Fleetwood Mac: Rhiannon

For our Feminine Friday feature, we turn to the song that put Stevie Nicks on the musical map with the masses. While sometimes referred to as a song about a Welsh witch, Nicks was inspired to write “Rhiannon” after reading Mary Leader’s Triad. Leader’s character Rhiannon was loosely based on the Welsh legend.

On the US singles, the song was titled as “Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win),” but only carried the non-parenthetical title on the LP. “Rhiannon” appears on the second self-titled “Fleetwood Mac” album that was released in 1975.

I remembered that I purchased the album in early 1976 at the Sundry Store in Grayson, KY as they had the cheapest album prices of the three stores that sold records in town. The album charted in the US at #1 and was certified five times platinum. The single peaked at #11 in 1976.

In addition to Stevie Nicks lead vocals, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham sang backup on the choruses. I had the opportunity of seeing Nicks in concert in 1982 and was amazed how many times she changed outfits during the show. She even had a tent set up on stage to accommodate her large wardrobe. It was a good show, but I thought that this detracted from the entire presentation.