Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie Was a ‘Guys’ Girl’ According to Carol Ann Harris
Christine McVie was one songwriter, keyboard player, and vocalist in Fleetwood Mac, creating “Don’t Stop,” “Over My Head,” and “Songbird.” She was also a “guys’ girl” and “earthy and tough,” according to Lindsey Buckingham’s ex-girlfriend, Carol Ann Harris.
Who were the original Fleetwood Mac members?
They’re the band behind “Go Your Own Way,” “The Chain,” “Never Going Back Again,” and “Dreams.” Eventually, Lindsey Buckingham was asked to join the band, adding Nicks as a musician in the process, completing the Rumours lineup of John McVie, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Buckingham, and Nicks.
Although they had a romantic relationship before even joining Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham and Nicks went on to date other people. Nicks had a fling with bandmate Fleetwood, while Buckingham got engaged to Carol Ann Harris.
Carol Anne Harris compared Christine McVie to Katherine Hepburn and Hilary Swank in ‘Million Dollar Baby’
In Storms: My Life with Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac, Carol Ann Harris detailed her experience with the rock group. That includes her perspective of band member Christine McVie, who functioned as a songwriter, vocalist, and keyboard player.
“Christine was a guys’ girl, a good sport — think Katherine Hepburn’s elegance and boyish charm, or Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby,” Harris wrote. “She was earthy and tough, despite the pure voice and the poignant love songs she wrote. She was the band mother, as Stevie was the wayward band child.”
Other Fleetwood Mac members shared their appreciation for McVie. Nicks even discussed their friendship years later.
“It was critical that I got on with her because I’d never played with another girl,” McVie said during a 2013 interview with The Guardian. “But I liked her instantly. She was funny and nice but also there was no competition. We were completely different on the stage to each other, and we wrote differently too.”
“We had to end up being close because otherwise it was just hang out with the guys all the time,” Nicks said during an interview with Uncut. “And because there was this chaos going on with me and Lindsey, the band gave me a friend in this woman, and I could hang out with Christine.”
Christine McVie wrote ‘Don’t Stop’ for the rock band Fleetwood Mac
McVie created songs specifically for the rock group, including Rumours’ “Don’t Stop.” McVie also wrote and sang “Over My Head” from Rumours, co-writing “The Chain” with the other four band members.
“Christine poured her emotions into poignant and upbeat songs about hope and love that bore the message ‘don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, ’cause yesterday’s gone,'” Harris added in the same memoir.
Since its debut, this song landed on Fleetwood Mac’s “Greatest Hits” tracklist, earning over 230 million Spotify plays. This original also became the official song of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
