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Fleetwood Mac has a storied history. The band started as a blues-based group in the 1960s, then blended various styles as it morphed into one of the most popular bands of the 1970s. Rumours achieved an impressive legacy despite the group’s members snorting seven miles of cocaine. Fleetwood Mac’s music is so enduring, four of their songs earned a music honor even The Beatles couldn’t get.

John McVie (from left), Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks put four Fleetwood Mac songs a list that The Beatles couldn't make.
(l-r) Fleetwood Mac band members John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in 1980 | Michael Putland/Getty Images

Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles overlapped for a few years in the 1960s

Fleetwood Mac had their biggest successes in the 1970s and 1980s, but they overlapped with The Beatles for a couple of years. 

The Fab Four established themselves as the biggest band of the 1960s fairly early in the decade. They shot to fame in early 1963 and sustained fans’ interest for the rest of the decade (and beyond). The Beatles were the most popular band on earth in 1968 when Fleetwood Mac released its self-titled debut.

The Mac released another self-titled album in 1975, and it had a good reason to do so. That was the first album after Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined. The pair propelled the band to new heights with 1977’s Rumours, which went a long way to helping four Fleetwood Mac songs earn a music honor even The Beatles couldn’t achieve.

Four Fleetwood Mac songs made a list The Beatles couldn’t 

Music fans of the 1970s had to buy albums, attend concerts, and listen to the radio to hear songs by their favorite artists. All fans in the 21st century have to do is open Spotify or Pandora to listen to their favorite tunes.

The Official Charts Company reviewed the most-streamed songs ever in the United Kingdom and released its top-200 list on Nov. 14, 2022. It found four Fleetwood Mac songs among most-streamed tunes while The Beatles have none.

The Mac’s most popular song is “Dreams.” The Nicks-penned song from Rumours always struck Christine McVie as boring, but it’s the band’s lone No. 1 in the United States. It ranks No. 98 on the Official Charts list of most-streamed songs, with more than 200 million streams in the U.K. 

McVie’s “Everywhere” recently made it back on the charts. The song from the 1987 Tango in the Night album lands at No. 107 on the Official Charts list with more than 200 million listens.

Two other Rumours songs, “The Chain” (at No. 138) and “Go Your Own Way” (No. 186), make the list.

The Mac had four No. 1 albums in the U.K. and United States

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Four Fleetwood Mac songs earned an honor The Beatles didn’t. The Fab Four achieved more chart success, but the Mac held their own on the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Per Official Charts, four Fleetwood Mac albums reached No. 1 in the U.K. Rumours was the band’s first No. 1. It spent one of its 966 weeks on the charts in the top spot. The Rumours follow-up Tusk also peaked at No. 1 in 1979. So did Tango in the Night and its 1990 follow-up Behind the Mask.

Rumours held the Billboard top spot in the United States for 31 weeks just two years after the 1975 self-titled album spent a week atop the album chart. Mirage (1982) topped the Billboard charts for five weeks, and The Dance (1997) grabbed the top spot for one week.

Four Fleetwood Mac songs made a list that The Beatles didn’t, and the former band’s albums also found chart success on both sides of the Atlantic.

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