Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks’ debut album, Buckingham Nicks, is a relic of 1970s Laurel Canyon folk-rock that hinted at superstardom to come.
In 2012, approaching the 40th anniversary of their debut as a duo, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham considered re-releasing the long-vaulted record. In a Q&A with Rolling Stone, conducted separately with each musician, Buckingham and Nicks explained their different plans for the self-titled album. When the interviewer informed each of them of their conflicting visions, Buckingham replied, “It’s almost like the old days, where we were having conversations through songs. Now we’re talking through you.”
In 2025, 52 years after its initial release on bootlegs and the limited vinyl prints of 1973, Buckingham Nicks was reissued. Its creators, who joined the British band Fleetwood Mac in 1974, are no strangers to good timing. Although it underperformed commercially, Buckingham Nicks paved the way for the titular pair to achieve stardom. When producer Keith Olsen showed the album to Mick Fleetwood to demonstrate the capabilities of his recording studio, Fleetwood took away a different lesson from that listening session. Soon afterwards, at a dinner with Fleetwood, John, and Christine McVie, Buckingham and Nicks joined the band.
In the years leading up to this union, Fleetwood Mac experienced moderate success and personal tumult. When sour romantic entanglements led the band to break up temporarily, their manager put a replacement group on the road under the same name, resulting in years of litigation from the actual band. Additionally, in 1973, the departure of frontman Bob Welch prompted Mick Fleetwood to search for a replacement.
Meanwhile, Nicks and Buckingham met at a high school youth group, and Nicks joined his band. After dumping the unfortunate bandmate Fritz, the two became a couple and landed a record deal at Polydor, where they produced Buckingham Nicks. Of those years, Nicks said, “We were absolutely married. In every way but for the ring.”
Although emblematic of its era, Buckingham Nicks foretold the future. The album showcases the type of songwriting the duo would bring to Fleetwood Mac: caricature and spectacle that enlivened rock ballads. Acoustic tracks “Stephanie” and “Without a Leg to Stand On” emulate the Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters of the early 1970s, such as Crosby, Stills, and Nash and James Taylor. However, the electric guitar solo of the closing track, “Frozen Love”, displays the versatility that allowed Buckingham and Nicks to blend with a British blues group.
“Long Distance Winner” predicted the arc of the relationship of its writers: “Love their lifestyle if you feel it / Don’t try to change them, you never will.” In a 1977 interview with Rolling Stone, Nicks explained the reason for the breakdown of her romantic relationship with Buckingham: “Try working with your secretary in a raucous office and then come home with her at night.” Because they remained in the group, but not a personal union, Nicks and Buckingham married each other’s lifestyles as predicted in the song: a necessary sacrifice for success.
As of 2025, Buckingham and Nicks both tour as solo artists, topping off 50-year careers. Certainly, the phrase “long distance” could apply, but could “winner?” As creative individuals, they strive to be as successful as possible. However, their personal history is marked by numerous bruises. From the beginning of their relationship, Buckingham and Nicks faced extraordinary demands. Their careers relied on a sense of individual self-preservation more than most relationships would because each person had to share that sense of self with an audience as well as each other.
In interviews, Nicks often dismisses Buckingham’s allegation that “shackin’ up is all you wanna do”, a lyric written about her in the song “Go Your Own Way”, from 1977’s Rumors. Nicks’ own side of the story, “Silver Springs”, was left off Rumors’ original track list because several other ballads on the record, such as “Gold Dust Woman” and “Oh, Daddy”, served similar purposes.
Initially released as a B-side on “Go Your Own Way”, “Silver Springs” became popular in the 2020s when a clip of a 1997 performance of the song went viral on TikTok. In particular, users shared footage of Nicks staring down Buckingham as she sings, “You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you.”
Art is drawn from life, and if that art lasts long enough, it can become a platform for more life to occur. On their debut album Buckingham Nicks, the pair were incarnations of their most authentic selves. Posing nude on the cover, they stare at the camera blankly and with innocence, like deer in headlights, possessing no idea of the tumult that lay ahead.
The Nicks-penned song “Crystal”, sung by Buckingham on their self-titled album, also appeared on 1974’s Fleetwood Mac. Its transformation on the later album demonstrated the strength of the union between the existing band and the two young California rockers: Fleetwood Mac imbued the pair’s acoustic, confessional compositions with bluesy charm and sturdy production.
However, the rawness of the version of “Crystal” that appears on Buckingham Nicks better communicates the song’s message of innocence. Buckingham says, “How the faces of love have changed, turning the pages/ Oh, but you, you remain ageless.” Sung by one partner and written by another, the song captures their mutual devotion.
In 2025, to promote the re-issue of Buckingham Nicks, the pair each posted lyrics from “Frozen Love” on their Instagram accounts. Nicks posted, “And if you go forward,” followed by Buckingham’s, “I’ll meet you there.” The posts stirred rumors of a reunion, and, while the re-issue is a long-awaited treasure, coordinated Instagram captions are the closest audiences will come to a Buckingham-Nicks interaction in 2025. Modern fame can be effectively managed by marketing professionals working behind the scenes. “Can you imagine if we’d done Rumors in today’s media climate?” Buckingham remarked in 2012.
After Rumors, Fleetwood Mac released Tusk, an avant-garde rock album that veered away from the universally appealing hooks of its predecessors. Allegedly, Buckingham drove the new creative direction, feeling stifled by the variety of influences that arose in a five-person band. Life is full of compromises between individuality and collectiveness, and between creativity and practicality. On their 1973 debut, Buckingham and Nicks proved they had the heart to succeed in the music industry, even if they didn’t make it as a couple.
On “Crystal”, Nicks asked, “Do you always trust your first, initial feeling?” Whether or not they turn out to be right, there is something to be said for trusting the instincts you have when you are young and the innocence that enables them. No one can go through life with their naivete intact. Instead, try to maintain your dignity. “You could not say that I did not give [Lindsey] more than 300 million chances,” Nicks said after she stopped speaking to him in 2024.
Just as the public adores 50-year-old pop songs, two people can go through life without losing their feelings for each other, regardless of how their relationship turns out. By telling the story of that relationship, you become a winner. The distance traveled to make it happen does not matter.