NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� the British-born Fleetwood Mac vocalist, songwriter and keyboard player whose cool, soulful contralto helped define such classics as 鈥淵ou Make Loving Fun,鈥� 鈥淓verywhere鈥� and 鈥淒on鈥檛 Stop,鈥� died Wednesday at age 79.
Her death was announced on the band鈥檚 social media accounts. No cause of death or other details were immediately provided, but a family statement said she 鈥減assed away peacefully at hospital this morning鈥� with family around her after a 鈥渟hort illness.鈥�
鈥淎 few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975, had passed away,鈥� bandmate posted to Instagram.
She added that one song has been 鈥渟wirling around鈥� in her head since she found out McVie was sick, quoting the lyrics to HAIM's 鈥淗allelujah": 鈥淚 had a best friend/But she has come to pass.鈥�
McVie was a steady presence and personality for its frequent lineup changes and volatile personalities 鈥� notably fellow singer-songwriters Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
Her death is the first among Fleetwood Mac's most famous incarnation of McVie, Nicks, Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, Christine's ex-husband. In recent years, the band had toured without Buckingham, who was kicked out in 2018 and replaced on stage by Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.
Fleetwood Mac started out as a London blues band in the 1960s, and evolved into one of the defining makers of 1970s California pop-rock, with the talents of McVie, Nicks and Buckingham anchored by the rhythm section of Fleetwood and John McVie. During its peak commercial years, from 1975-80, the band sold tens of millions of records and fascinated fans as it transformed personal battles into melodic, compelling songs. The McVies' breakup 鈥� along with the split of Nicks and Buckingham 鈥� was famously documented on the 1977 release 鈥淩umours,鈥� among the bestselling albums of all time.
Everyone in the group played a distinctive role: Fleetwood and John McVie formed a deep and bluesy groove, Buckingham was the resident mad genius and perfectionist, Nicks the charismatic dramatist and idol to countless young women and Christine McVie the grounded counterpoint, her economy as a singer and player well suited to her birth surname: Perfect.
鈥淚 was supposedly like the Mother Teresa who would hang out with everybody or just try and (keep) everything nice and cool and relaxed," earlier this year. 鈥淏ut they were great people; they were great friends.鈥�
Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, when at the ceremony they played McVie's 鈥淪ay You Love Me." The group鈥檚 many other hit singles included Nicks鈥� 鈥淒reams,鈥� Buckingham鈥檚 鈥淕o Your Own Way鈥� and McVie鈥檚 鈥淟ittle Lies.鈥� One of McVie鈥檚 most beloved works, the thoughtful ballad 鈥淪ongbird,鈥� was a showcase for her in concert and covered by Willie Nelson, among others.
The midtempo rocker 鈥淒on't Stop," inspired by the end of her marriage, would gain unexpected political relevance when Bill Clinton adopted the song 鈥� and its 鈥淒on't stop thinking about tomorrow鈥� refrain 鈥� as a theme to his 1992 presidential run. The band, which had essentially stopped making albums at the time, reunited to perform at his inauguration gala.
McVie鈥檚 two marriages, to John McVie and Eduardo Quintela, both ended in divorce. Her boyfriends included the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson, about whom she wrote 鈥淥nly Over You."
McVie, born Christine Anne Perfect in Bouth, Lancashire, came from a musical family. Her father was a violinist and music teacher and her grandfather played organ She had been playing piano since childhood, but set aside her classical training once she heard early rock records by Fats Domino and others.
While studying at the Moseley School of Art, she befriended various members of Britain鈥檚 emerging blues scene and, in her 20s, joined the band Chicken Shack as a singer and piano player. Among the rival bands she admired was Fleetwood Mac, which then featured the talents of along with the rhythm section of Fleetwood and John McVie. By 1970, she had joined the group and married John McVie.
Few bands succeeded so well as Fleetwood Mac, which has sold well over 100 million records, against such long odds. Green was among the many performers who left the group, and at various times Fleetwood Mac seemed on the verge of ending, or fading away. It was rescued by unexpected returns and interventions and one of rock's most fortuitous and lucrative hunches.
In the mid-1970s, Fleetwood Mac was down to just three members, Fleetwood and the two McVies. While spending time in Los Angeles, Fleetwood learned of a young duo from California, Buckingham and Nicks, that had recorded the little known album 鈥淏uckingham Nicks.鈥� Impressed by their sound, he initially planned to ask just Buckingham to join, but the guitarist insisted the band also include Nicks, his girlfriend at the time.
The new lineup proved almost instantly magical. Nicks and Christine McVie formed a lasting friendship, agreeing that as two of the rare women in rock they would always stand up for each other. And the harmonies and music making of Nicks, Buckingham and Christine McVie insured that such albums as 鈥淔leetwood Mac," 鈥淩umours鈥� and 鈥淢irage鈥� had an enviable quality and variety of songwriting and vocal styles.
But the group's overwhelming success also led to inevitable conflicts and the desire for solo work. Over the following decades, Nicks became a star in her own right. McVie released solo albums, including 鈥淐hristine McVie" and 鈥淐hristine Perfect,鈥� as well as a 2017 collaboration with Buckingham, 鈥淟indsey Buckingham/Christine McVie.鈥�
Fleetwood and John McVie were there at the founding of Fleetwood Mac and were the only ones to remain all the way through. McVie departed in the 1990s, when she was seemingly done forever with the rock star life. By 2014, she had changed her mind.
鈥淚 just wanted to embrace being in the English countryside and not have to troop around on the road. I moved to Kent, and I loved being able to walk around the streets, nobody knowing who I was," she said of her hiatus during a 2022 interview with the Guardian.
鈥淭hen of course I started to miss it. I called Mick and asked: 鈥楬ow would you feel about me coming back to the band?鈥�" she said. "He got in touch with everybody and we had a band meeting over the phone and they all went: 鈥楥ome baaaack!!' I felt regenerated and I felt like writing again."
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
