Christine McVie Of Fleetwood Mac Dies At 79

Christine McVie Of Fleetwood Mac has passed away at the age of 79. The long-time Fleetwood Mac member who wrote many of the band’s biggest hits has passed away due to a recent illness. Reports have been that she has struggled with her health in recent years. Many of us who grew up with Fleetwood Mac can forget that these beautiful musicians and songwriters who seem to never age in our minds as we stare at their album covers that were released thirty and forty years ago, are all getting into their later years when health issues can take the ultimate toll. And of course, there is just the simple fact of old age.

While Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham took so much of the spotlight in Fleetwood Mac during their golden era of multi-million selling albums, there was always a camp of fans who loved Christine McVie and her songs.

Christine McVie was born on July 13, 1943, as Christine Anne Perfect. She originally hailed from the town of  Bouth, Lancashire, in England. While working in her first band called Chicken Shack, Christine Anne Perfect married Fleetwood Mac’s bassist John McVie in 1968. She was invited to do some studio work with the band Fleetwood Mac on the albums Mr. Wonderful and Kiln House. The latter album’s cover was painted by Christine McVie. Eventually, Christine McVie would become a full-time member of Fleetwood Mac. Her first album with the band as a full-time member was released in 1971 called Future Games. Christine McVie wrote the songs “Morning Rain” and “Show Me a Smile” for the album while also sharing songwriting credit for the song “What a Shame.”

Christine McVie would record four more albums with Fleetwood Mac in the early 1970s called Penguin, Bare Trees, Mystery To Me, and Heroes Are Hard to Find. While the band had a huge following at the time, it would never compare to the commercial success the band was about to achieve in 1975 when Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the band. The group’s first album as a new unit was released in 1975 entitled Fleetwood Mac. The album’s first single was written and sung by Christine McVie entitled “Over My Head.”  McVie would also compose the fourth single released from the album entitled “Say That You Love Me.” The song hit number eleven on the Billboard Top 100.

While the 1975 Fleetwood Mac album had major commercial success, no one was ready for the band’s next album that would help them become one of the most famous bands in the world. The Rumors album was released in 1977. Christine McVie wrote four of the album’s most popular songs including “Songbird,” “You Make Loving Fun,” “Oh Daddy,” and “Don’t Stop,” which hit number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

Christine McVie would release five more studio albums with Fleetwood Mac. Christine McVie’s final studio album with Fleetwood Mac dates all the way back to 1995’s Time. It was the first Fleetwood Mac album to not chart on the Billboard Top 200.  She left the band in 1998 but later rejoined the group in 2014.  Throughout her musical career, Christine McVie has also released three solo albums and a collaboration album with Lindsey Buckingham released in 2017 entitled Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie.

Feature Photo: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Christine McVie Of Fleetwood Mac Dies At 79 article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2022

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