Stevie Nicks

My next entry on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees this year is Stevie Nicks, who needs no introduction. I have been a fan of Nicks for over 40 years, so I was very happy to see her elected. She is the first woman to be elected twice, as she was inducted for being a member of Fleetwood Mac and her solo career.

Nicks is certainly an acquired taste. Many people I know, who are very intelligent about music, are not fans, due mostly to her affectations--the tremulous, husky voice; her layers of gossamer and chiffon, her seeming to be stuck signing about fairy tales, and her "Welsh witch" persona--has anyone ever seen her in public in forty years without wearing such an outfit? She is not a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal. But for some reason that could be explored psychologically, I lap that stuff up.

She is undeniably a great songwriter. I've always considered her best songs to be those she did for Fleetwood Mac: "Landslide," "Crystal," "Dreams," "Rhiannon," "Sarah," "Gold Dust Woman," "Sisters of the Moon," "Storms," "Gypsy." This only makes sense, as when someone has only three or four songs on an album, they are bound to be her best output. Her first solo album came in 1981 with Bella Donna, which is by far her best record, and that's understandable, too, as she probably had a lot of stuff saved up.

I purchased that album and the next three she did, and even bought a 45 of her signing "Whenever I Call You Friend," with Kenny Loggins, but even I stopped after that, as each record was somewhat lesser than before. But her second album, Wild Heart, did produce one of her biggest hits, "Stand Back," and one of my favorites of hers, the heartbreaking "Beauty and the Beast."

Bella Donna, though, is something of a masterpiece, and is the best representation of Nicks' talent. She had two big hits with duets, "Leather and Lace," with Don Henley, and "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," with Tom Petty. She and Petty sound so good together I'm sorry that they didn't do an entire album together. It also has what I think may be my favorite rock song of hers, "Edge of Seventeen," and her best vocal, "After the Glitter Fades." To hear her sing those opening lines, "Well, I never thought I'd make it here in Hollywood" gives me chills.

One thing that Nicks' music does not have is fancy instrumentation. Her band, which usually has Waddy Wachtel on guitar, does not step in front of her. There are no solos, and the drums often sound machine generated. What she is all about is the voice and the lyric, and that has stood her in good stead for almost forty-five years. She hasn't put out an album of new material in five years, but she still tours with Fleetwood Mac (although they had to cancel recently because of her pneumonia).

He personal life has been a bit tortured, what with her relationships with Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Don Henley, Jimmy Iovine, and Joe Walsh. Her only marriage was to Kim Anderson, whom she married after his wife, Nicks' best friend, gave birth. The marriage only lasted three months. I patiently await the movie about her and Fleetwood Mac, which would make Bohemian Rhapsody seem like an After School Special.