November 30 marked the one-year anniversary of the death of Christine McVie. The longtime Fleetwood Mac singer/keyboardist passed at age 79 after suffering a stroke while battling cancer. To mark the sad occasion, Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood posted a heartfelt message in tribute to McVie on his social media pages.
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“Dear Chris, a year ago today you flew away, and memories come flooding back … Too many to mention!” Fleetwood wrote. “I miss you … Fleetwood Mac misses you… along with so many that loved your music. Always love, Mick Fleetwood.”
The message is accompanied by a photo of McVie and Fleetwood standing close to each other onstage.
On July 12, Fleetwood released a spoken-word cover of the McVie-penned Fleetwood Mac ballad “Songbird” in honor of what would have been her 80th birthday. The track featured Fleetwood on percussion and the Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro.
On the track, Fleetwood recites a new lyric at the end of tune in McVie’s honor: “As the songbird sings, now from the heavens, to you Christine, I wish you all the love in the world. But, most of all, I wish it from myself.”
McVie, who married Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie in 1968, joined the band in 1970; the couple divorced in 1976. In 1998, she retired from Fleetwood Mac, but returned to the group in 2014 and continued to be a member until her death. She wrote and sang many of the band’s biggest hits, including “Over My Head,” “Say You Love Me,” “You Make Loving Fun,” “Hold Me,” and “Everywhere.”
In October, Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks said in an interview with Vulture that she doesn’t feel like the band can continue without McVie.
“[W]hen Christine died, I felt like you can’t replace her. You just can’t. Without her, what is it? You know what I mean?” she mused.
Nicks added, “She was like my soul mate, my musical soul mate, and best friend that I spent more time with than any of my other best friends out of Fleetwood Mac. Christine was my best friend.”
Earlier this month, Rhino reissued remastered versions of McVie’s final two solo studio albums, Christine McVie (1984) and In the Meantime (2004), in multiple formats.
