Stevie Nicks has already created an impressive range of classic tunes. If you explore her music library, you’ll find storytelling gems such as ‘Landslide,’ where she muses about the swift passage of time, and ‘Edge of Seventeen,’ a touching homage to her family. She’s always acknowledged the talents who inspired her.
Even before making money with Fleetwood Mac, Nicks was deeply influenced by other artists. While still a newcomer in California, she moved in with Lindsey Buckingham to work on her first album.
At this time, Nicks supported herself by working as a housekeeper for her producer on the Buckingham Nicks album. But music was her constant comfort and refuge.
One of her biggest inspirations was The Beatles. As she began crafting her songs, she felt that the music The Beatles created was within her grasp.
She told Rolling Stone that when she first started playing guitar and realized her songwriting destiny, she would learn Beatles’ songs on her bed, not necessarily mastering the intricate chords, but managing to navigate them.
Among all the songs she learned, ‘Yesterday’ held a unique spot in her heart. The Beatles’ ballad, an early work before their more experimental phase, is a worldwide favorite, often covered by other artists.
While many listeners relate to the song’s melancholic tone, Nicks perceives the true heartache in the melody.
She believed that ‘Yesterday’ was McCartney’s intuitive glimpse into his future relationship with his wife Linda – experiencing deep love and eventual loss. She commented that the song is a “perfect” representation of these experiences.
Influenced by the loss of Paul McCartney’s mother, ‘Yesterday’ is one of the rare Beatles tracks to solely feature Paul. Although there were original plans for a full band arrangement, the classic form of the song didn’t emerge until a string quartet was included.
As the ’70s unfolded, Nicks experienced success similar to The Beatles with her band Fleetwood Mac, particularly with the album ‘Rumours.’
Although the recording process of this iconic album was filled with conflicts, it proved to be a silver lining when it propelled her to stardom, aligning her with other significant songwriters of that era, such as Tom Petty.
Reflecting on her songwriting journey, Nicks felt the Beatles’ mid-career music deeply influenced her writing, as she noted, “These guys truly wrote about the intricacies of relationships.
It was going deeper, and that’s what we were surprised by.” The Beatles paved the way for more profound themes in rock and roll, and Nicks was among those who took that further.
