Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac is a band that formed in 1967. They are considered a rock band, although their origins are heavily influenced by blues culture. The band has also experienced a high turnover rate over the years. To date the band has had more than 15 members in the 52 years it has been playing. The original crew consisted of Peter Green on vocals and guitar, Jeremy Spencer also on vocals and guitar, Bob Brunning on bass, and Mick Fleetwood on drums.

The band originally wanted to have John McVie on bass, in fact that is where the Mac portion of Fleetwood Mac came from. However at the time, McVie was already in a band that brought in a steady check, and was hesitant to give up a good thing for the unknown. So the band formed with Brunning at bass; but told him that if McVie decided to join the band, Brunning would leave.

Setting the stage for the rest of the band’s life, McVie agreed to join the band before recording had finished on their first album. So the first album was released with a mix of Brunning and McVie at bass. The album was a self titled effort that saw modest initial success in both the United Kingdom and United States. It was an all blues album, in stark contrast to much of their popular later work. Their second album in the US was Then Play On, which was another blues themed album and released in 1969. During this time, the band picked up Danny Kirwan to play guitar and help with vocals. In 1970 Peter Green left the band.

From 1970-74 Fleetwood Mac released six more albums, none of which achieved commercial success along the lines of what was to come. They also made five roster changes during these years. Their second self titled album was released in 1975, and reached number one on the US music charts. It eventually went quintuple platinum and set the stage for the band’s bestselling album Rumors which released in 1977. To date Rumors has sold over eighteen million copies in the United States. In fact Rumors was so popular that every one of the top five singles by Fleetwood Mac comes from the album.

The success of Rumors gave the band its longest run of continuity yet. From 1975-1987 the band made no changes to their roster. They followed Rumors with Tusk in 1979 and Mirage in 1982. Both outsold any album previous to Rumors but paled in comparison to the outlandish success it had enjoyed. One of the primary drivers of the band’s success, Lindsey Buckingham, left in 1987, just after finishing work on the album Tango in the Night. That album went on to be the second most popular release by the band.

Fleetwood Mac released a greatest hits album dedicated to Buckingham in 1988. They tried to release a few albums after his departure, but for the most part they were living in the shadow of Rumors. They recently started a 2010 world tour, and all of their albums are available for download from online stores like iTunes and Amazon.com.