The Lady From The Mountain that we all know and love as Stevie Nicks was born Stephanie Lynn Nicks, on May 26, 1948, at Good Samaritan Hospital, in Phoenix, Arizona, to Jess and Barbara Nicks. Even as a child, Stevie loved music; her Grandfather, Aaron Jess Nicks, was a country music singer, and used to bring Stevie with him to various pubs, and smile as his little angel sang and danced. Stevie was heartbroken when her parents wouldn't allow her to go on a tour with her Grandfather, and her performances with "A.J." ceased. But the music always stayed with Stevie, as she moved from town to town, the result of her father being promoted in his job. Her and little brother Christopher spent much of their school years barely getting to know friends in their towns and schools, only to have to pack up and move, once again. On her sixteenth birthday, her parents bought her a Goya guitar, and she wrote a song that day, about a boy that she had liked. "I've Loved and I've Lost" became Stevie's first songwriting experience...a feeling that she quickly grew to love. She joined her first band in 1965, while attending Arcadia High School in Los Angeles, California, called "The Changing Times." A year later, the family packed up and moved again, to Atherton, California. It was at Menlo-Atherton High School that she met Lindsey Buckingham. He was seated in the corner at a youth social gathering, singing "California Dreaming," and Stevie wandered over and sang with him. They went their separate ways, but a few years later, Lindsey and the other members of "Fritz," (a.k.a. "The Fritz Raybyne Memorial Band") Javier Pacheco, Brian Kane, Bob Aguirre and Calvin Roper asked her to join their band, named after a student at the school. Fritz enjoyed a strong local following, and opened for Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and other big acts.
During a trip to Los Angeles, the band met producer Keith Olsen, and Lindsey and Stevie were singled out as the best of this group. They decided to try and make it as a duo. These were the leanest of times for Stevie, with her family having moved to Chicago, and she was very much on her own with Lindsey...and they had no money. Stevie and Lindsey released "Buckingham Nicks" in 1973, but the album flopped. Stevie waited tables, was a dental assistant for three days, and eventually began cleaning producer Keith Olsen's home, who had opened up his house to Lindsey and Stevie and helped them record their demos at his studio, Sound City. With the stress and tension rising between her and Lindsey, and no money, Stevie was beginning to loose hope for a career in music. It was upon a trip to see her parents in 1974 that her father sat her down and suggested that she set a time limit on her musical career of six months, and then go back to college. With a heavy heart, she traveled to Aspen, Colorado, in her tiny Datsun car, along with her dog. Meeting there with Lindsey and after an argument between them, Lindsey took the car back to Los Angeles, and Stevie found herself stranded in Aspen. She had a free bus pass to use anytime she liked, but the bus companies were on strike. Until she could get some money from her parents for the plane ride back to L.A., she sat down and composed "Landslide" and "Rhiannon." She knew, somewhere in her heart, that these were the songs that would make her a star. On New Year's Eve 1974, Lindsey received a telephone call from Keith Olsen, who informed him that Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac would love to have him as the band's new guitar player. Lindsey and Keith both explained to Mick that it would be a "package deal" ~ Stevie had to be included. Mick eagerly took both, and the rest, as they say, is history.
By May of 1975, Stevie was a star, and "Rhiannon" had taken flight. With the success of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie's star soared, but along with that came the end of her relationship with Lindsey, and the beginning of cocaine use. Throughout the rest of the 1970's, Stevie and Lindsey would struggle with no longer being a couple, but having to see each other almost every day. At the beginning of 1980, Paul Fishkin, a record exec and friend of Stevie's, convinced her that she could make it on her own. With the help of producer Jimmy Iovine, and back-up singers Lori Perry and Sharon Celani, "Bella Donna" shot straight to number 1. But on the very day her album reached this spot, her best friend, Robin Anderson, broke the news to her that she had leukemia, a few months left to live, and she was pregnant. Stevie was devestated, and did all she could to make Robin's last days the best they could be. After Robin's death, Stevie briefly married Kim Anderson, Robin's husband, in large part to care for Robin's son who was left behind, named Matthew. But several months after the marriage, Stevie and Kim both realized that it had been a mistake, made out of grief and not love. It took many years for Stevie to work through her pain, as she wrote Robin into such songs as "Nightbird" and "Gypsy." Throughout the 1980's, Stevie's cocaine and alcohol use escalated, until finally, on the "Rock A Little" tour, Stevie fell off the stage. She checked into the Betty Ford Center upon her doctor informing her that she could have a brain hemmorage, the very next time she did cocaine. Clean from the drug, Stevie emerged for 1987's "Tango In The Night" with Fleetwood Mac, but now Stevie was addicted to Klonopin, a drug given to her to ease the pain of quitting cocaine. Stevie released another solo album, "The Other Side Of The Mirror," but her creativity was slipping away. Klonopin almost killed Stevie, both physically and spiritually ~ she no longer wanted to write, and as she later described in interviews, she literally felt like her "soul was just sucked out" of her.
After the mediocre success of 1994's "Street Angel," Stevie decided it was time to get well and begin writing again. She reuinited with her fellow bandmates in1997 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Rumours," and Fleetwood Mac enjoyed yet another tremendous success both with the tour and live album. Unfortunately, it would also mark the end of Christine McVie's touring with the band. Stevie began to think about her solo career again. Tom Petty had had dinner with her one night in 1995, and when Stevie expressed fear and doubt with her songwriting, she asked Tom to help her write some new songs. He told her that she was an amazing songwriter, and to just go home and write, and that she had dedicated her life to her music and did not need anyone's help. The result was the beginning of Stevie's "Trouble In Shangri-La" record in 2001. The album was a huge success, and Stevie began a fabulous tour. She also visited military hospitals, providing soldiers with comfort and music, and started sharing her journal entries with her fans. She recorded once again with Fleetwood Mac, releasing the album "Say You Will," and toured with the band as well. Stevie's next project was a "greatest hits" package called "Crystal Visions: the Best of Stevie Nicks" in 2007. This release included an extra treat for fans in the form of never-before-seen video of Stevie, and a CD of her music videos from the past, with commentary by Stevie herself on each song. In 2011, Stevie released what she calls her best solo record yet, titled "In Your Dreams." She brings some old songs to life again, and wrote new songs with her friend and producer, Dave Stewart. She included a song written for the soldiers who are serving in the Middle East, titled "Soldier's Angel," and invited Lindsey Buckingham to sing and play on the track. She completed a very successful tour of the United States and Australia, and has performed some dates in the United Kingdom as well. Her career seems never-ending, as she performs with such artists as Dave Grohl, reunites with Fleetwood Mac, and tours the world. She has shared her struggles with her health and drug use, the stories of her experiences, her thoughts, her feelings, her triumphs, her sadness ~ her life. Through it all, Stevie remains timeless ~ ageless ~ the Poet in our hearts...
