Stevie Nicks biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Singer, songwriter. Born Stephanie Lynn Nicks on May 26th, 1948, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. Her adopted moniker, Stevie, reportedly came from her childhood pronunciation of "Stephanie" as "tee-dee." Stephanie's mother, Barbara, was a homemaker and father Jess Nicks, a corporate executive, first met at Arizona State University. They became college sweethearts, and the couple married in 1947.

The tight-knit Nicks clan included Stevie's paternal grandfather, Aaron Nicks, a would-be country star. Grandfather Nicks handcrafted a guitar for young Stevie and taught her well-known selections from the country music cannon. By the time she was five years old, Stevie was gigging with him at local gin mills. Around this time her brother, Christopher, was born.

As Stevie's father rose through the corporate ranks, the Nicks family skipped around Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and California. By 1963, the family landed in the suburbs of Los Angeles, and Stevie enrolled at Arcadia High School. While there, she met her best friend, Robin, and joined Changing Times, a band patterned after The Mamas and The Papas. Her tenure with the group was short-lived; the Nicks family soon moved to Palo Alto, California, where Stevie attended Menlo Atherton High School. Here, Stevie met classmate Lindsey Buckingham, a guitarist and fellow songwriter. The two shared a close bond and forged a strong musical partnership.

Partnership with Lindsey Buckingham

After high school, Stevie briefly enrolled in San Jose State College, but by 1968 she'd dropped out. The Nicks family relocated once again—this time, to Chicago—but Stevie opted to stay in California. Along with Buckingham, she joined the local band, Fritz, which established a small following. The group opened for bigger acts such as Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix before they disbanded in 1971.

By this time, Nicks and Buckingham were deeply romantically involved. The couple continued collaborate, and soon landed a contract with Polydor Records. In 1972, they released Buckingham-Nicks, an album that went largely unnoticed. In an effort to make ends meet, Stevie worked alternately as a maid, a dental assistant, and a waitress.

Concurrently, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and Christine McVie of the rock group Fleetwood Mac struggled with band tensions and line-up changes. In 1974, the group started seeking out a new recording facility, and arranged a visit to Sound City Studio in the San Fernando Valley—the same studio where Stevie and Buckingham recorded their album. As producer Keith Alson guided Fleetwood Mac through the facility, he showcased the studio's sound capabilities by playing the Buckingham-Nicks track "Frozen Love." The band was taken with Buckingham's guitar sensibilities.

Fleetwood Mac

A few weeks later, Fleetwood Mac's then-guitarist Bob Welch quit the band. In need of a guitarist, Fleetwood remembered Buckingham's track and arranged a meeting with the musician. The group asked Buckingham to join the band, but he refused to collaborate unless Stevie was part of the deal. Fleetwood agreed, and in 1975 Stevie and Buckingham signed on to Fleetwood Mac.

The newly forged band quickly recorded an eponymous collection that went straight to No. 1 and sold 3 million copies. Nicks' tracks—especially the mystical "Rhiannon" and the romantic ballad "Landslide"—were smash hits, and transformed the singer into an overnight sensation. Subsequent touring efforts showed audiences Stevie's flowing outfits and whirling onstage dances.

In 1976, the band started recording their sophomore effort, but their personal lives were in total disarray. The rigors of touring had strained Stevie's voice, and she sought medical help. The band was also in the middle of an emotional upheaval, and all of its romantic relationships disintegrated: The McVies decided to divorce, Fleetwood and his wife separated, and Nicks and Buckingham were in the midst of a tumultuous split.

The band continued to record together, however, and their next album, Rumours (1977), became a record-setting hit. It spent more than 31 weeks on the Billboard 200; went platinum in both the United States and the U.K.; and earned the group a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978. Nicks' song "Dreams," inspired by the group's dissolving