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Fleetwood Mac lost one of its most important and longest-serving band members when Christine McVie died at 79.  Her songs were some of the band’s biggest hits over the years. It’s not a stretch to say the group wouldn’t have been the same without her. The band’s inner turmoil is legendary, but McVie said she and Lindsey Buckingham had a synergy that separated them from the rest of Fleetwood Mac that had everything to do with their musical abilities.

Christine McVie (left) and Lindsey Buckingham perform with Fleetwood Mac circa 1979. McVie said she and Buckingham had a synergy that separated them from the rest of the band.
Christine McVie (left) and Lindsey Buckingham performing with Fleetwood Mac | Richard E. Aaron/Redferns

During a career that spanned decades, McVie wrote or co-wrote several of Fleetwood Mac’s Billboard charting singles:

  • “Little Lies”
  • “Hold Me”
  • “Over My Head”
  • “Love in Store”
  • “As Long as You Follow”
  • “You Make Loving Fun”
  • “Think About Me”
  • “Save Me”

“Little Lies” and “Hold Me” peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s singles chart, and “You Make Loving Fun” reached No. 9 in 1977. McVie sang the Fleetwood Mac song that came back on the charts nearly 30 years after it came out. The beautiful McVie song bandmate Mick Fleetwood wants played at his funeral is not included among those tunes above.

In a group rife with infighting and intraband affairs, McVie said she and Lindsey Buckingham shared a synergy that set them apart from the rest of Fleetwood Mac.

McVie and Lindsey Buckingham had a ‘synergy’ that set them apart from Fleetwood Mac

The Mac’s only No. 1 song belonged to Stevie Nicks, but McVie found that song boring. Perhaps because of its relatively simplistic structure and chord progression?

McVie said she and Buckingham, Nicks’ on-again/off-again partner, shared synergy that set them apart from Fleetwood Mac. As The Guardian reports, McVie said she and Buckingham were the only members able to play complex musical parts:

“Lindsey and I have a particular synergy, in the fact that we were the only actual people that were playing more than single notes in the band.”

Christine McVie explains her synergy with Lindsey Buckingham

McVie and Buckingham collaborated on a 2017 album, allowing them to develop their chemistry further. Still, McVie spoke with a bit of hyperbole when she said she and Buckingham were the only ones playing more than single notes. Nicks wouldn’t have a decades-long career without knowing more than the most basic music theory. John McVie laid down some seriously funky bass lines over the years, too.

Still, there’s little doubt McVie felt a musical connection with Buckingham that led to their special synergy. The Fleetwood Mac guitarist felt it, too.

Buckingham honored his longtime bandmate upon her death

Related

Stevie Nicks Shares Touching Tribute After ‘Best Friend’ Christine McVie’s Death

McVie said she and Buckingham set themselves apart from the rest of Fleetwood Mac with their synergy. She felt a special connection to the guitarist, and he felt it, too. A day after McVie’s death on Nov. 30, 2022, Buckingham shared a heartfelt message on his social media platforms.

“Christine McVie’s sudden passing is profoundly heartbreaking. Not only were she and I part of the magical family of Fleetwood Mac, to me, Christine was a musical comrade, a friend, a soul mate, a sister,” Buckingham wrote. “For over four decades, we helped each other create a beautiful body of work and a lasting legacy that continues to resonate today. I feel very lucky to have known her. Though she will be deeply missed, her spirit will live on through that body of work and that legacy.”

Nicks reacted to McVie’s death with a touching tribute on her Instagram. She shared images of a handwritten note that included the lyrics to the HAIM song “Hallelujah.” Nicks’ message ended with, “See you on the other side, My Love. Don’t forget me. Always, Stevie.”

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