During the process of making Rumours, Fleetwood Mac was in shambles. All five members at the time–Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie–were at odds with one another in some way. Naturally, it made making an album a fickle task. However, they buried the hatchet long enough to work together on one song: “The Chain.” Find out why they were able to put their odds aside for this hit, below.
Videos by American Songwriter
[RELATED: 5 Great Songs Written and Sung by Late Fleetwood Mac Alum and Solo Artist Bob Welch]
The Only Fleetwood Mac Hit That All Five Members Worked On During ‘Rumours’
And if you don’t love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain
Save Fleetwood and John McVie, each of the core members of Fleetwood Mac’s ’70s heyday often contributed to the group’s songwriting. Despite sharing those responsibilities, their songs feel isolated. Rarely were they a mix of two members talents–particularly on Rumours. Instead, the songs on this album were personal diatribes and gripes written by a sole member.
However, “The Chain” was a different story. In many ways, it seems poetic that the band would link arms, forgive and forget on this track, with its rousing melody and sentiments of unity. The song was linked together with efforts from each band member.
While Nicks contributed some of the lyrics, John McVie and Fleetwood orchestrated the powerful ending, Buckingham arranged the song, and Christine McVie inspired it with another song she had written, “Butter Cookie (Keep Me There).”
“‘The Chain’ basically came out of a jam,” Fleetwood once said. “It ultimately becomes a band thing anyway, because we all have so much of our own individual style, our own stamp that makes the sound of Fleetwood Mac. Whether one likes it or not, this is, after all, a combined effort from different people playing music together.”
Listen to the wind blow, down comes the night
Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies
Break the silence, damn the dark, damn the light
(Photo by Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
