Biography
Buckingham Nicks, sometimes styled Buckingham/Nicks, formed as a brief-lived act pairing guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham (born October 3, 1948, in Palo Alto, California) with singer Stevie Nicks (born May 26, 1948, in Phoenix, Arizona). The pair first crossed paths at Menlo Atherton High School in Atherton, California, after Nicks’s family relocated from Los Angeles. From an early age Nicks had written poetry and turned to songwriting at sixteen, the same year she entered her initial group, the Changing Times; Buckingham, by contrast, had been drawn since boyhood to rock & roll, particularly the guitar-driven work of Eddie Cochran, the Everly Brothers, and Buddy Holly, and acquired his first instrument during a youthful enthusiasm for the Kingston Trio.
Shared musical passions drew them together, prompting Nicks to enter Fritz (originally the Fritz Raybyne Memorial Band, honoring a classmate) alongside Buckingham and several friends; he handled guitar and vocals while she sang and occasionally played guitar. Her style at the time reflected a strong debt to Buffy Sainte-Marie, notably the song “Cod’ine.” After her family relocated to Chicago the two separated temporarily, yet by the close of the 1960s Nicks had returned to Northern California, enrolled at San Jose State University, and resumed performing with Fritz. The band gained traction opening for Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, among others, though it never secured a recording deal or expanded beyond regional support slots. Internal friction grew as attention centered on Nicks, and after cutting unsuccessful demos for producer Keith Olsen the group dissolved in 1971.
Buckingham and Nicks remained a couple and continued working together, assembling new demos the following year that circulated in Los Angeles. Those recordings secured a contract with Polydor, the recently formed American entity combining Mercury Records, Phonogram, and the fading MGM imprint. Under Olsen’s direction the self-titled Buckingham Nicks album emerged as a meticulously crafted pop-rock statement that incorporated the range of influences the duo had absorbed—virtuosic playing rooted in early rock & roll and the folk revival yet tempered by sleek California production values, and vocals that blended mid-1960s folk-rock strengths with contemporary AM-radio aesthetics. Released in September 1973, the album foundered commercially amid the era’s dominant arena-rock, heavy-metal, and progressive sounds; Polygram’s promotional team lacked a clear strategy for its straightforward, harmony-driven approach.
Nevertheless, fellow musicians and reviewers who encountered the record responded with enthusiasm, granting it modest underground notice. The duo mounted a short tour, and Olsen even hosted them at his home while finances remained precarious. Buckingham supplemented their income by touring with Don Everly following the Everly Brothers’ split. Plans advanced for a follow-up album with Olsen that would feature “I’m So Afraid,” “Monday Morning,” and “Rhiannon,” yet the duo appeared destined for prolonged obscurity. At that juncture an invitation arrived from Fleetwood Mac, a long-established blues-rock ensemble that had endured repeated lineup changes since originating in England in 1967.
Fleetwood Mac, built around co-founder and guitarist Peter Green, had achieved substantial British success with electric blues before cultivating an American cult following; its sole tangential link to Buckingham Nicks lay in Green’s composition “Black Magic Woman,” a U.K. hit later covered by Santana, for whom Fritz had opened. Green’s exit and subsequent personnel shifts had steered the band away from its blues foundation while retaining much of its audience, though a wave of impostor groups eroded momentum and ultimately prompted relocation to California. In 1974 another guitar vacancy prompted drummer Mick Fleetwood to visit Sound City Studios, where he heard “Frozen Love” from the Buckingham Nicks album. Impressed, he sought Buckingham, only to learn that including the guitarist required also accepting Nicks. After internal deliberation, Fleetwood, John McVie, and Christine McVie extended an invitation on New Year’s Eve 1974; Olsen’s production role and several tracks slated for the abandoned second Buckingham Nicks album thereby transferred into Fleetwood Mac’s orbit. The ensuing three albums produced commercial results that eclipsed the prior achievements of every participant.
Two lasting consequences followed: Buckingham and Nicks’s personal relationship ended under the weight of fame, and the original Buckingham Nicks album has never appeared on compact disc as of 2009, circulating only through increasingly refined bootlegs. Persistent rumors have circulated regarding official reissues by Polygram and its successor Universal, while separate reports indicate that Buckingham and Nicks eventually regained the master rights. The recording thus remains among the most bootlegged titles of the 1970s, and even performances from the little-noticed supporting tour have surfaced.
Shared musical passions drew them together, prompting Nicks to enter Fritz (originally the Fritz Raybyne Memorial Band, honoring a classmate) alongside Buckingham and several friends; he handled guitar and vocals while she sang and occasionally played guitar. Her style at the time reflected a strong debt to Buffy Sainte-Marie, notably the song “Cod’ine.” After her family relocated to Chicago the two separated temporarily, yet by the close of the 1960s Nicks had returned to Northern California, enrolled at San Jose State University, and resumed performing with Fritz. The band gained traction opening for Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, among others, though it never secured a recording deal or expanded beyond regional support slots. Internal friction grew as attention centered on Nicks, and after cutting unsuccessful demos for producer Keith Olsen the group dissolved in 1971.
Buckingham and Nicks remained a couple and continued working together, assembling new demos the following year that circulated in Los Angeles. Those recordings secured a contract with Polydor, the recently formed American entity combining Mercury Records, Phonogram, and the fading MGM imprint. Under Olsen’s direction the self-titled Buckingham Nicks album emerged as a meticulously crafted pop-rock statement that incorporated the range of influences the duo had absorbed—virtuosic playing rooted in early rock & roll and the folk revival yet tempered by sleek California production values, and vocals that blended mid-1960s folk-rock strengths with contemporary AM-radio aesthetics. Released in September 1973, the album foundered commercially amid the era’s dominant arena-rock, heavy-metal, and progressive sounds; Polygram’s promotional team lacked a clear strategy for its straightforward, harmony-driven approach.
Nevertheless, fellow musicians and reviewers who encountered the record responded with enthusiasm, granting it modest underground notice. The duo mounted a short tour, and Olsen even hosted them at his home while finances remained precarious. Buckingham supplemented their income by touring with Don Everly following the Everly Brothers’ split. Plans advanced for a follow-up album with Olsen that would feature “I’m So Afraid,” “Monday Morning,” and “Rhiannon,” yet the duo appeared destined for prolonged obscurity. At that juncture an invitation arrived from Fleetwood Mac, a long-established blues-rock ensemble that had endured repeated lineup changes since originating in England in 1967.
Fleetwood Mac, built around co-founder and guitarist Peter Green, had achieved substantial British success with electric blues before cultivating an American cult following; its sole tangential link to Buckingham Nicks lay in Green’s composition “Black Magic Woman,” a U.K. hit later covered by Santana, for whom Fritz had opened. Green’s exit and subsequent personnel shifts had steered the band away from its blues foundation while retaining much of its audience, though a wave of impostor groups eroded momentum and ultimately prompted relocation to California. In 1974 another guitar vacancy prompted drummer Mick Fleetwood to visit Sound City Studios, where he heard “Frozen Love” from the Buckingham Nicks album. Impressed, he sought Buckingham, only to learn that including the guitarist required also accepting Nicks. After internal deliberation, Fleetwood, John McVie, and Christine McVie extended an invitation on New Year’s Eve 1974; Olsen’s production role and several tracks slated for the abandoned second Buckingham Nicks album thereby transferred into Fleetwood Mac’s orbit. The ensuing three albums produced commercial results that eclipsed the prior achievements of every participant.
Two lasting consequences followed: Buckingham and Nicks’s personal relationship ended under the weight of fame, and the original Buckingham Nicks album has never appeared on compact disc as of 2009, circulating only through increasingly refined bootlegs. Persistent rumors have circulated regarding official reissues by Polygram and its successor Universal, while separate reports indicate that Buckingham and Nicks eventually regained the master rights. The recording thus remains among the most bootlegged titles of the 1970s, and even performances from the little-noticed supporting tour have surfaced.
Albums
