Stevie Nicks’ College Major Did Not Relate to Her Music Career
Before Stevie Nicks became a global superstar in Fleetwood Mac, she was a young musician taking college courses. Though Nicks felt confident in her abilities to make it as a musician, her parents insisted she go to college as a backup. Nicks would eventually drop out of school, but she did pick a college major in her time at school. So, what did Nicks study in college?
Stevie Nicks attended multiple different schools when she was young
As a child, Nicks’ family moved around a lot. Her father worked for Greyhound, and as he advanced in his career, the family had to relocate. By the time Nicks graduated high school, she had lived in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and California.
“Well, we moved — a lot,” Nicks said, per the book Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks by Stephen Davis. “So I was always the new girl. I knew I wasn’t going to have much time to make friends, so I made friends quickly and I adjusted really well, and when I’d say, ‘I’m gonna miss my room,’ my mom would always say, ‘There’s always a better house.’”
She attended college while in a band
By the time Nicks reached college-age, she knew that she wanted to write and perform music as a career. While her parents supported this dream, they felt that she should still go to college.
“My mom said, ‘I totally believe you’re going to be a singer and a famous songwriter. But just in case, I need you to take typing and I need you to take shorthand. And if you go to college, we’ll pay for everything,’” Nicks explained, per the book Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams, and Rumours by Zoë Howe. “And I went. I think that you should get the best education you can, and then if you want to go off and be a total entrepreneur space cadet, that’s fine. But if you are called upon to take care of somebody or keep something together, you gotta have studied something.”
Nicks chose to study Speech Communication at San Jose State as she felt that this was at least somewhat related to her dream of being a musician. While she was there, Nicks also performed with Lindsey Buckingham in the band Fritz. The band gradually picked up a fan base in the Bay Area, but their schedule was not so demanding that Nicks had to leave school.
A young Stevie Nicks left college to pursue music full time
Nicks felt more fulfilled by the band than she did from her college courses.
“I knew that I was Stevie Nicks after about three weeks of being in Fritz,” she said, per the book Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac: Interviews and Encounters. “I would stroll through San Jose State with my guitar case thinking, Does everybody know who I am? I’m a rock star. I felt it and I believed it.”
Toward the end of her education, a record producer suggested that Nicks and Buckingham ditch the rest of Fritz and move to Los Angeles to pursue music as a duo. They made the difficult decision to leave their band behind. This also required both to drop out of school. Nicks reportedly did so with just a few more credits necessary to graduate.
