A Cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’ Charted Higher Than the Original
TL;DR:
- A famous band decided to cover Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”
- A member of the band said the song meant more to her after she became a mother.
- The cover became a top 10 hit but the original didn’t.
Fleetwood Mac‘s “Landslide” is one of the group’s most famous songs. Despite this, it did not chart as highly as a cover of the track from the 21st century. A member of a famous band explained why Fleetwood Mac’s song meant so much to her.
Why a band turned Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’ into a bluegrass song
The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, covered “Landslide” for their 2002 album Home. During a 2020 interview with Interview Magazine, Chicks member Natalie Maines discussed why her band decided to cover the tune.
“After I had my son Slade, I really heard the words and understood what she was talking about, because I felt like I was getting older, too,” she revealed. “I felt more connected to that song. We knew at that time that we were doing an acoustic sort of bluegrass record and I liked taking more pop-sounding songs and making them into bluegrass.”
The Chicks’ Natalie Maines said her feelings about Fleetwood Mac’s song changed over time
During a 2020 interview with Vulture, Maines was asked if any of the Chicks’ songs meant something different to her as time went on. “For me, and I’ve talked about it onstage, it’s ‘Landslide,'” she said. “Not so much since we started doing it, but I just remember why I was really attached to it and wanted to do a cover of it.
“Obviously we’d all, or most of us, heard that song, and then as I got older it definitely took on new meaning,” she continued. “That’s why I felt so connected to it and really wanted to try a version. As you get older you understand a lot more about that song.”
How ‘Landslide’ and The Chicks’ cover of it performed on the pop charts in the United States
Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” was not a big hit. It reached No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 20 weeks. The tune appeared on the album Fleetwood Mac, which topped the Billboard 200 for a week. It stayed on the chart for a total of 168 weeks.
On the other hand, The Chicks’ cover reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was a hit until members of the band criticized George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq. As a result, the cover dropped to No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Chicks’ cover of “Landslide” charted higher than the original even if Fleetwood Mac’s may be more famous today.
