Stevie Nicks has lived one of the most unique rock and roll lives in history, so you’d think making a biopic or writing a memoir would be a no-brainer. However, there are definitely a lot of things she would have to consider before taking on such a task.
Nicks opened up on these topics with Tim McGraw on a new episode of Apple Music Country’s “Beyond The Influence Radio.” She said of a potential biopic and/or book (as transcribed by Classic Rock magazine), “If I could get it into a book, it would be like ‘Twilight.’ It would be like four books. And then, if I thought that was great, then I might say, ‘Well, maybe we could do like a four-part thing’ I used to say, ‘Absolutely no,’ not writing a book, not making a movie and don’t ask me to make a musical. I hate them. Hate them. Hate them, except for ‘Wicked.’ ‘Wicked’ is my favorite.”
Besides a Stevie Nicks miniseries about her life sounding amazing, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame double-inductee did mention regarding touching on her substance abuse struggles, “I don’t have a problem sharing what’s happened to me in my life, because most of everything that’s happened to me, I think has been pretty marvellous…I would be careful with some things, because I don’t want people to make the same mistakes that I made, that lots of them weren’t my fault. So, I would tell them in a way where people got the message, but it wasn’t gothic and super sad, you know what I mean? That’s not something sacred I want to leave behind.”
Stevie Nicks: Her 50 Best Songs, Ranked
50. Stevie Nicks – âThe Dealerâ from â24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vaultâ (2014)
ShareOn â24 Karat Gold,â Stevie looked back, re-recording some of the more obscure songs from her career. âThe Dealerâ was a song that she wrote for Fleetwood Macâs âTusk,â but didnât get recorded. Most of the time, when artists re-record their older songs, it seems⌠unnecessary. But in this case, âThe Dealerâ had no official release, and Stevie was able to sing lyrics like âIt was my fault, my move, my game/If I'd known a little more, I'd run awayâ with a bit more gravitas more than three decades on. But you can hear an earlier version on the deluxe edition of Stevieâs âBella Donna.â
49. Stevie Nicks with Natalie Maines – âToo Far From Texasâ from âTrouble In Shangri-La (2001)
ShareNaatalie Mainesâ band the Dixie Chicks had a huge hit with their cover of Stevieâs Fleetwood Mac classic âLandslide,â and here, she returns the favor on this heartbreaking duet about a woman from Texas who is in love with someone in London who sheâs having an affair with. As they sing, âThere's a house there, somebody's waiting/Somebody else's arms will wrap around him/And in that moment, what will he think then/When I can't touch him.â
48. Buckingham/Nicks – âCrying In The Nightâ from âBuckingham/Nicksâ (1973)
ShareBefore joining Fleetwood Mac, Stevie and Lindsey Buckingham had their own duo, Buckingham/Nicks, who released one album. (To learn how they joined the Mac, check out Dave Grohlâs âSound Cityâ documentary.) This album has been out of print for decades, but you can find it on YouTube (among other places). âCrying In The Night,â written and sung by Nicks, opened the album. While itâs not as good as the songs she contributed to âFleetwood Macâ or âRumours,â it would have fit in well on âMirage.â
47. Stevie Nicks – âThink About Itâ from âBella Donnaâ (1981)
ShareA song that Stevie co-wrote with E Street Band pianist Roy Bittan for her debut album, itâs a song about someone who gets into a relationship that they know will end in tears. âAnd the heart says âdanger,ââ she sings, adding. âAnd the heart says âwhatever.ââ
46. Stevie Nicks – âWild Heartâ from âThe Wild Heartâ (1983)
ShareIn the press materials for the album (thank you, internet!) Stevie said of this song: ââWild Heartâ is wild and it's exactly what I wanted it to be: the Wild Heart is all the darkest places of your mind; it's a real intense song. I played it for Tom Petty and he said, 'This is an epic', and that's just what it is, the real story of what we all go through, everybody... of how wild our hearts really are, and we can't help it; because this is just the way it is." Petty is a figure who looms large in Stevieâs life, and heâll pop up many more times in this list.
45. Buckingham/Nicks – âLong Distance Winnerâ from âBuckingham/Nicksâ (1973)
ShareStevie and Lindsey Buckingham were a couple when they recorded âBuckingham/Nicks,â and this song seems like something Stevie might have written about him: âââYou burn brightly in spite of yourself/I bring the water down to you/But you're too hot to touch/You're too hot to touch.â Besides (probably) inspiring the song, Buckingham laid down a great guitar solo here.
44.Fleetwood Mac – âGoodbye Babyâ from âSay You Willâ (2003)
ShareThe last song from what will likely be the last Fleetwood Mac album, 2003âs âSay You Will.â (They released the four-track digital release âExtended Playâ in 2013, but another album from the Mac seems increasingly unlikely.) Was Stevie singing about Lindsey? Fleetwood Mac? Her die-hard fans? Sheâs done a lot of touring and recording in the years since, but this song, the last of 18 tracks on âSay You Will,â has been sadly overlooked.
43. Fleetwood Mac – âThe Second Timeâ from âBehind The Maskâ (1990)
ShareâBehind The Maskâ is an album that doesnât get spoken about much⌠and with good reason. But this Nicks ballad, written by Stevie with then-Fleetwood Mac guitarist/singer Rick Vito, is one of her best. But being the closing track on a forgettable album didnât help it to enter the mainstream, which is a shame.
42. Stevie Nicks – âSleeping Angelâ from the âFast Times At Ridgemont Highâ soundtrack (1982)
ShareWith one solo album to her name, Stevie was invited to contribute to the the soundtrack of the now-legendary coming-of-age film. The chorus of this ballad is so catchy, it would be a sure-fire hit for a mainstream country act if one covered it today.
41. Fleetwood Mac – âSweet Girl (live)â from âThe Danceâ (1997)
ShareâThe Danceâ was mostly about celebrating Fleetwood Macâs hits, but they also threw in some new and obscure songs. Stevieâs âSilver Springsâ (a âRumoursâ-era B-side) was the albumâs big hit -- some might have mistaken it for being new -- but this was her new song. It showed that after a few sketchy solo albums, she still had something to say.
40. Fleetwood Mac – âGypsyâ from âMirageâ (1982)
ShareAfter the adventurous and ambitious âTusk,â Fleetwood Macâs pendulum swung hard in the other direction; âMirageâ was essentially an album aimed squarely at adult contemporary. Itâs not a great album, but âGypsyâ is the definite highlight.
39. Fleetwood Mac – âI Donât Want To Knowâ from âRumoursâ (1977)
ShareA song that Nicks wrote for the âBuckingham/Nicksâ album that didnât make the cut, it had a strange road to âRumours.â When the band realized that âSilver Springsâ wouldnât fit on the album, they decided to replace it with this song. They actually recorded it without Nicksâ knowledge, with Buckingham on lead vocals. They later told Nicks and she added her vocals.
38. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks – âNeedles and Pins (live)â from âPack Up The Plantation: Live!â (1985)
ShareAn early rock and roll song written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono and originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon (but popularized by the Searchers). It was one of a handful of songs on Pettyâs live album that featured Nicks. Nicks at one point asked Petty to join the Heartbreakers, and when you hear the two sing together, you can only wonder how great that would have been.
37. Stevie Nicks – âRock and Roll (live)â from âCrystal Visions⌠âThe Very Best of Stevie Nicksâ (2007)
ShareStevie has an album called âRock A Little,â but sometimes she rocks *a lot* as she does here on this roof raising Led Zeppelin cover.
36. Charles Kelley with Stevie Nicks – âSouthern Accentsâ from âThe Driverâ (2016)
ShareLady Antebellumâs Charles Kelley tackled Tom Pettyâs classic ballad on his debut solo effort. Itâs good: but when Stevie comes in on with harmony vocals at about 1:40 it definitely turns things up a notch.
35. Stevie Nicks – âSilent Nightâ form âA Very Special Christmasâ (1987)
ShareThis Christmas classic was composed in 1818, so by 1987, you might have thought that no one could bring anything new to the album. But Stevieâs version is probably one of the most beautiful that youâve ever heard (and maybe *the* most beautiful).
34. Stevie Nicks with Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins and Rami Jaffee – âYou Canât Fix Thisâ from the âSound City – Real to Reelâ soundtrack (2013)
ShareAs we were saying, sometimes Stevie rocks *a lot.* Dave Grohlâs âSound Cityâ doc tells a number of great stories -- Fleetwood Macâs and Rick Springfieldâs are some of the most interesting. And the soundtrack features jams by Grohl, the artists who he interviewed, and the guys from the Foo Fighters, and most of them were interesting and cool jams. But none packed the emotional punch of this one: Stevie wrote it about her godson, who overdosed on drugs at age 18 at a party. Itâs one of her most moving performances.
33. Stevie Nicks with Bruce Hornsby – âTwo Kinds Of Loveâ from âThe Other Side Of The Mirrorâ (1989)
ShareThe highlight of Nicksâ âThe Other Side Of The Mirrorâ; itâs one of her many great duets. Bruce Hornsbyâs smooth voice makes an interesting counter to Nicksâ grittier singing. This song was clearly being aimed at the adult contemporary charts: Hornsby was a mainstay there, and so was Kenny G, who adds a quick, slick sax solo.
32. Stevie Nicks – âIn Your Dreamsâ from âIn Your Dreamsâ (2011)
ShareCo-written with producer Dave Stewart (formerly of the Eurythmics), itâs one of her more rocking songs from this millennium.
31. Stevie Nicks – âHas Anyone Ever Written Anything For Youâ from âRock A Littleâ (1985)
ShareCo-written by Stevie and Keith Olson (who produced âFleetwood Macâ), itâs a moving ballad about the death of Joe Walshâs daughter Emma Kristen. Itâs hard to imagine a lovelier tribute.
30. Stevie Nicks – âFree Fallinââ from the âParty Of Fiveâ soundtrack (1996)
Share29. Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – âI Will Run To Youâ from âThe Wild Heartâ (1983)
ShareAfter the massive success of Nicks and Petty and the Heartbreakersâ collaboration âStop Dragginâ My Heart Aroundâ on Stevieâs solo debut, they clearly tried to reproduce that magic on her second effort. This song didnât quite match that classic, but it is a criminally underrated song in both artistsâ catalogs.
28. Stevie Nicks – âThat Made Me Strongerâ from âTrouble In Shangri-Laâ (2001)
ShareWhen Nicks started working on her first album since 1994âs forgettable âStreet Angel,â she asked Tom Petty to write a song for her. As she sings, âWell, the conversation rings in my head/Well, you know me better than I know myself/Will you write this for me?/He says, âNo, you write your songs yourselfâ/That made me stronger, it made me hold on to me.â One can imagine that the song has taken on a lot more weight to Stevie in the years since Petty passed.
27. Buckingham/Nicks – âFrozen Loveâ from âBuckingham/Nicksâ (1973)
ShareA rare Stevie Nicks/Lindsey Buckingham duet. Thereâs a bit of foreshadowing to the end of their relationship here. As Stevie sings, âLife gave me you; yeah, the change was made/And there's no beginning over/You are not happy, but what is love?/Hate gave you me for a loverâŚâ Ouch!
26. Stevie Nicks – âI Canât Waitâ from âRock A Littleâ (1985)
ShareSome of Nicksâ songs could have fit on Fleetwood Macâs albums, but not âI Canât Wait,â which was one of her most upbeat top 40 hits. It even was a top 30 dance hit.
25. Fleetwood Mac – âSaraâ from âTuskâ (1979)
ShareBy âTusk,â Lindsey Buckingham was clearly the dominant creative voice in Fleetwood Mac, and he seemed to want to get as far away from âRumoursâ as possible. Nicksâ classic âSara,â though, harkened back to that album, both sonically and thematically. The song was about Mick Fleetwood, with whom she had a romantic relationship, having an affair with Nicksâ best friend, Sara. But as Nicks said in an interview, âIt's really not completely about her. It's about me, about her, about Mick, about Fleetwood Mac. It's about all of us at that point. There's little bits about each one of us in that song and when it had all the other verses it really covered a vast bunch of people. Sara was the kind of song you could fall in love with, because I fell in love with it.â
24. Stevie Nicks – âBella Donnaâ from âBella Donnaâ (1981)
ShareThe title track, and opening song, from Nicksâ solo debut had to be great. It was, and it also introduced a signature of her solo records: backing singers Lori Perry and Sharon Celani. The lyrics allude to her outfit on the album cover. As she told Rolling Stone, âThe white outfit I'm wearing is the exact opposite of my black outfit on âRumours.â Over that it says, 'Come in from the darkness...' [which is] the dark side of anyone, the side that isn't optimistic, that isn't strong. I've got to become stronger because I am very sensitive, and everything really touches me.â
23. Stevie Nicks – âItâs Only Loveâ from âTrouble In Shangri-Laâ (2001)
ShareWritten for Stevie by uber-fan Sheryl Crow, who also co-produced the song, and played guitar and sang backing vocals. As Nicks said at the time, âWhat she wrote the song about [was] all my different relationships and the men that I was with and the men that Iâm still good friends with and really care about. Theyâre all still out there and around me, and she finds that pretty amazing. I think thatâs what inspired her to write the song â you know, âsometimes lonely is not only a face that I have known.â And she sees my life: I am not married, I donât have children, and I made that choice. I knew if I had children I would have to take care of them and I couldnât hand them over to a bunch of nannies.â
22. Stevie Nicks – âI Need To Know (live)â – bonus track from âBella Donnaâ reissue (1981)
ShareNicks said at the beginning of her career that she wanted to be âthe female Tom Petty.â She actually became âthe only Stevie Nicksâ -- clearly Pettyâs songwriting and friendship were both very influential to her. Sheâs been covering âI Need To Knowâ for much of her solo career.
21. Kenny Loggins with Stevie Nicks – âWhenever I Call You âFriendââ from âNightwatchâ (1978)
ShareCould Stevie Nicks have a hit outside of Fleetwood Mac? Could Kenny Loggins have a hit outside of Loggins & Messina? This song answered both of those questions with a resounding "yes."
20. Stevie Nicks – âIf Anyone Fallsâ from âThe Wild Heartâ (1983)
ShareThe song was inspired by Nicksâ longtime guitarist, Waddy Watchel. As she said in the liner notes to the âTimespaceâ box set, âThere was a time when I was falling out of one love and into another, when nothing else seemed to matter except this person. I adored him. He was everything I wanted to be; a real rock and roller and a lover of the Stones, small and frail sometimes, but in many ways the strongest person I had ever known. His word was law. I became him. He became me, and no one dared intrude upon this union.â
19. Stevie Nicks – âAfter The Glitter Fadesâ from âBella Donnaâ (1981)
ShareA song that Nicks wrote about a decade earlier in 1972. It definitely feels more âsoloâ than âFleetwood Mac.â Nicks said that she sent it to Dolly Parton hoping that sheâd record it, but she doesnât believe that it ever got to her. Itâs not too late - Dollyâs glitter hasnât faded, and sheâd probably do a great version.
18. Stevie Nicks – âPlanets Of The Universeâ from âTrouble In Shangri-Laâ (2001)
ShareStevie wrote the song in 1976 about the end of her relationship with Lindsey Buckingham while Fleetwood Mac was recording âRumours.â Fleetwood Mac demoed the song, but decided not to use it, and Stevie held onto it until 2001. In 2004, the Mac demo was finally released as part of the deluxe âRumoursâ reissue.
17. Stevie Nicks with Don Henley – âLeather and Laceâ from âBella Donnaâ (1981)
ShareCountry legend Waylon Jennings requested that Nicks write a song for him, and he had the title: âLeather and Lace.â Jennings used the title for his duets album with his wife, Jessi Colter, but didnât record the song. Nicks ended up doing it as a duet with former/future Eagles singer Henley.
16. Stevie Nicks with Sheryl Crow – âIf You Ever Did Believeâ from the âPractical Magicâ soundtrack (1998)
ShareA song that Stevie wrote for Louise Goffin (the daughter of Carole King and Gerry Goffin) for her 1981 album, she revisited it with Sheryl Crow for a film soundtrack. This song should have been a way bigger hit. Stevie and Sheryl sing so well together, itâs a shame that they havenât done more together.
15. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks – âInsiderâ from âHard Promisesâ (1981)
SharePetty was asked to write a song for Stevieâs solo debut, and he came up with âInsiderâ... and then decided that he wanted to keep it. He did come through for Stevie though: the song he ended up giving her was âStop Dragginâ My Heart Around.â
14. Stevie Nicks – âCandlebrightâ from âTrouble In Shangri-Laâ (2001)
ShareItâs no surprise that after the success of Fleetwood Macâs âSilver Springsâ from âThe Dance,â that Nicks would go back to other unused songs that she wrote in the â70s. âCandlebrightâ was one of them: in fact, she wrote that when she was still one half of Buckingham/Nicks. Itâs another collaboration with Sheryl Crow, who co-produced the song; she also played guitar and contributed backing vocals.
13. Stevie Nicks – âBlue Lampâ from the âHeavy Metalâ soundtrack (1981)
ShareShe literally wrote the song about a blue lamp, a gift from her mother that she received around the time she first joined Fleetwood Mac. It was also the first song she recorded on her own during the âBella Donnaâ sessions. It didnât make the album, but it was released on the soundtrack to the animated sci-fi film âHeavy Metal.â
12. Stevie Nicks – âEvery Dayâ from âTrouble In Shangri-Laâ (2001)
ShareWritten for Stevie by her producer John Shanks with Damon Johnson (formerly the frontman of rock band Brother Cane; he went on to join Alice Cooper, and later Black Star Riders). How good is the song? So good that youâd be excused for thinking that Stevie wrote it herself.
11. Fleetwood Mac – âSisters Of The Moon (live)â from âMirage (Deluxe Edition)â (recorded in 1982, released in 2016)
ShareIt was the fourth single from âTusk,â but somehow, it never became a hit. But the simmering live version was much longer and much better and makes the price of the deluxe version of âMirageâ worth it.
10. Stevie Nicks – âStand Backâ from âThe Wild Heartâ (1983)
ShareThe day Nicks married Kim Anderson (January 29, 1983), the couple was driving when Prince's "Little Red Corvette" came on the radio. Nicks started humming the melody, and "Stand Back" was born. She recorded the demo that night, and later told Prince the story, and he came by the studio to contribute keyboards. They agreed to split the publishing 50/50.
9. Fleetwood Mac – âStormsâ from âTuskâ (1979)
ShareOne of Stevieâs saddest ballads. This one is about the end of her relationship with Mick Fleetwood. As she said âThat relationship destroyed Mickâs marriage to Jenny, who was the sweetest person in the world. So did we really think that we were going to come out of it unscathed? So then what happened to me, my best friend falling in love with him and moving into his house and neither of them telling me?. Payback is a bitch. Bad karma all around. Hereâs that song in a nutshell: Donât break up other peopleâs marriages. It will never work and will haunt you for the rest of your miserable days.â
8. Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – âStop Dragginâ My Heart Aroundâ from âBella Donnaâ (1981)
ShareNicks and Pettyâs best collaboration, hands down, and one of the best songs in both of their catalogs.
7. Fleetwood Mac – âSilver Springs (live)â from âThe Danceâ (1997)
ShareStevie wrote it for âRumoursâ; it was inspired by the end of her relationship with Lindsey Buckingham. It didnât make the album, but was used as a B-side to âGo Your Own Way.â Decades later, it was resurrected for Fleetwood Macâs reunion concert, âThe Dance,â and was a highlight of the show (the video of that performance is incredible and you can still see the tension between the ex-couple). That version became the bandâs first top 40 hit in about a decade and probably their last big hit. Fun fact: Stevie gave her mom the publishing from that song as a gift, which didnât amount to much money, until âThe Danceâ... exactly 20 years after it was released as a B-side.
6. Stevie Nicks – âSorcererâ from âTrouble In âShangri-Laâ (2001)
ShareAnother bit of magic that was nearly lost to the sands of time. Written during the Buckingham/Nicks era, it almost made Fleetwood Mac albums a few times. It was first released when Marilyn Martin recorded it (you might remember her from her duet with Phil Collins, âSeparate Livesâ). That version, featuring backing vocals from Stevie, landed on the 1984 soundtrack to âStreets Of Fire.â Stevieâs version was co-produced by Sheryl Crow, who sings and plays guitar on the song.
5. Fleetwood Mac – âDreamsâ from âRumoursâ (1977)
ShareA number one hit on the pop charts. The song is the definition of timeless. It became a hit again in 2020 thanks to a skateboarderâs TikTok video. Nicks claims to have written it in about ten minutes⌠and that her bandmates werenât thrilled about it at first. Theyâve surely changed their minds about it by now.
4. Fleetwood Mac – âLandslideâ from âFleetwood Macâ (1975)
ShareAnother song written during the Buckingham/Nicks era, and it essentially a Buckingham/Nicks song: none of the other band members appear on the song. Like âDreams,â itâs another song that continuously turns new fans onto Nicks and the Mac. In the mid-â90s when Fleetwood Mac wasnât viewed as a particularly hip influence, Billy Corgan recorded a solo version at the peak of the Smashing Pumpkinsâ fame (itâs on their 1994 rarities compilation âPisces Iscariotâ). It was a #3 hit on alternative rock radio. In 2002, the Dixie Chicks recorded it for their âHomeâ album, where hit #13 on the pop charts and #2 on the country charts.
3. Stevie Nicks – âEdge Of Seventeenâ from âBella Donnaâ (1981)
ShareInspired by Tom Pettyâs then-wife, Jane, telling Stevie that they had known each other since âthe age of seventeen.â But her southern accent led Stevie to mistake it for âedge of seventeen.â Once she started writing it, she was influenced by the murder of John Lennon and the death of her uncle. But Waddy Watchelâs distinctive guitar part was influenced by Andy Summersâ guitar on the Policeâs âBring On The Night.â Itâs another song that never goes away for too long: both Destinyâs Child (âBootyliciousâ) and Miley Cyrus (âEdge Of Midnigghâ) have borrowed heavily from the song.
2. Fleetwood Mac – âRhiannonâ from âFleetwood Macâ (1975)
ShareLike âStorms,â the song was way more intense live. But something about the studio version was just perfect. This is one of the âStevie-estâ songs: as she often explained when introducing it in concert, itâs about a âWelsh Witch.â She discovered the âRhiannonâ character through a novel called âTriadâ by Mary Bartlet Leade. But her narrative in four minutes, ten seconds, could be adapted into its own novel.
1. Fleetwood Mac – âGold Dust Womanâ from âRumoursâ (1977)
ShareIn an interview with Courtney Love, Nicks noted that the song was about cocaine. âEverybody was doing a little bit--you know, we never bought it or anything, it was just around...And I really imagined that it could overtake everything, never thinking a million years that it would overtake me. I must have met a couple of people that I thought did too much coke and⌠I made it into a whole story.â Love recorded a cover of the song with her band, Hole, in 1996 and she was in the audience at the show recorded for Fleetwood Macâs âThe Dance,â giving the band a credible stamp of approval to her much younger audience. All of that aside, even if this wasnât Stevieâs, or Fleetwood Macâs, biggest hit, itâs still her finest moment.