Failing Legend Decided To Quit Music, Then Wrote The Song That Saved Her Career | Professor of Rock

Published 2022-05-09
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were lovers who had been trying to make it in music for years. After some fiery arguments, years of failures and poverty, Stevie decided to quit music for good. One night she put all that pain into a song she called Landslide. Almost over night after writing that classic she and Lindsey met Fleetwood Mac and they were asked to join up. They recorded the white album with song of their own to add and the rest is history. How Landslide changed all of that.

Thank you to this Episode's Sponsor, Zenni Optical
Incredible Prices on New Glasses - bit.ly/ZenniOpticalShop
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal

Honorary Producers

Mark Glabinski, Brian, Mike Millet, Mark Thompson, Fakwaorta, Bobby Alcott, Eric Farque, Jared Norris
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Access To Backstage Content
Become a Patron - bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan

Check Out My Hand Picked Selection Below

Professor's Store

- 100 Best Selling Albums amzn.to/3h3qZX9
- Ultimate History of 80s Teen Movie amzn.to/3ifjdKQ
- 80s to 90s VHS Video Cover Art amzn.to/2QXzmIX
- Totally Awesome 80s A Lexicon amzn.to/3h4ilrk
- Best In Ear Headphones (I Use These Every Day) amzn.to/2ZcTlIl

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Click here for Premium Content: bit.ly/SignUpForPremiumContent​

bit.ly/Facebook_Professor_of_Rock

bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock

#70s #Vinyl #Story

Hey music junkies and vinyl junkies Professor of Rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest 70s songs of all time for the music community and vinyl community with music history video essay's including today's Fleetwood Mac Story landslide reaction. If you’ve ever owned records, cassettes and CD’s at different times in you life or still do this is your place Subscribe below right now to be a part of our daily celebration of the rock era with exclusive stories from straight from the artists and click on our patreon link in the description to become an Honorary Producer.

So, it’s time for another edition of #1 in Our Hearts. This show honors songs that were so unbelievably great, they absolutely should've been #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. But for whatever reason the song came up short. On previous episodes we have covered In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel, In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins, and Tiny Dancer by Elton John. But for today’s episode we are telling the story behind Landslide by Fleetwood Mac.

So, when Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were dropped from Polydor Records in the fall of 1973, it felt like “the world had ended”. That’s how Stevie put it. The professional and romantic couple had thought they had created a brilliant debut record. It had been years of work to get to that point. But this unique blend of folk, rock, and country debut was almost immediately dismissed.
In fact, some Polydor execs disliked it so much that they didn’t even want to release it. The songs, they said, lacked imagination and had zero commercial potential. As a result, the label virtually ignored the duo, who went by the name Buckingham Nicks. Refusing to provide promotional support for the release, it was a surefire set up for failure.

But opinions weren’t exactly positive either. Billboard dismissed the pair as a lackluster and they were outright ignored by music industry tastemakers Creem, Hit Parader, and Rolling Stone. Devastated and depressed, 25-year-old Stevie Nicks considered quitting music altogether, and thought about leaving LA to move back home with her parents.
But by the start of 1974, she was still there with Lindsey. The two hadn’t given up yet. So, while Buckingham stayed home to write new demos for a follow-up album, Stevie went to work as a waitress. The job she found was at a roaring 1920s themed restaurant called Clementines where she got to dress up in flapper attire.

All Comments (21)
  • @hurk130
    A few years ago, my mother died suddenly of a heart attack. I intentionally did not listen to any music during this grieving time in order not to associate her death with a song. I had to drive across country to get her ashes and the trip was long. When I returned home and a few days passed, Landslide was the first song I heard. Stevie was one of my mom's favorite artists. That song still packs a wallop to me every time I hear it. It will forever be associated with my mother. The power of music.
  • I can't imagine how much poorer the world would have been if Stevie Nicks had given up. One of my favourite singers. Her voice is incomparable. So haunting and beautiful.
  • @jjramos46
    Stevie Nicks. Never has there been a voice and overall sound as unique as hers. You can mistake some singers, you cant mistake her.
  • @ChrisW-17
    It's astonishing to think that Stevie wrote this in her 20's before the fame, fortune, and a lot of future life experience. Such wise, poetic words -- as if Stevie were consulting her older self for advice. Landslide transcends time and generations -- played at everything from graduations to funerals -- and will still be in 100 years.
  • @latentsea
    My friend accidentally went through the wrong sound stage door and walked into Stevie Nicks rehearsing with band on a Studio Lot. She said “No worries” and invited him in for a chat with everybody. They had a laugh and he had a great memory. He was a Grip with a tool belt and street clothes and she was asking him about his work and life in general. Seemed pretty down to earth for all she has been through.
  • While many people wax poetically about Stevie Nicks, only a few ever mention what a songwriting genius and phenomenal guitarist that Lindsey Buckingham was. Some of the most memorable of FM's songs were written by him.
  • I absolutely love "Landslide". I'm 60 now and I've had a lot of my own challenges. Things are better now, but when I hear "Landslide", I remember the tough times. More importantly, I remember Mom and Dad and how much they loved and supported me. Thank you Stevie.
  • @flavellinator
    Amazing that the original version of "Landslide" never broke the top 50 on Billboard Hot 100! Definitely one of the very few songs that still gets good airplay yet never charted. Such a gorgeous, soul-inflicting song that so many people can relate to...
  • @NorthernKitty
    I watched her perform this live at a concert with Fleetwood Mac. At one point during the song, you could see her dry her eyes, you can tell this is a very meaningful and emotional piece for her.
  • @LuluJinx1111
    I was born in 1970. Fleetwood Mac has always been one of my favorites. I’ve taken Landslide with me throughout my life. The meaning, knowledge and love for it has evolved with me. I can’t be grateful enough to Stevie Nicks and the entire band for their music.
  • @sbryant6797
    Just saw her in Nashville with Billy Joel. She just knocked it out of the park. And everyone sings along and we all held our phones up. It was beautiful. Like a stadium full of fireflies while Stevie Knicks sings. Magical.
  • Professor! Long-time fan, here, but you truly outdid yourself on this one. My wife and I are HUGE Stevie Nicks fans, and "Landslide" is the apex of what we love about her. We both knew of Stevie's and Lindsey's tumultuous relationship, but no clue exactly where this song came from. Only you, my friend, could fully explain that genesis. It's cathartic, heart-rending and wrenching... the despair floods any soul listening to it... but the silvery sliver of hope gleams like a mirror shard in the sun. So powerful, so enchanting. Thank you, Prof.
  • Great episode. The only point of correction was that Stevie’s parents sent her a bus ticket back to CA from Colorado, not a plane ticket, as her father was chairman of Greyhound at the time and she had free access to travel by bus.
  • I don't remember a time when Stevie's voice wasn't part of my life. Her music, and that of Fleetwood Mac, is a permanent part of my soul. Long Live The Good Witch.
  • "...children get older, and I'm getting older too...." Hurts every time.
  • Back in '82 I did a "Famous Person" report in 10th grade and my choice was Stevie Nicks. There was no Google back then so all my research was done the old fashioned way. I found out so much about her that I never expected then. As I grew older and more life experience, I found that what I had found out was typical rock star addiction problems and personal torment. That's what it takes to make art. Nothing comes easy. There were also problems with the record label over songs being too long with topics that didn't fare too well with the general public. In the long run they became the Fleetwood Mac that we fell in love with. Without Stevie it wouldn't be the group we love.
  • That has to be the most haunting vocal ever recorded. Even if the words don’t apply to your situation the sound of her voice pierces the soul.
  • @torc7424
    It's mind boggling to me that the studio hated Buckingham-Nicks so much. What a phenomenal album. Hopefully they'll re-release it at some point, if they can ever agree to do so.
  • I saw her live over the summer. I told myself I wouldn’t cry when she played this song. Obviously I did. To hear such a masterpiece played live by the creator herself is something I’ll never forget.