The legendary, the mysterious, the gold dust woman herself: Stevie Nicks. Recognize the name? Some of you may, as she has recently been named the newest judge on “The Voice,” while others continue to have the reaction from the movie Freaky Friday :
"Stevie Nicks? Who's he?"

Formerly a member of what was once known as the biggest band in the world, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks along with her unique voice and style has made her an icon of the seventies, eighties, and beyond, and forever in my heart.

Raised on her distinctively rhythmic music, and hauntingly powerful lyrics, I’ve loved Stevie Nicks from a young age, but haven’t been able to truly feel her lyrics until more recently. 

Her ability to connect with my exact emotion through her music is profound. Stevie’s witchy spirit and characteristic dance moves set her apart from any other artist I’ve ever seen, some of her fashion statements, found in today’s styles. She was described once, as “your mystic, fairy-godmother,” known for her capes, top hats, and almost demonic hit “Rhiannon.” 

Born in 1948, in Phoenix, Arizona, Stevie was the daughter of Arizona State “sweethearts.” Growing up with a hand-made guitar from her grandfather, she was performing by his side by the age of five. Her father’s job kept her family traveling from state to state, when they landed in Palo Alto, California, where she met Lindsey Buckingham. 

Musically inclined, and romantically involved, the two sought to find success, but were unable to do so, until their music was discovered by another band that was sharing their studio. Fleetwood Mac, then consisting of Christine and John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood, found Buckingham’s guitar abilities intriguing and asked him to join their band. He would agree only if Stevie was also asked. 

The year was 1975, and Stevie’s mystic-style and emotional ballads captured the hearts of listeners, helping the band score number one spots on the charts. 

Stevie Nicks has been known to hand out crescent moon necklaces to her friends and family, though the meaning behind the symbol, so dear to her, is unknown. Some say that it is a symbol of incompletion- progress, while waiting to reach one’s full potential, and brightness. In “Bella Donna,” one of her songs, the lyrics say: “The lady feels like the moon that she loves…Don't you know that the stars are a part of us?” For all of the Gamma Phi Beta’s whom wear crescent moons so proudly, perhaps themes of Stevie’s meaning cross paths with the meaning in their sisterhood.

You may have touched on some of her music: one of her songs, “Landslide,” was re-recorded by the Dixie Chicks in 2002, as well as used in the 2013 Budweiser commercial. The intro to her hit, “Edge of Seventeen” likely is familiar to many, as used in Destiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious.” But my favorite songs include “Dreams,” “Sara,” and “Silver Springs.” Beautifully written, and incredibly arranged, these songs radiate magic. The intro to “Sara” never fails to give me an instant sensation of the chills. 

You know the feeling you have after a break-up? Imagine being in a band with your ex--- scratch that--- Imagine being in the biggest band in the world with your ex, and having to write songs, record, and perform side-by-side at the height of your careers. Well, Stevie and the rest of Fleetwood Mac experienced just that in the production of their album “Rumors.” Amidst break-ups and heartbreak, the band created one of the best selling albums of all time, and earned the Grammy Award in 1978 for Album of the Year, despite an atmosphere once described as a “fragile web of egos and emotions.”  

At the surface, the songs appear abstract and complex. Her lyrics tell the story of every emotion and experience that she’s felt. If you listen to the lyrics of Stevie’s songs, and pull them into the emotions in your own life, you can feel what she may have felt, because you’ve felt it too. Described by one fan, as “the old time Taylor Swift,” Stevie is writing about her experiences and feelings, but she doesn’t state them as directly as Taylor Swift does. Poetically and artistically, Stevie once described the feeling of being in love:  

“…drowning… in the sea of love, where everyone would love to drown…”

and she described the feeling of heartbreak: 

“listen carefully to the sound 

Of your loneliness 

Like a heartbeat… drives you mad

In the stillness of remembering what you had… and what you lost.” 

Stevie revealed her passion in her lyrics, describing her songs as, “All written about something... a memory or an experience goes with each one of them.”

Her music is the type of music that can be played over and over again, and you gain something new from it still every time, and yet, the songs aren’t slow and sad, and they aren’t the type of songs you can necessarily dance to. A genre in their own, the legendary music of Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac continue to serve as the soundtrack of a life, filled with love, heartbreak, and raw emotion.

Even though these songs are thirty years old, we still get the same feelings, and her songs describe those feelings, no matter the year, no matter the girl.

Stevie herself once tried to pinpoint her fanbase: “When I write a song and make a connection with people, I think that stays with them forever.”