12 essential Christine McVie songs

As far as rock passings go, few seem to have hit the world as hard as Christine McVie's untimely death last week at the age of 79. Not only because she seemed ageless, but her songs are absolutely timeless. How can something that still hits as hard as "You Make Loving Fun" be nearly 50 years old?

McVie had an unabating, quiet strength that made her the eye at the center of the volatile Fleetwood Mac storm. Her husband John McVie formed the band with Mick Fleetwood back in 1968, the same year the McVies got married. McVie herself joined Fleetwood Mac a few years later, just ahead of Bob Welch, who left in 1974. Then a young duo named Buckingham-Nicks joined in 1975 in time for the band's self-titled album that same year.

The classic five-member Fleetwood Mac lineup cemented their place in rock history with the Grammy-winning, mega-selling album Rumours in 1977. Only adding fuel to Rumours' musical fire was the fact that the relationship of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks but also the McVies' marriage were all breaking up at the time of recording. As always, McVie played out all her relationship musings in song form with her distinctive voice, underrated keyboard work, and poetic lyrics, leading to some of the greatest hits of the classic rock era.

She continued to create some of Fleetwood Mac's most indelible hits, as well as the creation of her own solo efforts. Here are just a dozen out of the multitude of songs Christine McVie contributed to the rock world, making her mark as a songbird for the ages.

"Over My Head" (<i>Fleetwood Mac</i>, 1975)

In the swirl of the eponymous Fleetwood Mac album, one understated ode to unrequited love particularly stood out. "Over My Head" fits in perfectly with the FM easy listening vibe of the era, as McVie laments being infatuated with someone whose mood turns "like a Ferris wheel / It changes all the time."

And it's that very uncertainty that keeps her hooked. We've all been there, which is probably what made us turn to "Over My Head" over and over again, grateful that there was someone out there who really understood. Even when besotted, though, McVie manages to convey that she's still the one in charge: "but it sure feels nice."

"Don't Stop" (<i>Rumours</i>, 1976)

In the fire and ice rock opera that was Fleetwood Mac, McVie seemed happy to leave the center stage to the eternal volatility of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks' relationship. Yet Buckingham called McVie his "soulmate" after her passing, and in fact the melding of their two voices really gave Fleetwood Mac its signature sound. The pair's iconic songwriting — and vocal — partnership may have peaked with this optimistic anthem.

We can only imagine the creation of Rumours as completely stressful, as Buckingham and Nicks were breaking up and the McVies were separating after eight years of marriage. Leave it to Christine to come up with a testament to hope in the midst of all the mayhem.

McVie and Buckingham deftly trade off the first two verses and combine for the third; naturally, the forward-leaning McVie leads her solo verse with "Why not think about the times to come / And not about all the things that you've done?" And her exuberant piano leads us out of the gloom, straight toward tomorrow.

"Songbird" (<i>Rumours</i>, 1976)

McVie famously said of "Songbird: "I woke up in the middle of the night and that song just came into my head… It was a very spiritual thing… I've never had that happen to me before or since." It makes sense that writing "Songbird" seemed divined upon McVie spiritually, as it wound up becoming her signature, pared back to just her wonderfully unique vocal and angelic piano, with only Buckingham's acoustic keeping time in the background. This particular lyrical couplet in "Songbird" seems like her mantra as well: "And I wish you all the love in the world / But most of all, I wish it from myself."

McVie said that even decades after first crafting "Songbird," she couldn't play it without crying. Just like we can't hear it without crying, especially now.

"Everywhere" (<i>Tango in the Night</i>, 1987)

McView kicks off this rare late-'80s hit for the band with keys that are hypnotically trippy, which set the stage for the magical track. As her new-love desire "to be with you everywhere" becomes all-encompassing, the song takes on an almost Talking Heads-ish flavor thanks to John McVie's formidable bassline, matched with McVie's ethereal, breathy vocals.

It's no wonder "Everywhere" was just picked up a few months ago to promote electric vehicles in a Chevy commercial, depicting a wide swath of young drivers celebrating their EVs by singing along with "Everywhere," a mere 35 years after the song's release. The popular ad led to the song reentering the Billboard charts in October 2022.

"Hold Me" (<i>Mirage</i>, 1982)

Fleetwood Mac was a bit in the weeds around the time of Mirage in 1982. Set back by the commercial failure of Rumours followup Tusk, the band still managed to embrace the MTV era thanks to the McVie-penned "Hold Me." It's another fun dual showcase for McVie and Buckingham, with an infectious hooky chorus that helped to make the song a hit. The hallucinatory video, somehow a cross between a desert archeological dig and a Magritte painting session, enabled the band to pave the way for its visual future.

"Little Lies" (<i>Tango in the Night</i>, 1987)

McVie is a little more world-weary in "Little Lies," which she co-wrote with her then-new husband, Eddy Quintela (they divorced in 2003). She explains, "Although I'm not making plans / I hope that you understand there's a reason why," preferring the "sweet little lies" over the less-appealing grounded reality. Stevie Nicks songs frankly always sounded like Stevie Nicks songs (it's why her own solo touring is currently going so well).

While McVie certainly had her own personal show-stoppers like "Songbird," many of her compositions contributed more to the group effort of the band, and "Little Lies" is a perfect example. While McVie takes center stage, Buckingham and Nicks' forceful backing vocals put the track over the top.

"Say You Love Me" (<i>Fleetwood Mac</i>, 1975)

McVie's fierce piano steers this track from the very start, proving that a woman could be forwardly sexy, and sensual, and do it all while in a rock band. The setting of the romantic stage here is downright seductive: "Cause when the lovin' starts and the lights go down / And there's not another living soul around / You woo me until the sun comes up / And you say that you love me."

The emphasis on the word "say" seems to imply that McVie knows her lover doesn't really mean it at the time, but is caught up in the enticing moment. And yet, Nicks' "falling falling falling" backing vocals suggest that he'll get there eventually. (How could he not?)

"Think About Me" (<i>Tusk</i>, 1979)

A rare Tusk hit single, McVie is at her most bombastic in "Think About Me." The jaunty tone of the song conveys McVie's full-on knowledge that her beloved's feelings for her are inevitable, even though they seem to be protesting: "I believe that you really want me / But it's not easy, just to give in." Still, she refuses to push: "once in a while / Think about me." Buckingham's vocals and taunting guitar kick in to help make the chorus indelible, for one of the pair's greatest dual efforts.

"You Make Loving Fun" (<i>Rumours</i>, 1977)

In the midst of the relationship chaos that created Rumours, Christine McVie had a post-breakup fling with the band's lighting director, leading to a song about a woman rediscovering her sexual self.

Her menacing synth that kicks it off steers this song from sweet to steamy; then Buckingham's guitar solo gets furiously passionate. Major props to her for penning, "And I don't have to tell you that you're the only one," a line brimming with shade for her ex, who then had to perform it onstage with her every night.

"Never Make Me Cry" (<i>Tusk</i>, 1979)

Within "Never Make Me Cry" lies a beautiful, near-a cappella McVie showcase that underlines her eternal, emotional strength. Most of McVie's love songs display a beyond-her-years wisdom about the frailty and fleeting nature of love, showing that despairing about its ending is just futile.

She also effectively conveyed the emotion that she would be just fine by herself (and she was, living out her final years in her English countryside estate), so that she celebrated love when it arrived and didn't have too many sleepless nights when it passed. Here, she even consoles her soon-to-be-ex: "Don't worry, baby, I'll be alright… I'll never make you cry," knowing that they have to move on… and she's just fine with that.

"Love Will Show Us How," (<i>Christine McVie</i>, 1984)

Despite her fondness for the single life, McVie still had a plethora of pro-romance moments; in fact, she's downright jubilant in this synth-poppy 1984 solo effort. Without any responsibility to other bandmates, in this Top 40 single, she's free to return to her persistently positive persona as she admits, "I don't know how love will survive," but "Still I believe / Love will show us how." And the hilarious video offers a fun satirical take on the then-fledgling world of MTV creation.

"The Chain" (<i>Rumours</i>, 1977)

Everyone has their favorite Fleetwood Mac song, but "The Chain" is pretty hard to top. It's also, coincidentally or not, the only song penned by all five members of the band's classic 1977 lineup, in the midst of Rumours. Really, it's practically a mosaic of a bunch of other compositions by the band members, but we have to give McVie credit here as the creator of the initial melody, which is based on an early song of her own.

As the members of Fleetwood Mac rock it out in what we can only imagine must have been a series of extremely cathartic recording sessions, we can't help but think that the "Chain" itself was actually the band, now forever joined together, with McVie as the vital link who ensured that Fleetwood Mac would be as great as it was.

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