Fifty-one years ago today, on July 11, 1975, Fleetwood Mac released the self-titled album that forever changed the band’s history.
Often referred to by fans as “The White Album,” it marked the debut of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicksas members of Fleetwood Mac, introduced classics like “Rhiannon,” “Landslide,” “Say You Love Me” and “Over My Head,” and laid the foundation for the blockbuster success of Rumours two years later.
The album’s success was anything but immediate. Although it eventually spent 37 weeks in the Billboard Top 10 and climbed to No. 1 more than a year after its release, Fleetwood Mac first had to convince audiences that its dramatically revamped lineup was something special. By the time its chart run was over, the album had sold millions of copies and launched one of rock’s most celebrated eras.
In a 2013 interview with MOJO, Nicks recalled how quickly life changed after the album’s success.
“1975’s platinum-selling Fleetwood Mac album had transformed all their lives,” the magazine wrote, prompting Nicks to reflect, “Now Lindsey and I had money. We were rich.”
The album also helped strengthen Buckingham and Nicks’ relationship at a pivotal moment.
“Lindsey and I were a little bit on the rocks when we joined,” Nicks said. “But making the album pulled us together. We healed the wounds in our relationship, because things were going way too well to consider a break-up.”
Mick Fleetwood believed Buckingham and Nicks brought exactly what the band needed after years of lineup changes.
“They brought with them a batch of their own songs. I didn’t want someone that was going to mimic what we’d done before,” said Fleetwood. “That would have been hokey. Lindsey and Stevie came to us fully formed. It worked right from the start. Chris, Lindsey and Stevie’s voices created these wonderful harmonies. We’d started to explore harmonies with Bob Welch. But we were still unknowing. Lindsey had so much energy. We needed someone with a vision.”
Decades later, Buckingham made a surprising assessment of the record that launched Fleetwood Mac’s classic lineup.
“I actually think Fleetwood Mac is a better-recorded album than Rumours,” he told MOJO. “But we always knew Rumours was good, and expected a certain outcome.”
Christine McVie also held the 1975 album in especially high regard. Asked to rank Fleetwood Mac’s catalog, she placed Rumours first but said “the white Fleetwood Mac album” ranked second, ahead of every other record the band released.
While Rumours remains one of the biggest-selling albums in music history, Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled release remains the record that made it all possible. More than five decades after introducing Buckingham and Nicks to the band, “The White Album” continues to stand as one of classic rock’s defining turning points.
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