Rumours is the eleventh album by British and American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1977. It was the second album recorded with this line-up, following the successful self-titled Fleetwood Mac album in 1975. In December 1976, prior to the release of the album,
Reprise released the single "Go Your Own Way". In 1978, Rumours won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. As of 2007 the album has sold more than 40 million copies, and is on the list of best-selling albums of all time. In addition, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Rumours at #25 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
History[]
In the two years since the previous album, things had become rather difficult within the group. Mick Fleetwood separated from his wife Jenny. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, who were in a relationship when they joined the group, were separated, and John McVie and Christine McVie also separated, although all five remained in the band. This meant that, as Stevie Nicks later pointed out, long hours were spent and some very awkward times were had between people who would otherwise not be in each others' lives. Christine McVie later remarked that they were all writing about each other, hence the title of the album. They didn't realize this immediately, but finally realizing that they had created such a good album together lifted them out of their misery.
"Go Your Own Way" was believed by Nicks to be a gloomy reference to the break-up of their relationship, and she and Buckingham argued about it. "Dreams" was her attempt to be more optimistic. The song was the only U.S. number one hit for the group, and remains one of their best-known songs. "You Make Loving Fun" referred to an affair between Christine McVie and the group's lighting director. "Gold Dust Woman" was a reference to Stevie Nicks's own struggle with drugs. "Don't Stop" was written by Christine McVie after her divorce with John McVie, and it provided an optimistic outlook on their newly-separated lives.
"Oh Daddy" was almost certainly a reference to Mick Fleetwood, the spiritual father of the group who largely held it together, and the only member who was a parent at the time. Christine McVie described "Songbird" as "a little anthem" and said it was for "all of us". It took a long time to record because it had to be one continuous take. The final section of "The Chain" was written first, but at that point there wasn't a song for it to be the end of. Stevie Nicks had written that separately and, as she put it, "gave it to them". Lindsey Buckingham then had an idea about how it should begin and the first section was re-recorded.
Rumours won a Grammy award in 1978 for Album of the Year for 1977, and spent 31 weeks at the top of the Billboard Music Charts, in spite of some critical panning for perceived pandering to mainstream tastes. In 2003, the album was certified by the RIAA for selling 19 million copies in the United States alone.
In 2001, the TV network VH1 placed it at number 16 on the list of the greatest albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 25 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2006, Q magazine readers voted Rumours the 68th greatest album of all time.
2001 DVD-Audio[]
The DVD-Audio release adds "Silver Springs" (as track 6) after "Go Your Own Way", and moves "Songbird" to the end (track 12); all the other songs retain their original numbering.
This version features 96 kHz/24 bit surround sound and stereo mixes as well as a photo gallery, exclusive to DVD-Audio players; Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, exclusive to DVD video players; and "The Making of 'Rumours'," a 37-minute set of behind-the-scenes audio interviews detailing the writing and recording of each song in order, available on all players.
2004 re-issue[]
On , Warner Bros. released a remastered album, with a bonus disc of rough mixes, outtakes, early demos, and session jams, with "Silver Springs" inserted between "Songbird" and "The Chain", but with no other reordering of tracks. "Silver Springs" was originally recorded to be on the Rumours album but was trimmed due to length and released as the B-Side of the single "Go Your Own Way". Nicks got the idea for the title when she saw a sign for Silver Spring, Maryland, while driving with Lindsey. The name was, to her, so beautiful that she wrote it into the song.
Tribute[]
On 17 March 1998, Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours was released on compact disc. The album was produced by Mick Fleetwood, and each song was covered by a different artist including Tonic, The Corrs, Matchbox 20, Elton John, Duncan Sheik, Shawn Colvin, Jewel, Goo Goo Dolls, Tallula, and Sister Hazel.
Track Listing[]
Original release[]
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Second Hand News" | Lindsey Buckingham | 2:43 | ||||||
| 2. | "Dreams" | Stevie Nicks | 4:14 | ||||||
| 3. | "Never Going Back Again" | Lindsey Buckingham | 2:02 | ||||||
| 4. | "Don't Stop" | Christine McVie | 3:11 | ||||||
| 5. | "Go Your Own Way" | Lindsey Buckingham | 3:38 | ||||||
| 6. | "Songbird" | Christine McVie | 3:20 | ||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 7. | "The Chain" | Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood | 4:28 | ||||||
| 8. | "You Make Loving Fun" | Christine McVie | 3:31 | ||||||
| 9. | "I Don't Want to Know" | Stevie Nicks | 3:11 | ||||||
| 10. | "Oh Daddy" | Christine McVie | 3:54 | ||||||
| 11. | "Gold Dust Woman" | Stevie Nicks | 4:51 | ||||||
2004 reissue[]
| Disc one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Second Hand News" | 2:43 | |||||||
| 2. | "Dreams" | 4:14 | |||||||
| 3. | "Never Going Back Again" | 2:14 | |||||||
| 4. | "Don't Stop" | 3:11 | |||||||
| 5. | "Go Your Own Way" | 3:38 | |||||||
| 6. | "Songbird" | 3:20 | |||||||
| 7. | "Silver Springs" | Stevie Nicks | 4:48 | ||||||
| 8. | "The Chain" | 4:28 | |||||||
| 9. | "You Make Loving Fun" | 3:31 | |||||||
| 10. | "I Don't Want to Know" | 3:11 | |||||||
| 11. | "Oh Daddy" | 3:54 | |||||||
| 12. | "Gold Dust Woman" | 5:01 | |||||||
Disc two: Bonus Material
- "Second Hand News" (Buckingham) – 2:47
- "Dreams" (Nicks) – 4:21
- "Brushes (Never Going Back Again)" (instrumental) (Buckingham) – 2:50
- "Don't Stop" (C. McVie) – 3:33
- "Go Your Own Way" (Buckingham) – 3:06
- "Songbird" (C. McVie) – 3:11
- "Silver Springs" (Nicks) – 6:07
- "You Make Loving Fun" (C. McVie) – 4:56
- "Gold Dust Woman #1" (Nicks) – 5:02
- "Oh Daddy" (C. McVie) – 3:58
- "Think About It" (Nicks) – 2:55
- Re-recorded later for Nicks' first solo album Bella Donna.
- "Never Going Back Again" (Buckingham) – 1:56
- "Planets of the Universe" (Nicks) – 3:18
- Re-recorded later for Nicks' Trouble in Shangri-La.
- "Butter Cookie (Keep Me There)" (C. McVie) – 2:11
- Chord progression was used in "The Chain".
- "Gold Dust Woman" (Nicks) – 5:01
- "Doesn't Anything Last" (Buckingham) – 1:10
- "Mic the Screecher" (jam) (Fleetwood) – 0:59
- "For Duster (The Blues)" (jam) (Buckingham, J. McVie, C. McVie, Fleetwood) – 4:26
Personnel[]
- Stevie Nicks – vocals
- Lindsey Buckingham – guitar, vocals
- John McVie – bass
- Christine McVie – keyboards, vocals
- Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion
Production[]
- Fleetwood Mac, Ken Caillat, Richard Dashut – producers
- Ken Caillat, Richard Dashut – engineers
- Ken Caillat, Ken Perry, Charlie Watts – mastering
- Fleetwood Mac – concept
- Desmond Strobel – design
- Larry Vigon – hand lettering
Charts[]
Album[]
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | US Billboard 200 | 1 (31 weeks) |
| 1977 | US Cashbox | 1 (33 weeks) |
| 1977 | US Record World | 1 (35 weeks) |
| 1977 | UK | 1 (1 week) |
| 1977 | Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 1 (8 weeks) |
Single[]
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "Go Your Own Way" | Billboard Pop Singles | 10 |
| 1977 | "Go Your Own Way" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 45 |
| 1977 | "Dreams" | Billboard Pop Singles | 1 |
| 1977 | "Dreams" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 11 |
| 1977 | "Don't Stop" | Billboard Pop Singles | 3 |
| 1977 | "Don't Stop" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 22 |
| 1977 | "You Make Loving Fun" | Billboard Pop Singles | 9 |
| 1977 | "You Make Loving Fun" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 28 |
Awards[]
| Year | Organization | Category | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Grammy Award | Album of the Year | Fleetwood Mac, Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut |
Certifications[]
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – USA | Gold | February 15, 1977 |
| RIAA – USA | Platinum | March 9, 1977 |
| BPI – UK | Gold | May 23, 1977 |
| BPI – UK | Platinum | November 9, 1977 |
| RIAA – USA | 12X Platinum | October 22, 1984 |
| BPI – UK | Double Platinum | April 10, 1985 |
| BPI – UK | Triple Platinum | April 10, 1985 |
| BPI – UK | 4X Platinum | March 10, 1987 |
| BPI – UK | 5X Platinum | August 1, 1998 |
| BPI – UK | 6X Platinum | August 1, 1998 |
| BPI – UK | 7X Platinum | August 1, 1998 |
| RIAA – USA | 13X Platinum | March 1, 1989 |
| RIAA – USA | 14X Platinum | December 9, 1993 |
| RIAA – USA | 17X Platinum | January 31, 1995 |
| RIAA – USA | 18X Platinum | April 6, 1998 |
| BPI – UK | 8X Platinum | January 28, 2000 |
| BPI – UK | 9X Platinum | January 28, 2000 |
| BPI – UK | 10X Platinum | January 28, 2000 |
| RIAA – USA | 19X Platinum | March 24, 2003 |