Fleetwood Mac’s greatest songs are still deeply loved by fans old and new today, decades after they were first released. Diehard Mac fans will likely know each of these five songs by heart, but we still think they’re worth revisiting for nostalgia’s sake. Let’s take a look!
Videos by American Songwriter
1. “Dreams”
This is, without a doubt, Fleetwood Mac’s greatest song of their career. It’s their most well-known track from Rumours and, frankly, their entire discography. “Dreams” is also their highest-charting track and hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 1977. And shockingly, Stevie Nicks only wrote the song in about 10 minutes in a fit of manic creativity.
2. “Go Your Own Way”
Fleetwood Mac’s greatest songs have a common theme or two, namely relationship drama and a catchy hook. “Go Your Own Way” has both elements, and it’s a standout track on their legendary 1977 record Rumours. It’s an angsty, almost dark song about Lindsey Buckingham’s chaotic relationship with Stevie Nicks.
3. “The Chain”
One of the best tracks on side two of Rumours, “The Chain” is the only song in the band’s discography that features songwriting credits from each of the five members of the band. It’s a great example of what good musicians can do with a few disjointed fragments of a song and some good ideas.
“We didn’t get a vocal and left it for a long time in a bunch of pieces,” said Buckingham of the song. “It almost went off the album. Then we listened back and decided we liked the bridge, but didn’t like the rest of the song. So I wrote verses for that bridge, which was originally not in the song, and edited those in.”
4. “Rhiannon”
Stevie Nicks got the idea for this incredible little track from a novel titled Triad, which explored the story of a Welsh woman who believed she was possessed by the spirit of someone named Rhiannon.
Nicks said she made the character into “an old Welsh witch”, but realized the character in question was simply a woman who didn’t like being tied down. Nicks envisioned the song as a “Welsh country” tune, and you can definitely hear that in the final product.
5. “Silver Springs”
Fleetwood Mac’s greatest songs are so hard to condense into a five-entry list. “Landslide” could have made it here, as could “Never Going Back Again” or “Gold Dust Woman”. However, there’s just something about “Silver Springs” that has aged so well.
The song has seen a resurgence multiple times through the years, particularly on TikTok. If you don’t get this song’s appeal, watch Fleetwood Mac’s performance of it in 1997. Nicks more or less casts a hex on Buckingham as she sings.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.