Legendary Bands - Fleetwood Mac Posters

While changing their name sometime around the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks would've been a logical step for this one-time Peter Green-led blues band, old habits die hard and the name stuck around to symbolize the rhythmically tight yet laid-back sound of '70s Los Angeles. With tight harmonies and indelible pop hooks, Fleetwood Mac ran up a series of chart-toppers ("Rhiannon," "Don't Stop," "Go Your Own Way") that turned this emotionally volatile group into one of the best-selling acts of the decade.

In terms of British blues music, the band was formed in 1967 and was considered one of the best. Led by Danny Kirwan, Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer, the band seemed a revolving door for musically gifted and emotionally fragile singer-songwriters. Green and Spencer turned to cult religions, while Kirwan entered a mental hospital in 1972. Bob Welch joined the band in 1971, but the rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood on drums and John McVie on bass was the stable force, and along with keyboardist and songwriter Christine McVie (Perfect) were too much to compete with; Welch departed in 1975, leaving the ideal hole for Buckingham-Nicks.

Lindsay Buckingham was a deft instrumentalist, an unassuming yet powerful singer and perfectly attuned to pop songcraft. With the help of Stevie Nicks, whose songwriting contributed a dream-like quality, the duo were destined to reach a mass audience. Combined with the indefatigable rhythm section of the Mac, they became an unbeatable powerhouse selling unheard of amounts of records in the mid-1970s. The relationships within the band were breaking up as their success soared and Tusk, the double-album follow-up to the massively successful Rumours, is filled with the tensions and overindulgence of a band capable of anything and dysfunctional enough to break it all down. It is also arguably their finest release.

Subsequent releases were spotty, as each member eyed other careers. Nicks, McVie and Buckingham all have had varied levels of success as solo artists.

While Fleetwood Mac continued to record throughout the '80s and '90s, the band went through a series of line-up changes. By 1997, however, its classic '70s line-up reunited for an MTV Unplugged special that was released as The Dance. The album's release was followed by a world tour.

When Fleetwood Mac re-emerged in April 2003 with Say You Will, it was minus Christine McVie, who decided to hang it up following the grueling tour in support of The Dance.