For even the greatest rock and pop stars, striking out from the band that made their name can be a major challenge — just witness Mick Jagger's solo career.
But one musical legend who had no trouble asserting her independence is Stevie Nicks. When she went solo in earnest 40 years ago, the woman who had been integral to Fleetwood Mac's transformation into the world's biggest band carved out an identity as a star in her own right. She didn't just make a chart-topping album, Bella Donna, but came up with a stunning anthem that only seems to grow more popular with age.
Edge of Seventeen wasn't the first or highest-charting single from Nicks' debut record Bella Donna. But more than any other Stevie Nicks solo moment, Edge of Seventeen has entranced subsequent generations and helped to define the singer's standing as a rock icon: not just as member of Fleetwood Mac, but as an artist in her own right. It's a song that operates on several levels — at once an instant hit of rock drama and a heady meditation on death — and seems to yield something new every time you play it.
Its distinctive 16th-note guitar riff — played by Waddy Wachtel, a legendary session musician who also worked with Cher and The Rolling Stones — remains electrifying every time you hear it. Is it disco? Is it rock? Does it even matter? Nicks endorsed the sample by making an elegant appearance in the music video. Nearly two decades later, Miley Cyrus trailed her album Plastic Hearts with Midnight Sky, a shimmering pop-rock stomper that subtly interpolated Edge of Seventeen.
Nicks later gave Cyrus another blessing by singing on Edge of Midnight, a mashup of Midnight Sky and Edge of Seventeen that made Cyrus' nod to the Nicks song more obvious. Edge of Seventeen has also been covered by artists as varied as actress-turned-singer Lindsay Lohan, who recorded it for her album A Little More Personal Raw , and cult dark-pop band Muna, who performed it while supporting Harry Styles on tour in Styles, incidentally, is another contemporary artist who hails Nicks as a major influence.
When he inducted her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in , he said appreciatively: "Her songs made you ache, feel on top of the world, make you want to dance, and usually all three at the same time. She's responsible for more running mascara, including my own, than all the bad dates in history combined. Edge of Seventeen is also deeply revered within Nicks' devoted fanbase.
Night of 1, Stevies, an annual drag event in New York celebrating the singer's impact, has chosen the song for its finale every year since it launched 30 years ago. According to Valenti, the song deserves to take pride of place at every Night of 1, Stevies because "it contains so much of the Stevie Nicks lexicon — from the 'white-winged dove' to the 'nightbird' — over that driving, twirl-launching beat".
To say that Nicks has established her own songwriting lexicon is no exaggeration. Whether performing solo or with Fleetwood Mac, her music is sprinkled with witchy imagery from "rooms on fire" to "sisters of the moon" and "silver springs" that only she could come up with.
When she and then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac in , two years after releasing a flop album called Buckingham Nicks that has since become a cult favourite, their songs instantly helped to revive the blues band's commercial fortunes. Search term. Billboard Pro Subscribe Sign In. Top Artists. Top Charts. Hot Songs. Billboard Top Videos. Top Articles. By Stephen Daw. Copied to clipboard. Click to copy. When I was wearing my beautiful white Morgane Le Fay dress and my black velvet jacket, that dress just took off.
I noticed how popular that dress was from the impersonators. Laughs I was laughing, and Morgane Le Fay was just tickled pink. Very, very disrespectful. I love that. A lot of the songs they love are songs that I wrote when I was really young.
I may sing it now at 62, but I was 27 when I wrote that song. They love a song that was written by a year-old girl. I just go to the piano — inspired by something that happens to me — with a cup of tea, incense burning and the fire in the fireplace. The first and third verse were written about me and Lindsey Buckingham, of Fleetwood Mac in ; the second verse and the chorus were written about Bella and Edward.
It really is an amazing blend — an ancient story blending Lindsey, Stevie, Bella and Edward, and everything in between. No way. You treadmill to your own music? And I have never gotten tired of either of those songs.
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