Robert Plant Shares His Views on Fleetwood Mac: “What’s her name?—Stevie”
Photo by JB Quentin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fleetwood Mac’s long history is often split into two eras by fans and musicians alike. Many listeners who favor the band’s early blues years do not always support the music released after Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined in the 1970s. Robert Plant, however, never shared that view. The Led Zeppelin singer openly admired the later lineup and showed special interest in Nicks during that period.
Plant’s respect for Fleetwood Mac’s evolving sound stood out because of his position in rock music at the time. Zeppelin was at its peak, and Plant’s opinions carried weight. His interest in Nicks was not casual admiration. He saw something in her voice and presence that he felt could fit within his own band’s world.
Robert Plant’s 1977 Comments
In a 1977 interview with Interview magazine, Plant was asked which artists and bands he enjoyed listening to. While naming several acts, he paused when discussing Fleetwood Mac and made a remark that later became well known. “Uh, I like Little Feat, Fleetwood Mac — obviously. That little lady ought to come and sing on one of our albums. If she were to come sing on one of our albums—it would…What’s her name?—Stevie…” Robert Plant said.
The comment showed both admiration and curiosity. At the time, the idea of Nicks recording with Led Zeppelin was unexpected. While the collaboration never happened, the quote revealed how much Plant valued her as an artist rather than seeing her as separate from his own musical circle.
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A Friendship Built on Respect
Plant and Nicks eventually met and formed a friendly bond. In her biography Gold Dust Woman, Nicks recalled a moment that stayed with her for years. She described covering Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” while Plant watched from the side of the stage. “Robert Plant was there on the side of the stage, and he congratulated me after our performance.”
She went on to explain why that moment mattered so much to her. “He told me I did a great job. That meant the world to me. (It was) one of the great rock-and-roll moments of my life. I think Robert Plant and I are kindred spirits. I think we are both connected to the mystical side of things, but on different sides of the world,” Stevie Nicks said.
Shared Values and Independence
That performance took place in the summer of 2006 at the Montreux Music Festival in Switzerland. Nicks performed the song with Nile Rodgers and his band Chic, while Plant observed from nearby. The memory stayed with her as a sign of mutual respect between two artists from different bands and paths.
In a 2016 interview with Huffpost, Nicks spoke again about Plant while discussing the influence of her mother. “My mom was seriously independent and she always had a job. She wanted that for me from the very beginning.” Nicks explained how that lesson shaped how she handled herself around famous musicians.
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Standing as Equals in Rock Music
Nicks continued by stressing the importance of self-respect. “To have my independence. I think that’s important when talking to kids, especially women. Assert your independence. Christine and I knew that we would never be treated like second class citizens when standing in a room with Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. All of the famous men. If anybody ever treats us with anything but total respect we will just walk out and it is their loss. And that was implanted in my head by my mom long before I graduated from high school.”
Plant and Nicks were both born in 1948, with Nicks arriving in May and Plant in August. Their shared year places them among a generation that reshaped rock music. Like Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac went on to sell an estimated 120 million records worldwide.
