Fleetwood Mac

1967 in England

Original Name:

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac featuring Jeremy Spencer

Origin of the Name:

Derived from last names of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bass guitarist John McVie

Original Members:

Peter Green – vocals, guitar
Jeremy Spencer – vocals, guitar
John McVie – bass
Mick Fleetwood – drums

Bekka Bramlett – vocals
Bob Brunning – bass
Lindsey Buckingham – vocals, guitar
Billy Burnette – vocals, guitar
Danny Kirwan – guitar
Dave Mason – vocals, guitar
Christine McVie – vocals, keyboard
Stevie Nicks – vocals
Rick Vito – vocals, guitar
Dave Walker – vocals
Bob Welch - vocals, guitar
Bob Weston – guitar

Current Members:

Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, JohnMcVie, Mick Fleetwood

First Album:

Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac (1968)

Most Recent Album:

Live in Boston (2004)

Three members of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers formed the nucleus of one of the longest lasting and most successful bands that originated in Britain in the late ‘60s. Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie were joined by slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer, and between 1967 and 1970, they released six studio albums, none of which attracted much attention.

Between 1970 and 1974, the band added McVie’s wife, Christine, as vocalist-songwriter-keyboardist and Danny Kirwan as a third guitarist.

After founder Peter Green left in 1971, the band went through a succession of vocalists -– Bob Weston, Bob Welch, and Dave Walker. Six more albums came during these four years, the last (and most successful) one of which, Heroes Are Hard to Find made it as high as #34 on the US album chart.

The turning point for the band came in 1975 when John McVie recruited Lindsey Buckingham, who agreed to join the band if his girlfriend and singing partner, Stevie Nicks, could join too. The band’s very first album (Fleetwood Mac) with the lineup of Nicks, Buckingham, the McVies and Fleetwood finally launched the group to superstar status.

Altogether, the band has had 15 different personnel lineups and has weathered the romances and subsequent breakups of Buckingham and Nicks, and the McVies. The band has released a total of 42 albums, including studio, live, and compilation albums. Of the 45 singles that came from those albums, 34 charted in both the US and UK. Two of the band’s original members, Fleetwood and John McVie, have remained with the band since the beginning.

Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

In 2003, the lineup of Nicks, Buckingham, Fleetwood and John McVie released Say You Will, and last toured in 2004, spawning that year’s Live in Boston album. Christine McVie left the band in 1998. She, Nicks and Buckingham all pursued solo careers in addition to their work with the band.

Rumours
The second album from the “superstar” lineup –- Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood -– was released in 1977. It topped the Billboard chart for 31 weeks, and won the Album of the Year GRAMMY in 1978. In 1998, it became the third highest-selling album in history, with more than 18-million copies sold.