The Beautiful Moment Christine McVie Cried Over A Song

Fleetwood Mac’s story is filled with drama and turmoil, long before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham became part of the band’s most renowned lineup. From its early days, the group struggled with addiction, affairs, and internal conflicts. Given this backdrop, one might expect a tale involving Christine McVie being moved to tears by a song to be connected to some explosive personal drama. However, this particular story is one of beauty and serenity—a rarity in making the album Rumours.

The creation of Rumours was anything but peaceful. Following the successful union of Nicks and Buckingham into the band, forming two couples within the group—including Christine and John McVie—their first album went smoothly, showcasing their natural musical chemistry. However, by the time they began working on Rumours, personal relationships had unraveled, making the recording process fraught with tension.

Making an album is challenging enough under normal circumstances, but doing so while enduring breakups, divorces, and inter-band affairs seemed nearly impossible. The band members frequently stormed out or clashed over the personal attacks embedded in their lyrics, such as Buckingham’s scathing “Go Your Own Way” directed at Nicks. Christine McVie aptly summarized the process as “Drama. Dra-ma,” an understatement given the tumultuous environment.

Despite these challenges, Fleetwood Mac didn’t just manage to create an album, they were able to produce one of the most timeless and beloved records in music history. This accomplishment feels particularly remarkable for Ken Caillat, the album’s producer, who played a crucial role in maintaining cohesion amidst the chaos. Aside from the music production, Caillat had to carry the burden as a leader and therapist, meeting the band’s needs both sonically and emotionally.

Christine McVie’s standout moment on the album, the poignant ballad “Songbird,” was one Caillat knew needed special treatment. Recalling the first time he heard it, Caillat said, “We were finishing up one of the crazy sessions at Sausalito Record Plant and I was wrapping up some cables. Christine sat down at the piano and started playing this beautiful song. I stopped what I was doing and turned around to watch her. I was just amazed at how beautiful this song was.”

Determined to preserve the song’s purity, Caillat decided to remove it from the chaotic studio environment. Instead, he drew inspiration from a previous experience recording with Joni Mitchell at the Berkeley Community Theatre, envisioning a concert recital setting for “Songbird.” He meticulously set the scene to match the song’s emotional depth.

In his memoir, Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album, Caillat described the setup:

“As a surprise for Christine, I had requested that a bouquet of roses be placed on her piano with three colored spotlights to illuminate them from above. I really wanted to set the mood. When Christine arrived, we dimmed the house lights so that all she could see were the flowers and the piano with the spotlight shining down from the heavens. She nearly broke into tears. Then she started to play.”

The performance was captured with 15 microphones placed around the auditorium and recorded live in a single take. The serene atmosphere Caillat created contributed to the song’s haunting beauty, offering a moment of genuine peace amidst the album’s otherwise turbulent creation.