Writing Landslide – The Story Behind The Iconic Song

Stevie Nicks is a National Icon

Stevie Nicks is easily one of the most famous and influential female artists that has ever graced the music world with her sultry voice. From her bombastic career with Fleetwood Mac to her solo career that was dotted with the likes of Don Henley and Tom Petty, there aren’t a lot of people alive today that haven’t heard her name, at the very least.  Although I didn’t dig into Stevie’s music catalog until well into adulthood, I would consider her an inspiration. As I’ve been one to cover Landslide at almost every show we play with the band, I find the origin story to of the song very interesting. Let’s talk about it!

Fleetwood Mac (Before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham)

We’ve all heard the lore about Fleetwood Mac. Formed in 1967, they started as a bluesy band in London. While they had successes during their early years, including their 1968 hit single, “Albatross,” they weren’t a massive commercial sensation in comparison to the Fleetwood Mac that we know today. Their earliest roster included Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, and Danny Kirwan, but member changes ultimately left the band with three members in the early 70s, before the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The three remaining members were Mick Fleetwood on drums, John McVie on bass, and Christine McVie on keys. In 1974, the band made the decision to make their tenth (or eleventh, depending on how you look at it) studio album in the United States with Los Angeles-based Reprise Records.

Fritz

Concurrently, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were young adults living in San Francisco, keeping themselves busy in a band called Fritz prior to their work on Buckingham Nicks, and, subsequently, Fleetwood Mac. More formally known as The Fritz Rabyne Memorial Band, they were a well-known psychedelic rock band. A working band, Fritz never gained commercial popularity, but they were a respected working band that earned some notable brushes with fame.

In a quote from The Island Ear in 1994, Stevie reflected on her experience with Fritz. 

“…what we did get was three and a half years of preparation for Fleetwood Mac, ’cause we opened for Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, CCR and Chicago. We played the Fillmore, Winterland, the Avalon, simply everywhere. I was the center front stage singer in the band.”

I tried to find a copy of this interview, but I couldn’t, and the next best source that I could find on this particular quote is right here.

Fritz still exists today with an active website and a music catalog that you can explore.

Buckingham Nicks

After Fritz, but before Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks moved to Los Angeles, among numerous other starry-eyed artists trying to hit their big break. Nicks had dropped out of college to pursue her musical career, splitting her time between waitressing and cleaning jobs and trying to make her way musically. During this time, Stevie and Lindsey collaborated on an album that never quite grabbed the attention that they had hoped it would. The album was released in 1973. It did not perform well, and they were dropped from their record company, Polydor Records. I’m not going to get too deep into Buckingham Nicks, but there are various versions of the original album floating out there on the internet. In addition, here’s a review from Pitchfork that sums up this work. I personally don’t think it gets the credit that it deserves, but that’s just me.

The Everly Brothers

Between Stevie’s tenure with Fritz and the collaboration on Buckingham Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham landed a job with Don Everly of The Everly Brothers, and it’s out of this story that Landslide was born. The Everly Brothers were popular in the 50s and 60s, but all good things come to an end, and Lindsey stepped in for Phil Everly in 1972 after the brothers stopped touring together – that’s another interesting story, but I’ll save it for a rainy day. 

Fresh off the commercial failure of their recent release of Buckingham Nicks, Stevie and Lindsey were dropped from Polydor Records. As she tells it, Stevie went to Aspen with Lindsey so that he could practice with Don Everly in preparation for their tour, and Stevie decided to stay in Aspen while Lindsey was touring. She says that she wrote the song in about 5 minutes.

An Impasse That Led To A Legendary Song

Based on an interview from Stevie herself and the history surrounding that time in her life, the song is about being at an impasse in her life. When listening Gold Dust Woman, the author describes the relationship troubles that Stevie and Lindsey were experiencing at the time – a combination of Stevie taking on the work that ensured their survival while they were trying to establish themselves, the flop that was Buckingham Nicks (an album that I actually really liked), and her anxiety about feeling that she was aging out of her opportunity to become a successful musician. Side note – she was only 27, and we really need to reexamine our perspective about age as it relates to careers in entertainment. In her (paraphrased) words, the song was about looking out at the snowy mountains and making a decision that she was going to keep going; that she and Lindsey were going to make it. 

Joining Fleetwood Mac and Releasing Landslide

In 1974, Fleetwood Mac recruited Lindsey Buckingham to play guitar under the condition that his girlfriend, Stevie Nicks, could also join the band. Christine McVie had the final say, and, as history has shown, the addition of Buckingham and Nicks would be the ticket to the commercial success that Fleetwood Mac was looking for – with a heaping side of turmoil thrown in for good measure. For the latter, we have Rumours to tell that detailed story.

In 1975, Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album featuring a line-up of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks was released. Landslide was included on that album, and was well-received. Over the years, it has been covered by the likes of The (Dixie) Chicks and Nine Inch Nails, among many others. Rolling Stone has also ranked it number 163 on their list of the 500 Best Songs of All Time. 

Conclusion

That’s the brief synopsis, but I’ve got to note that there are dozens of books out there that detail the Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks’ stories. I personally think the story is just as fascinating as the music. If you’re interested in Stevie Nicks specifically, I would suggest Gold Dust Woman (not an affiliate link) by Stephen Davis. Fleetwood Mac’s story is one that I find incredibly interesting, from the iconic albums that catapulted Stevie Nicks to fame in the 1970s to that blistering performance of Silver Springs in 1997 that seems to be blowing up on TikTok recently, and the whole story in between. Landslide is just one of many great things that Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac gave us during their tenure. The song was a gift to the world that has stood the test of time, and will continue to for years to come. 

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