Crowd goes wild at her fingertips, Taylor Swift sings in “Clara Bow.” Half moonshine, a full eclipse. Swift is referring to the legendary Stevie Nicks with these lyrics, but they could just as easily describe the “Fortnight” singer. And that’s the point, really. Swift wrote “Clara Bow,” off her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department, as a commentary on how the music industry encourages women to replace each other. But the 14-time GRAMMY winner doesn’t want to replace Nicks, whom she called “an icon and an incredible example for anyone who wants to write songs and make music.” Indeed, Nicks remains relevant as ever nearly 50 years after joining Fleetwood Mac. As the “Gold Dust Woman” singer celebrates her 76th birthday Sunday (May 26), fans are remembering the time she shared a stage with Swift at the 2010 GRAMMY Awards.
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Stevie Nicks and Taylor Swift Had the Crowd at Their Fingertips
The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards marked a career turning point for the then 20-year-old Swift. She took home four awards, including Album of the Year for her sophomore record Fearless. However, Swift’s night was special for another reason. Stevie Nicks joined her onstage for a medley performance of the 1976 Fleetwood Mac hit “Rhiannon” and “You Belong With Me,” Swift’s 2009 chart-topper.
“It is a fairy tale and an honor to share a stage with Stevie Nicks,” Swift exclaimed over the opening notes of “Rhiannon.”
Apparently, the admiration goes both ways. In a 2010 essay for Time magazine, Nicks boldly declared that “the female rock-‘n’-roll-country-pop songwriter is back, and her name is Taylor Swift.”
“Taylor reminds me of myself in her determination and her childlike nature,” wrote the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman. “It’s an innocence that’s so special and so rare.”
[RELATED: Stevie Nicks Says Taylor Swift Song Helped Her Grieve Christine McVie’s Death]
A Years-Long Friendship
The two icons’ friendship has stood the test of time. When Swift dropped The Tortured Poets Department in April, the album’s physical copies came with a surprise. The Queen of Rock n’ Roll herself had penned a handwritten poem, titled For T. and me…
She tells the truth / She writes about it / She’s an informer/ He’s an x-lover, Stevie Nicks wrote. There’s nothing there for her/ She’s already gone/ There’s nothing that can stop her.
Featured image by Michael Caulfield/WireImage
