Too much Fleetwood Mac? Don’t be ridiculous.

Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks met in high school in California in 1966. They sang together a couple of times and that’s about it since Stevie was a senior and heading out the door. After graduation, the two moved in different directions, but both stuck with music and, more importantly, they stayed in touch.

In 1968, Lindsey asked Stevie to join him in a band called Fritz, where they honed their chops for a few years opening concerts for rock royalty, but alas, never entered the palace themselves. By the time that band broke up, Buckingham Nicks were a couple.

From here, they’d go it alone.

Thus we enter the lean years, working odd jobs (primarily Stevie) and working on the guitar playing (primarily Lindsey), but eventually their demo attracted management, as well as the attention of producer Keith Olsen, whose sparse credits at this point included The Millennium (with Curt Boettcher) and a Joe Walsh-less James Gang. Their new entertainment business friends wrangled a deal with Polydor Records, the duo subsequently recorded their debut album with Olsen, and from there they went on to become one of the biggest acts in the world.

Okay, maybe we glossed over a few of the low points.

The album sold next to nothing, their management team dropped them, their record label dropped them, and Buckingham Nicks found themselves back at square one, working at Bob’s Big Boy or housekeeping to make ends meet. Luckily, a 6’5″ tall English dude had recently moved to Los Angeles, and he was about to change their fortunes for the better.

While driving around Laurel Canyon one sunny day, Mick Fleetwood ran into an acquaintance who told him he should check out a new studio called Sound City. (It should have been called Serendipity.) Mick just so happened to need a studio at this time so he immediately drove over and met the house sound engineer, one Keith Olsen. To demonstrate the recording characteristics of the studio, Olsen cued up a track from the Buckingham Nicks album. Fleetwood loved the guitar playing and harmonies and asked to hear more. A few weeks later, when Fleetwood Mac’s current guitarist left the band, Mick knew exactly who he wanted.

And now, the rest is history.

Fleetwood Mac’s sound changed drastically from 1974 to 1975. Let’s hear exactly what Buckingham Nicks brought to the table. Here’s a track from their lone album:

Sounds an awful lot like mid- to late-70’s Fleetwood Mac, only it’s 1973, and without the Fleetwood or the Macs. Buckingham, in particular, already had this sound mapped out in his head. And yes, what you see on the video was the actual album cover, which may be why the album has never been reissued in any format (but you can find the tracks on YouTube).

So don’t stop thinkin’ about tomorrow. . . it’ll be better than before. Just ask Buckingham Nicks.