Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter, dies at 79
NEW YORK -- Christine McVie, the British-born Fleetwood Mac vocalist, songwriter and keyboard player whose cool, soulful contralto helped define such classics as "You Make Loving Fun," "Everywhere" and "Don't Stop," died Wednesday at age 79.
Her death was announced on the band's social media accounts. No cause of death or other details were immediately provided, but a family statement said she "passed away peacefully at hospital this morning" with family around her after a "short illness."
"She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure," the band's statement reads in part.
McVie was a steady presence and personality in a band known for its frequent lineup changes and volatile personalities — notably fellow singer-songwriters Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Her death is the first among Fleetwood Mac's most famous incarnation of McVie, Nicks, Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, Christine's ex-husband.
Fleetwood Mac started out as a London blues band in the 1960s, and evolved into one of the defining makers of 1970s California pop-rock, with the talents of McVie, Nicks and Buckingham anchored by the rhythm section of Fleetwood and John McVie.
During its peak commercial years, from 1975-80, the band sold tens of millions of records and fascinated fans as it transformed personal battles into melodic, compelling songs. The McVies' breakup — along with the split of Nicks and Buckingham — was famously documented on the 1977 release "Rumours," among the bestselling albums of all time.
Everyone in the group played a distinctive role: Fleetwood and John McVie formed a deep and bluesy groove, Buckingham was the resident mad genius and perfectionist, Nicks the charismatic dramatist and idol to countless young women and Christine McVie the grounded counterpoint, her economy as a singer and player well suited to her birth surname: Perfect.
"I was supposedly like the Mother Teresa who would hang out with everybody or just try and (keep) everything nice and cool and relaxed," she told Rolling Stone earlier this year. "But they were great people; they were great friends."
Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. The group's many other hit singles included Nicks' "Dreams," Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way" and McVie's "Little Lies." One of McVie's most beloved works, the thoughtful ballad "Songbird," was a showcase for her in concert and covered by Willie Nelson, among others.
The midtempo rocker "Don't Stop," inspired by the end of her marriage, would gain unexpected political relevance when Bill Clinton adopted the song — and its "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow" refrain — as a theme to his 1992 presidential run.
McVie's two marriages, to John McVie and Eduardo Quintela, both ended in divorce. Her boyfriends included the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson, about whom she wrote "Only Over You."
Born Christine Perfect in 1943, she took an interest in music before entering her teens, studying classical piano starting at age 11 and developing a love for blues and rock and roll after her brother brought home a Fats Domino songbook. While studying sculpture at Moseley School of Art in Birmingham with the intention of becoming a school art teacher, she befriended a number of blues musicians including band leader Spencer Davis and guitarist Stan Webb and bassist Andy Silvester, who she played with in a local band called Sound of Blue.
After moving to London, she would reconnect with Webb and Silvester to become part of their new blues group Chicken Shack, playing keyboards and singing background vocals on two albums. She would leave the band in 1969 after marrying McVie. She released her eponymous solo album in 1970, the same year she joined Fleetwood Mac. The effort would later be reissued in 1976 as The Legendary Christine Perfect Album after Fleetwood Mac had its commercial breakthrough.
Few bands succeeded so well as Fleetwood Mac, which has sold well over 100 million records, against such long odds. Original guitarist Peter Green was among the many performers who left the group, and at various times Fleetwood Mac seemed on the verge of ending, or fading away. It was rescued by unexpected returns and interventions — including Clinton's — and one of rock's most fortuitous and lucrative hunches.
In the mid-1970s, Fleetwood Mac was down to just three members, Fleetwood and the two McVies. While spending time in Los Angeles, Fleetwood learned of a young duo from California, Buckingham and Nicks, that had recorded the little known album "Buckingham Nicks." Impressed by their sound, he initially planned to ask just Buckingham to join, but the guitarist insisted the band also include Nicks, his girlfriend at the time.
The new lineup proved ideal, and almost instantly magical. Nicks and Christine McVie formed a lasting friendship, agreeing that as two of the rare women in rock they would always stand up for each other. And the harmonies and music making of Nicks, Buckingham and Christine McVie insured that such albums as "Fleetwood Mac," "Rumours" and "Mirage" had an enviable quality and variety of songwriting and vocal styles.
But the group's overwhelming success also led to inevitable conflicts and the desire for solo work. Over the following decades, Nicks became a star in her own right with such solo albums as "Bella Donna" and both Buckingham and Christine McVie departed for years — only to eventually come back.
The pair recorded the 2017 album "Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie" and toured together. More recently, Buckingham was kicked out, replaced on tour by Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.
An anthology of her solo work, "Songbird," was released earlier this year.