In the absence of keyboardist Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac began an equal parts exciting and tense back-and-forth with an iconic female singer who was potentially going to join the band as McVie’s replacement. Ultimately, nothing came of the hypothetical scenario, and both the band and the country-pop star went their separate waysMoreover, in a turn of events that would surprise absolutely no one with even a moderate knowledge of Fleetwood Mac’s decades-long interpersonal drama, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham had very different opinions on the potential personnel addition.
Fleetwood Mac Almost Hired This Female Singer to Replace Christine McVie
Feminine energy is a critical component of Stevie Nicks’ stage persona. Not only did she and keyboardist Christine McVie have a special bond while working together in Fleetwood Mac. But after embarking on a solo career, Nicks also opted to keep women an integral part of her live shows, working with the same two backing vocalists for all of her solo albums. In the wake of McVie’s absence from Fleetwood Mac in the 2000s, Nicks began thinking of women who could step in and add their feminine energy to the mix.
“I missed Christine so much,” Nicks told Rolling Stone in 2009. “I wanted another woman in the band. It’s hard to be in the boys’ club.” So, Nicks suggested country pop star, Sheryl Crow, who was riding high off her massive hits “All I Wanna Do” and “Soak Up the Sun.” Nicks continued, “I explained to Sheryl what it was like to be in the group—that it’s all-encompassing. Like, on 2003’s “Say You Will” tour, we went out expecting to do 40 shows, and it turned into 135 shows.”
After taking Fleetwood Mac’s arduous touring schedule into consideration, Crow called Nicks and said, “I’ll have to pass.” Nicks told Rolling Stone, “As Stevie Nicks, I was disappointed. As her friend, I told her she made the right decision. Sheryl Crow passed on Fleetwood Mac. I want that out there.”
Not Everyone In The Band Was Happy With The Decision
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s clashing egos have been a staple of Fleetwood Mac’s band dynamic since the former folk-rock duo first joined in the mid-1970s. Unsurprisingly, Nicks and Buckingham also disagreed about how likely it was that Sheryl Crow would (or, perhaps, should) have joined Fleetwood Mac. For Buckingham, his reservations stemmed from what he perceived to be an inappropriately early announcement via Crow
In a 2008 interview with the Toronto Sun, Buckingham recalled when the preliminary discussions about Crow joining the band first began. Around that same time, Crow publicly stated that she “definitely” had plans to collaborate with the British-American rock band. Buckingham said the premature announcement “didn’t sit well with any of us really because even if it had been decided, it was not the appropriate time. It was premature [and] wasn’t hers to announce. It should have been done in a different way. But it was not even a real thing.”
“That led to some not very good conversations, as I understand, which I was not a part of,” Buckingham continued. “I guess the whole thing just went away. [Crow is] not a part of it. But all of that was actually a catalyst to Stevie and me having some very good conversations, which have been long overdue, and acknowledging that there’s a way to do this that doesn’t have to be about bringing in a surrogate Christine. In my mind, if you’re starting by bringing in someone like Sheryl to do Christine’s songs, it starts to get a little loungey.”
All’s Well That Ends Well
In the long run, Nicks and Buckingham’s differing opinions on Crow joining the band were a moot point—as is whether Crow passed due to Fleetwood Mac’s commitment levels or because she let the cat out of the bag too early and upset the other band members. Regardless, there seems to be no bad blood between Nicks and Crow. In 2023, Nicks sent a heartwarming message of congratulations to Crow when the latter musician received a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
“I am so proud of you,” Nicks wrote in an Instagram post. “It’s a very elite club for us women. I found out at 4 o’clock this morning and had to dance around my room for you. See you on the road! Love you, Stevie.”
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