Carved into the wooden desktop in my tenth-grade journalism class were the words “Fleetwood Mac.” It was a one semester class and every afternoon when I eased myself into the seat I wondered anew what it meant.
The mystery was profound enough that I recall the graffiti to this day, although I have since come to know its musical attachment. I should have figured as much way back then. (It was a lonnnnng time ago.) Certainly no McAlester High School student would be carving the name of an English town on the desktop. At the time – unbeknownst to me – Fleetwood Mac was an offshoot of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, playing a British version of the American blues.
The band plowed through members and in the 1970’s produced several hit songs and followed up with an album entitled Rumours that is still rated as one of the highest-selling recordings of all time. The band had switched from British blues to a more radio-friendly style and featured new members Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham. Unlike many bands that collaborate on songwriting, many of the tunes appearing on Rumours were penned by individual members.
Lindsay Buckingham’s Go Your Own Way and Second Hand News will likely be featured when the Hall of Fame rocker take the stage at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in November.
Buckingham has released five collections as a solo artist, including
Seeds We Sew, which made its debut on Tuesday. Three albums recorded with Fleetwood Mac topped the Billboard magazine chart.
He departed Fleetwood Mac in 1987, but still maintains a loose association and the possibility of a reunited tour in 2012 has been mentioned by Stevie Nicks.
Although Fleetwood Mac was popular in England previous to the arrival of Lindsay Buckingham, they had no hits in the US.
I’m still trying to figure out who it was in McAlester, Oklahoma circa 1969 that had enough musical savvy to recognize the talent of a blues act from across the Atlantic, and had enough devotion to carve the band’s name into an otherwise indistinct piece of schoolhouse wood.
