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip as a benefit for the Epicurean Charitable Foundation.

On February 4, 2007 Nicks performed her classic solo hit song "Stand Back" at the 2007 Super Bowl XLI Pre-game Show on CBS. She also made performance appearances on NBC's The Today Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Beginning in May 2007, Nicks began touring with pop/rock artist Chris Isaak. The last Stevie Nicks/Chris Isaak show was June 17, 2007 at the Tweeter Center in Boston, MA. Nicks continued the tour solo, with Vanessa Carlton opening on some dates. The tour finished at The Borgata in Atlantic City on August 24, 2007.

In 2008, Nicks did a few spot shows in the Spring and then conducted a brief 1 month tour in June 2008 before preparing for a 2009 tour with Fleetwood Mac.

In 2009, Fleetwood Mac embarked on a global hits tour. The Unleashed Tour took place in arenas on multiple continents. The tour ended in December with two sell-out shows of 35,000 people at the New Plymouth TSB Bowl of Brooklands in New Zealand.

A handful of dates have recenty been announced for a short 2010 tour. The official Stevie Nicks website has published details of shows which will take place in the US in August. It is currently unknown whether the shows will promote Stevie's new studio material.

Stevie Nicks' Band of Soldiers

In late 2004, Nicks began visiting Army and Navy medical centers in Washington, D.C. While visiting wounded service men and women, Nicks became determined to find an object she could leave with each soldier that would raise their spirits, motivate, and give them something to look forward to each day. She eventually decided to purchase hundreds of iPod Nanos, load them with music, artists, and play-lists which she would hand select, and autograph them. She now regularly delivers these tokens of her appreciation, bringing her closest friends to share the experience.

In 2006, Nicks held a get-together to raise money for her charity work. Many of her peers made contributions. Nicks continues to develop this philanthropic endeavor.

“ I call it a soldiers' iPod. It has all the crazy stuff that I listen to, and my collections I've been making since the '70s for going on the road, when I'm sick...Or the couple of times in my life that I have really been down, music is what always dances me out of bed. ”

“ So, as Mick [Fleetwood] and I went from room to room delivering their tiny iPod, they told us their stories. Mick became his tall, loving, father figure, English self, taking in every word they said, remaining calm (at least on the outside) inspiring them. We floated from room to room down thru the halls of the 2 hospitals over a three-day period. We gave out all our iPods. Right before I left for D.C., Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry dug into their pockets and came up with $10,000 for me. In my eyes they went from the coolest rock stars to generous great men; as my press agent Liz Rosenberg said, every returning wounded soldier should be given an iPod. It will be an integral part of their recovery. ”

Influence

One of the reasons for Nicks' continued career is the devotion she inspires in her fans. Stacy Dupree, Courtney Love, Michelle Branch, Belinda Carlisle, the Dixie Chicks, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Taylor Swift, Laura Branigan, Sarah McLachlan, Kelly Clarkson, Vanessa Carlton, Georgi Cussick, Tori Amos, Michelle Hotaling, Jennifer Hanson, and Delta Goodrem have all cited her work as an inspiration. She has participated in duets or provided guest vocals for several of their albums and some have returned the favour, notably Crow and the Dixie Chicks. The Dixie Chicks covered her 1975 classic "Landslide", which became a Top 10 hit (#1 on the Adult Contemporary chart) and a #1 Hit on the Country Chart. Alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins made an acoustic cover of the song that was featured on their 1994 B-side collection Pisces Iscariot. The cover was a hit and made it to the top three on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. that year. She recorded a duet of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" with Chris Isaak on his 2004 Christmas album Chris Isaak Christmas and sang with Isaak on his PBS Christmas television special. Other successful covers have included The Corrs' "Dreams", and Courtney Love's former band Hole with "Gold Dust Woman". "Edge Of Seventeen" was sampled on Destiny's Child's 2001 #1 single "Bootylicious". Nicks appeared in the video for "Bootylicious" and in an episode of MTV's Making The Video that featured it, in which she expressed her admiration for both the song and the group. Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys has expressed extreme interest in working with Nicks. Lindsay Lohan covered "Edge of Seventeen" on her 2005 album, A Little More Personal. Deep Dish fulfilled their "Dreams" of working with Nicks in 2005 when Nicks offered to re-record vocals on a remix of her #1 penned song, "Dreams". The Deep Dish version went on to reach #2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Airplay Chart, as well as providing Nicks with her third UK top 40 hit. She helped with additional vocals and writing on Vanessa Carlton's 2007 album Heroes and Thieves. Carlton was on tour with Stevie in 2005 and 2006.

The Dixie Chicks' cover of Stevie Nicks' Fleetwood Mac classic "Landslide" also earned Stevie Nicks a BMI Songwriters Award in 2003. The award is given to the songwriter of the track, regardless of the performer, and Stevie Nicks' "Landslide" won the prestigious "Song Of The Year" award.

According to BMI, "Landslide" earned songwriter Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac the 35th Robert J. Burton Award as Most Performed Country Song of the Year. This distinction is given to the song tallying the most feature US broadcast performances during the eligibility period. Nicks is also publisher of the song, through her company Welsh Witch Music. Included on the Dixie Chicks' platinum Monument album Home, "Landslide" was a Country, Adult Top 40, Hot 100 and AC Billboard charts smash. Nicks previously collected a Pop Award in 1998 for Fleetwood Mac's recording of the song, which has achieved Million-Air status with over three million airplays.

On January 31, 2010, Stevie performed with Taylor Swift at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Swift, who describes Nicks as one of her childhood heroes, introduced her to the audience by saying "It's a fairy tale and an honor to share the stage with Stevie Nicks."

Personal life

During the Rumours tour, Nicks had a relationship with singer/songwriter Don Henley of the Eagles and with Fleetwood Mac concert promoter David Pesnell. Nicks ended her relationship with Henley at the beginning of the Tusk tour, but her relationship continued with Pesnell until the end of the tour.

Her only marriage was to Kim Anderson, the widower of her friend Robin Anderson, soon after Robin died of leukemia while Bella Donna was on the top of the charts. Stevie and Kim were soon divorced: "We didn't get married because we were in love, we got married because we were grieving and it was the only way that we could feel like we were doing anything."

On August 10, 2005 her father, Jess Nicks, died. Jess introduced his daughter during several of her concert tours and was a large influence on Nicks. Nicks remarked, after Jess's health had deteriorated, that she asked her father to "hang on" for her to finish her tour and his death came shortly after Nicks wrapped up her summer 2005 Gold Dust Tour. She was able to be with him when he died.

Nicks dated cable television pioneer Timothy O'Brien while living in Aspen, Colorado in the 1970s.

Of her lifestyle today, Nicks stated "I am a very different girl from the one who was so wrapped up in rock and roll and the drugs and everything else. I'll never take it all for granted again, ever. Because I also now really realize how quickly that it can go, and that you can be the darling one year, and be nobody the next year. So you have to learn to accept and deal with that."

Until July 2007 Nicks lived in Paradise Valley, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix in a home she had built in 1981 and shared with brother Chris, his wife Lori and their daughter Jessica. She announced in mid-2007 that her Paradise Valley home would be put up for sale, citing her aspirations to "downsize" and focus more on her charity work, and the fact that in the last year she had only "spent about two weeks there." The house was put on the market for a reported $3.8 million and many fans (feeling it was the end of a major era in her life and career) tagged it as a "Kingdom Up For Sale", a line from the song "Gold Dust Woman". She also owns a home in Pacific Palisades, California.

According to a September 2007 article in the Daily Telegraph (UK), Nicks says she is again selling her home, her recently purchased Pacific Palisades home (purchased two years before by Nicks, right down the street from a rental home she had for years in Pacific Palisades). She has said it's a "house for adults", "And even though I'm pushing 60 I don't feel that I'm that old yet." She will be moving to a penthouse apartment on the beach and the old house is already on the market.

Beginning in 2007, reports surfaced concerning Lindsay Lohan's interest in buying the rights to Nicks' life story and developing a motion picture in which she planned to play Nicks. In March 2007, while promoting her album Crystal Visions, Nicks was asked about this rumor. Nicks told Access Hollywood, "That is completely insane and crazy. There is no movie in the works on my life. Nobody can do a movie about my life without me being involved. Because nobody knows what really happened in my life until I tell them. So, nobody can make a movie about my life. And if anybody ever went and made a movie about my life without my permission and my being involved, I would slam it so hard to the press that it would never do anything." Nicks has gone on record to the New York Times as being strongly opposed to the prospect, and was quoted in 2009 as saying "Over my dead body. She needs to stop doing drugs and get a grip. Then maybe we'll talk."

Image

Stevie Nicks is known for her mystical image, her billowing chiffon skirts, shawls, top hats, layers of lace and long blonde hair. Margi Kent, a designer from California, has worked with Nicks since the 1970s to perfect her style. Perhaps the most famous part of Nicks' wardrobe is her platform boots. Nicks has worn suede platform boots in various colors, usually black, cream, tan or maroon in almost all of her performances since 1975. Standing at 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m), Nicks has stated she felt a little ridiculous standing next to the much taller Mick Fleetwood. For this reason she developed a penchant for 6-inch (15 cm) platform boots. "Even when platforms went completely out of style, I kept wearing them because I didn't want to go back to being 5-foot-3 inches [1.60 m] in heels", she told Allure magazine in 1995.Over the years, Nicks has developed a style which she calls her "uniform", which is best exemplified by the outfit worn on the cover of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, perhaps the base inspiration for many of her costumes. Another trademark of Nicks' is a Dickens-style gentleman's formal top hat, which she began wearing in the late 1970s. During the early 1980s she wore velvet Renaissance poets' berets with plume feathers (as shown in the vintage photo used on the cover of her March 2007 CD release Crystal Visions – The Very Best of Stevie Nicks). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she wore fashionable ladies hats on stage and to this day, often still sports a black top hat adorned with giant plumes.

Many of Nicks' shawls and capes also have an association with her songs in her live performances, many becoming as signature in live performances as the songs themselves. These include a red/crimson shawl for "Sara", white for "Edge of Seventeen", gold for "Gold Dust Woman" and black with round gold circles for "Stand Back". One of her trademarks is twirling across the stage with shawls flying during the interlude of her classic songs, notably "Stand Back" and "Gypsy".

Nicks has said that her vocal style and performance antics evolved from female singers like Grace Slick and Janis Joplin. She admitted inspiration when she saw Joplin perform live (and opened for with her first band "Fritz") shortly before Joplin's death. Nicks owns a strand of Joplin's stage beads. She also commented that she once saw a woman in her audience dressed in dripping chiffon with a Gibson Girl hairstyle and big boots and Nicks knew she wanted something similar. She took the look and made it her own. Another important part of Nicks' image is her jewelry. Nicks typically introduces one signature piece of jewelry during each tour. Such items have included silver bracelets, crescent moon pendant, pyramid shaped pendant, winged-heart pendant, gold crosses and, most recently, a Tiffany pendant with diamonds meaning "longevity." The crescent moon pendant is arguably the most iconic of all Nicks' jewelry – the original was bought while she was in England on tour with Fleetwood Mac during the Tusk era. Nicks then had her personal jeweler, Henri David of Philadelphia, make replicas of the moon pendant which become treasured gifts to her friends. In recent years, celebrity pals such as Bette Midler and ice-skating star Tai Babilonia have been photographed wearing their "Stevie moons".

Nicks has even commented in interviews recently that she never would have dreamed that her trademark "Bella Donna/Witchy Woman" image would have been taken so seriously by her fans, often joking that she doesn't live her private life in her stage clothes and "Stevie garb" as many people seem to think. However, she greatly credits her career/stage image for its role in giving her a trademark that has made her unique and "timeless".

Microphone and tambourine

Stevie Nicks is known for her use of the Sennheiser MD-441-U5 microphone. It was a frequent sight in Nicks' early tours. Also synonymous with Nicks' microphone are the items with which she chooses to decorate her microphone stand. Over the years, such items have included roses, ribbons, chiffon, crystal beads, scarves and small stuffed animals.

Upon being asked in a question forum on her official website about playing the tambourine, Nicks stated that she began playing the tambourine upon joining Fleetwood Mac in 1975, feeling the need to do something onstage during songs that featured Lindsey or Christine. Like her microphone, her tambourine usually features scarves and/or streamers. Nicks' trademark tambourine since the early 1980s is in the shape of a black half-moon.

Rumors of witchcraft

A rumor that has trailed Nicks through the years is that she is a witch and is heavily involved in Wicca. While she admits to having a high regard for the mythic and gothic, she denies any solitary dedication to any one religion, including Wicca. She speaks about this erroneous image in a 2006 interview.Nicks' music is copyrighted under the name Welsh Witch Music, a reference to her song Rhiannon, which she introduced as "a song about a Welsh witch" in concerts between 1975 and 1978. In a Yahoo! interview on April 28, 1998, Nicks said of the rumor: "I have no idea what precipitated those rumors...I am not a witch. Get a life!" Nicks also stated in a 1983 Entertainment Tonight interview: "I spent thousands of dollars on beautiful black clothes and had to stop wearing them for a long time because a lot of people scared me. And that's really unfair to me, I think, for people – other people – to conjure up their ideas of what I am or what I believe in." In a 1998 Redbook magazine article, Nicks spoke of her faith, stating that she believes in angels and knows that she is alive today because "there was a God looking out" for her during her years of addiction.

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Beautiful woman magical voice

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The best singer ever IMO

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"Women In Music"

ELLE US May 2011

Photographer: Kristin Burns

Source: sister-d @ bwgreyscale

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Stevie Nicks ~ CD Signing, Amoeba Records / Hollywood, Aug 3, 2011

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"The Legend"

Glamour UK July 2011

Photographer: Craig McDean

Source: ebook30.com via tFS

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