A new year has started. Maybe we look back on the old, feel nostalgia, or not. Maybe we review all of those we lost, who were many. I never took the time here lately to talk about the amazing artists we lost. The songs that made my life, perhaps even yours, better.
I did feel shock to learn of Christine McVie’s passing. I never got to see Fleetwood Mac live, which I now regret. There are bands that I always wanted to see with all of the original members, and now that time has passed. This serves as advice to you: go and see the bands you love—now. Now! You may not have a chance in the future. Sometimes you get lucky, as I recently did, to see John Frusciante back with Red Hot Chili Peppers. But luck doesn’t always hold out.
When Rumors came out in 1977, we all were swept away by “Dreams” and “Go Your Own Way,” but amidst those popular songs, there was this beautiful, heart-rending ballad, “Songbird,” sounding so ethereal, so plaintive that it touched the heart and echoed. While we may have all thought that Stevie Nicks was the driving, writing force behind Fleetwood Mac’s greatest songs, it was, in fact, Christine McVie who outwrote every single member of the band.
We’ve heard covers of “Songbird,” I think Eva Cassidy’s comes readily to mind, but there will never be a match for the original.
Her death caught me by surprise, it is always as Auden put it so profoundly a moment in which we want everything to return to what it was.
That’s an excellent quote and one that could apply to so many events in the past few years. Happy New Year, Paul!
Fleetwood Mac – Mystery to Me. I painted that cake eating baboon on the wall of my teenage room. I always have a moment of respect and remembrance for the artists who create the soundtrack of my life.
Very well put. Thank you, Kelly Louise, and Happy New Year!
So weird. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her speak before. She’s really British. 🙂
Indeed! Except for Stevie and Lindsey, Fleetwood Mac is a British group. 🙂
I only knew the Eva Cassidy version. Nice to hear the original.
I think Eva Cassidy did a very nice cover; Christine McVie is so soulful.
ps And Happy New Year to you, Di!
Thanks!
Christine McVie’s death is a sad loss. I love the Songbird song from Rumours.
It is undoubtedly a beautiful song! Happy New Year to you, Rebecca!