Stevie Nicks’ Idol Grace Slick Gave Her Candid Opinion on the Fleetwood Mac Singer
Stevie Nicks has expressed her admiration for fellow classic rock musician Grace Slick many times. But what does the Jefferson Airplane singer think of the Fleetwood Mac star? Here are a few of the comments Nicks and Slick have made about each other over the years.
Stevie Nicks revealed that Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick is one of the musicians she tried to ‘emulate’
During a Q&A with NPR’s Ann Powers at SXSW Music, Stevie Nicks listed Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick among the artists who have influenced her style. She recalled her early days of performing in San Francisco in the late 1960s, when she and Lindsey Buckingham opened for Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.
“Flamboyance and attitude from Janis, humbleness and grace from Hendrix, and a little bit of slinky from Grace Slick,” Nicks said (per Rolling Stone). “Those were the three people who I emulated when I was on stage.”
Grace Slick once called Stevie Nicks a ‘strange little person’
Stevie Nicks has gushed about Grace Slick, but what has the Jefferson Airplane singer said about the Fleetwood Mac star?
Slick was once asked during an interview what she thought of Stevie Nicks. Slick, known for being brutally honest, said (per Society of Rock), “Stevie Nicks has written some of the best rock songs. I don’t know her that well, but I like that strange little person that she’s decided to be.”
She added, “A…somebody from some fairy story, and I thought that was great. She also writes some great songs.” So, it appears that Nicks’ admiration for Slick is returned.
The Fleetwood Mac star was influenced by the Jefferson Airplane singer, but came up with her own unique style
Although Stevie Nicks wanted to “emulate” Grace Slick, it was also crucial for her to develop her own style.
Fleetwood Mac rocketed to fame after Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the group. As the frontwoman of a world-famous band, Nicks needed a signature look to stand out from the other fashionable music icons of the time.
“I didn’t want to look like anyone else – like Janis Joplin or Grace Slick,” Nicks told Harper’s Bazaar. “That’s why I never went to any of the big designers. I drew a stick figure of what I dreamed up and gave it to my costume designer, Margi Kent, who I still work with. It was a handkerchief dress with a jacket, long, droopy chiffon sleeves, and velvet platform boots.”
The singer added flamboyant accessories, such as her iconic shawls and top hat, to give her more stage presence. “I found a top hat at a thrift store in Buffalo, New York, on our first tour, and I loved it,” she said. “Now I have several. It really became part of my look.”
Nicks’ costume designer said the singer came up with a unique look that many tried to replicate. “No one had done this look before,” Margi Kent explained. “I remember I went on the road with them, and there were hundreds of Stevie look-alikes. Everyone wanted to look like her.”
