May 19, 2023 —– Chart #196
Hello Music Friends,
Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. This week we’re going to 1975 and one of the biggest bands of the time. “Landslide” is a song written by Stevie Nicks and performed by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. The song was first featured on the band’s self-titled album Fleetwood Mac (1975). The original recording also appears on the compilation albums 25 Years – The Chain (1992) and The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (2002), while a live version was released as a single 23 years later from the live reunion album The Dance (1997). “Landslide” reached No. 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In 2021, the song was listed at No. 163 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.
Nicks has said that she wrote the song while contemplating either going back to school or continuing on professionally with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. Following the release of their debut album Buckingham Nicks, they had been dropped from their recording contract by Polydor Records before they could release a follow up. Nicks wrote the song while visiting Aspen, Colorado, sitting in someone’s living room “looking out at the Rocky Mountains pondering the avalanche of everything that had come crashing down on us … at that moment, my life truly felt like a landslide in many ways”.
The song is one of Fleetwood Mac’s most frequently performed during tours. Nicks has sung it on every Fleetwood Mac tour since joining the band, with the exception of the Shake the Cage tour, as well as on all of her own solo tours from 2005 onwards. For some reason Fleetwood mac was not a band that really caught my attention back in 1975, but reflecting on the song today, I love it. I hope you enjoy listening and playing along.
How about this-a bluegrass family interpretation (is that mom on bass?): https://youtu.be/joUwy8lpvP0
The Dixie Chicks (I know, we are supposed to call them “The Chicks” now. Sorry, they are The Dixie Chicks to me): https://youtu.be/J4_wXPZ1Bnk
Have a great Friday.
Keep Rockin’,
Stan Bradshaw