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Christine McVie could play the piano — and wrote music for Fleetwood Mac. Still, even if Stevie Nicks couldn’t play, she “always” had a piano in her hotel rooms. Here’s what we learned about these artists.

Christine McVie wrote ‘Songbird’ for Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Class of 1998) Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks perform at The Omni Coliseum
Fleetwood Mac, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Class of 1998) Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks perform at The Omni Coliseum | Rick Diamond/Getty Images

Christine McVie appeared as a songwriter, vocalist, and keyboard player with the rock band Fleetwood Mac. During an interview with Raised On Radio, McVie commented on the fastest song she’s ever written — a track that landed on the 1977 release Rumours.

“That’s the one and only song I wrote and finished in half an hour, in the middle of the night — it was the middle of the night,” McVie said. “And I woke up and I happened to have a little piano in my room but no tape recorder. No means to record it on.” 

Christine McVie played the piano — even if she never had a piano in her hotel room

McVie didn’t always have access to the instruments (and recording tools) she needed. During an interview with the Guardian, McVie commented on her life on the road with Fleetwood Mac — and how Nicks always had a piano. 

“I don’t think I ever had a piano in my room. Stevie always did, but she couldn’t play it,” McVie laughed. “So she’d have me come down and play. Nothing made me cringe.” 

“We all had definite images in the band,” she added. “Stevie was the Welsh witch. I was mother nature. Mick was the raving lunatic. Everyone was very different, but we all got on, for the most part. In those days it was just all good clean fun. Well, fairly clean fun!”

Were Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks friends?

Nicks and McVie shared a close friendship, with Nicks even journaling about her concern for the other Fleetwood Mac member. 

“Seattle. Worried about Christine,” Nicks wrote. “Wishing some spiritual guidance would come from somewhere. Where are the crystal visions when I need them?”

With McVie already a member of Fleetwood Mac before Nicks joined, she had the final say of whether she would be allowed in along with Lindsey Buckingham. After spending time at a Mexican restaurant together, McVie gave her the green light. 

“It was critical that I got on with her because I’d never played with another girl,” McVie told The Guardian. “But I liked her instantly. She was funny and nice but also there was no competition. We were completely different on the stage to each other and we wrote differently too.”

Even if she couldn’t play the piano, Nicks was responsible for writing several Fleetwood Mac hits. That includes one of the group’s most popular song, “Dreams.” “The Chain,” featured on Rumours, was written by all five members — Christine McVie, John McVie, Nicks, Buckingham, and Mick Fleetwood. 

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