The White Witch: Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks

   Stevie Nicks is the daughter of Jess Nicks and Barbara Nicks. As a child Stevie would travel a lot because of her father's business as a food business executive. On her 16th birthday Stevie received her first guitar resulting in her first song called "I've Loved and I've Lost, and I'm Sad But Not Blue". While going to High School she joined her first band, "Changing Times", a folk rock group.
  Stevie met her future musical and romantic partner, Lindsey Buckingham during her senior year in High School. In 1972 Stevie and Lindsey wrote as a duo, recorded demo tapes at night in Daly City . The same year they secured a deal with Polydor Records, which used their demo tapes to release the album Buckingham Nicks in 1973.  Unfortunately the album was not a commercial success, despite the live shows that Stevie and Lindsey performed together to support it, then Polydor dropped the pair from the label.  While working at multiple jobs to support herself and Lindsey (he had mononucleosis) he was writing songs and she used cocaine for the first time. In 1973 Stevie and Lindsey moved to Dashut, Colorado. While there, Lindsey landed a guitar playing gig with the Everly Brothers, and toured with them while Stevie stayed behind working on songs. During this time, Stevie wrote "Rhiannon". After seeing the name in a novel called Triad by Mary Leader. She also wrote 'Landslide'. Inspired by the scenery in Aspen, and her inner turmoil over her decision to pursue music and her relationship with Lindsey. She stated when her and Lindsey went up to Aspen, They went to someone's "Incredible" house, in there living room was a piano. They brought their guitar with them. They sat down and wrote Landslide...Three Months later, Mick Fleetwood called.
  December 31,1974 Mick Fleetwood called to ask Lindsey to replace Bob Welch as a guitarist, but Lindsey insisted that him and Stevie were a 'packaged deal'. January 1975 they both sat down at dinner to discuss the offer over with Mick. Later that night there were two new members of Fleetwood Mac. 
   In 1975, the band achieved worldwide success with the self-named album. Stevie's "Rihannon", which appeared on the album, which was eventually voted as one of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone. Her live performance of the song throughout the decade began to take on a theatrical intensity not present on the album's single. The song built to a climax in which Stevie's vocals were so impassioned that Mick Fleetwood declared her "Rihannon"  in those days was like an exorcism.  Also included on the album was "Landslide" which achieved over three million airplays and spawned multiple cover versions. Also in 1975, Stevie worked with clothing designer Margie Kent to develop Stevie's unique onstage look, with costumes that featured flowing skirts, shawls, and platform boots.
  Following the success of Fleetwood Mac, increasing tension between her and Lindsey it began to take it's toll on their creativity, and she ended the relationship. Fleetwood Mac began recording their follow-up album, Rumours, In early 1976 and continued until late in the year. Among Stevie's contributions to Rumors was "Dreams", which became the band's only Billboard Hot 100 number one hit single to date. Stevie also wrote and recorded the song "Silver Springs", but it was ultimately not included on the album because the early versions of the song ran too long.
  After the success of the Rumours album and tour in 1977-1978, Fleetwood Mac began recording their third album with Lindsey and Stevie, Tusk, in the spring of 1978. October 19, 1979 Tusk  was released.
   July 27,1981 Stevie released her first solo album Bella Donna . The day the album was released she found out her best friend Robin Anderson was diagnosed with Leukemia. Robin gave birth to a son, appointing Stevie as the god mother. Following Robin's death in 1982, Stevie married Robin's widower Kim Anderson, believing that her friend would want her to take care of her baby.
   June 10, 1983 Stevie released her second solo album. The album went double platinum. In 1986 Stevie checked herself checked herself into a rehab,  She snorted so much cocaine it tore a hole through her nose, the doctor said if she would've snorted the drug one more time she would've died. "All of us were drugs addicts' she said. 'But there was a point where I was the worst drug addict...I was a girl, I was fragile, and I was doing a lot of coke. And I had a hole in my nose. So it was dangerous."