There’s no doubt that Stevie Nicks is a legend. The Fleetwood Mac singer was a huge hit of the 1970s and 1980s, helping shape music in the 20th century in a way that won’t be forgotten any time soon.
Now, the 70-year-old is one of the newest artists being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nicks joins The Cure, Def Leppard, The Zombies, and Janet Jackson as inductees for 2019.
Even though Nicks is widely known for her partnership with Fleetwood Mac, she’s being inducted as a solo artist, a move that means a lot to her.
“I have a lot to say about this, but I will save those words for later,” Nicks wrote on her Facebook page. “For now, I will just say, I have been in a band since 1968. To be recognized for my solo work makes me take a deep breath and smile. It’s a glorious feeling.”
Here’s the other thing — Nicks has already been inducted into the Hall of Fame. In fact, she’s been there for 20 years — along with her longtime band, Fleetwood Mac. The band was inducted back in 1998, which means Nicks is now the first woman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame twice.
Nicks’ solo work has received a significant amount of attention in recent years.
The singer-songwriter has placed on the list of Greatest Songwriters of All Time and Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine. She’s also been nominated for eight Grammys and two American Music Awards.
And she’s certainly been singing for a long time. Nicks’ grandfather was a country musician who started singing with her when she was only 4 years old. When Nicks was 16, she got her first acoustic guitar and immediately launched into songwriting with a song called, “I’ve Loved and I’ve Lost and I’m Sad but not Blue.”
In 1966, while she was still a teenager, Nicks met fellow guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, and her music career began.
The two of them hit the road and started their own band, Buckingham Nicks. It wasn’t exactly successful. But the duo kept at it, working in Los Angeles and trying to win acclaim.
When Buckingham was invited to join up-and-coming band Fleetwood Mac, he made sure that Nicks was invited, too. It was a good call — she ended up writing some of the band’s most well-known and loved songs, including “Landslide.”
Fleetwood Mac was a wildly successful band.
Its 1977 album “Rumours” still has its place as one of the most widely sold albums in the history of American music.
And while Fleetwood Mac’s popularity was growing, Nicks was an iconic image of the time. With her long blonde hair and unique style, she was striking on the scene of 1970s American soft rock.
Now, Nicks says she’s feeling emotionally overwhelmed at the significance of her double induction.
“My biggest hope is that I have opened the door due to the fact that there are 22 men who have gone in twice and zero women,” Nicks said. “I think that’s really a little off balance. That’s what I’m hoping, that what’s happened here to me will give all the little rock and roll stars that are just waiting out there a little hope that they can also do what I do.
“Mind you, it took a long time. I’m 70 years old. It took a long time for this to happen, but maybe because of this, it won’t take so long for all the other incredibly talented women that I know and that I respect and that I listen to and that I’m friends with. That’s really the nicest thing.”
The singer-songwriter says that this is the time she really misses her late parents and wishes that they were alive to see where she is today.
“My father would have said, ‘Well, I knew you’d do it,’” Nicks said. “And my mother would have said, ‘I told you when you were 15 and a half that you better be the boss of your own company since you don’t like being told what to do.’ So, I’m so sorry that my little mom isn’t going to be seated on the side of the stage going to everybody, ‘Well, I knew she’d do it.’”
It has to be overwhelming to be recognized, especially after a career that has spanned half a century and brought her around the globe. Even though Nicks is sad to know that many of the people she loved won’t be there, she knows she’s being recognized for her life’s work. And she hopes to stand for a future generation of female artists.
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I have a lot to say about this~ but I will save those words for later. For now I will just say, I have been in a band…
Posted by Stevie Nicks on Thursday, December 13, 2018
