Christine McVie's music so powerful, so meaningful

Christine McVie

Spotify Playlist

1

At least today, in their grief, everybody can listen to Christine McVie's music.

It didn't used to be this way. First and foremost because the record stores immediately ran out of inventory, and it would take weeks for new records to be pressed and shipped.

But that makes the point that we owned a limited number of records in the pre-internet, pre-Spotify era. Which is all to say there were groups we were aware of that we owned no albums of, like Fleetwood Mac.

Of course I knew "Oh Well," it was an FM staple when most people were still listening to AM. FM addicts were hipper, clued-in on certain tracks and bands that were unknown to the hoi polloi.

And ultimately "Oh Well" was stripped into the band's 1969 album "Then Play On," which I saw all the time in the bins, it had that unique cover.

And then Santana had a huge hit with "Black Magic Woman," which the same FM acolytes knew was written by Peter Green and done by Fleetwood Mac, even though in many cases we'd never heard the original, which we eventually did, you'd think it would have gained contemporaneous airplay on these same FM stations, but it did not. But eventually we were at somebody's house who had "Then Play On." That was a feature of going to a friend's domicile, to not only comb through their albums, but to play certain tracks you loved that you didn't own and probably never would.

And then Peter Green left the band and not only was there an endless succession of guitarists, one left the group to join the Children of God, and then there was that fake band put out by the manager and...

This was all news, I knew all this, but most of the music meant nothing to me, I'd never even heard it.

And then came "Station Man." Christine McVie neither wrote it nor sang the lead vocal, after all she wasn't even a band member, but she was unmistakable in the background vocals, it was the first Fleetwood Mac track I cottoned to, that I wanted to hear again, that I turned up every time I heard it on the radio.

And then Christine joined the band. I read that she'd been in Chicken Shack, but that band meant absolutely nothing in the U.S. Cool that she was married to the group's bass player, John McVie, but...

It was the early seventies. You could make a number of albums for a major label and never have a hit. Which was the case with Fleetwood Mac. They'd promote the records, you'd see them in ads, in the store, but chances are you never bought them. I certainly did not.

And then, five albums after "Kiln House," which contained the aforementioned "Station Man," came "Heroes Are Hard to Find."

I'm talking the single, the opening cut, not the entire album. Like "Station Man," you heard "Heroes Are Hard to Find" on the radio and continued to hear it. There was that groove, but even more there was that recitation of the title in the chorus that was so magical, actually the same magic Christine brought to subsequent Fleetwood Mac albums, but this was the first time I remembered it shining, hearing it shine on the radio.

And then came "Over My Head."

2

"You can take me to the paradise

And then again you can be cold as ice"

Let's see, it was my second year in Utah. At the end of which I realized I had to leave or else I'd be there forever.

You see I'd made friends with the freestylers the previous May in Mammoth, we were all gonna compete on the tour the following year. Jimmy Kay had competed the year before.

But Jimmy got aced out the following December, I choked and Jimmy went back to New Jersey to lick his wounds with his family, Al went back to L.A. and I stayed in the apartment with "Chang," a Vietnamese student who hadn't heard from his family in years.

This is when it hit me, what was I doing here? I didn't even want to ski. It made no sense. When I was in college skiing was part of my overall life, now it was everything and I needed more.

Jimmy said I could sleep in his bed while he was gone (I'd been sleeping on the couch before this). And therefore I could play his 8-tracks, he had two brand new ones, that he'd recorded from albums he bought, "Fleetwood Mac" and "A Night at the Opera." This is when I fell in love with "I'm in Love With My Car." And "39." My favorite song on the album was and probably still is "Your My Best Friend," but when listening to the album these two tracks surfaced. As for "Bohemian Rhapsody," it was just a cool novelty song, a track dedicated radio listeners knew, not a classic on the level of "Stairway to Heaven," that would take years, really it was the "Wayne's World" movie that made it iconic, the same way "Don't Stop Believin'" was made iconic by its inclusion in the finale of "The Sopranos."

Now I first heard "Over My Head" on the radio, I found it infectious, because contrary to seemingly everything else, it was understated, a track that set your mind free. You know, the kind that made you think you too could be in love, maybe even with Christine McVie.

Yes, I knew who she was. Stevie Nicks was just another woman in the band, one who did not play an instrument, Christine's single came out first. And I'd say Christine was the star, but that's just the point, she was an anti-star, she wasn't dolled up to look like a model, she wasn't asked twenty questions in a dumb magazine article, she was one of the guys, a boys' girl, and there were very few of those in rock and roll. Bonnie Raitt is the only other one that comes to mind. You felt like you could hang with both of them, that there was something below the surface, that they spoke your language, that they weren't prissy, you didn't have to be on guard the entire time, you could just be yourself. and isn't that what we're all looking for?

And on Christmas Day, my parents called. Jews do this, even though the holiday does not apply. Usually we eat Chinese food and go to the movies, maybe two, at least that's what we used to do, well, when I moved to L.A. But before that, every Christmas Day I went skiing, and my parents were in Vermont doing same and I told my mother I was at loose ends and she castigated me and told me to get a job. My father said he didn't know what was going on, but he was gonna send me twenty bucks and I should go for a good meal, that I'd figure it out.

And then I got back into Jimmy's bed and fired up "Over My Head," listened to it over and over again, which ain't that easy to do on an 8-track.

There’s much to applaud about the multitalented Christine McVie

Farewell to Christine McVie, who gave us music for all time

Barbara Ellen

Dec 4, 2022

The Guardian

The Fleetwood Mac singer songwriter, who died last week, is among a select group whose music is culturally indelible

Most of us have our favourite musical artists, the ones we deliberately seek out, but what about the other kind, the ones who wriggle in through the trapdoor of your mind? That, in the sweetest, strangest way, gatecrash your cultural consciousness when you’re not quite paying attention, then embed there. Forever.

When news came of the death of Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie at age 79, the internet did one of its loving, sorrowful double-takes. Of course it did. There’s much to applaud about the multitalented McVie: those scuffed-velvet vocals; the chilled charisma of a woman who truly knew herself; that decades-spanning rock’n’roll sisterhood with fellow band member Stevie Nicks laying waste to the sexist fiction that two highly creative women always have to end up in a catfight.

And, of course, McVie’s songwriting: Little Lies, Songbird, Don’t Stop, The Chain – the last three all from a single album, Fleetwood Mac’s 1977, 45m-selling Rumours. This is where the reaction to McVie, and more generally to Fleetwood Mac, starts to splinter. On the one hand, the many devotees, the Mac-heads. On the other, people, hazy on details, but who realise they know more Mac-songs than they thought. And who mentally flash on to the Rumours album cover (Mick with his ponytail; Nicks arching in shadowy robes) as easily as recalling the face of a childhood friend.

None of which is remotely surprising. What McVie’s passing brings home is that, somewhere along the way, she and Fleetwood Mac near as dammit became their own genre. That they’re part of a relatively select canon of artists who have not only been enjoyed for decades, but have become culturally indelible, like a tattooing of the collective psyche.

There’s nothing new about this or about monetising it. It’s why companies such as Hipgnosis have been paying out billions on back catalogues, to older and younger artists (with McVie and certain other members of the band signing up). The companies know certain artists have an impact far beyond music platforms. That it’s not just about what people choose to hear through their headphones or speakers, it’s also about musical osmosis: background sounds swirling around us. The idea that, to a certain extent, the soundtrack of your life is decided without you.

This is how songs from rock, pop, and every other genre become as immortal as Christmas carols. How Elton John can announce that next year’s headlining Glastonbury slot will be his last, but we all know Goodbye Yellow Brick Road isn’t going anywhere. It’s where Madonna will always be vogueing and the Beatles eternally walk barefoot across the Abbey Road crossing. It’s also where Christine will be playing synth and singing into her mike, alongside Stevie, John, Mick and Lindsey forever.

Isn’t this the sweet spot in which Fleetwood Mac find themselves? They’re woven into the tapestry of life in a way beyond mere commercial longevity, rather a blend of talent, magnetism and cultural immersion. I like to think the famously modest McVie was privately thrilled this is where her musical contribution ended up. She did the work, she paid her dues and now all those songs – those California-soaked hymns to dreams and nightmares – are just “there”, part of the collective memory; music society has decided it just can’t shake.

McVie forged a legendary history on the Billboard Hot 100 with Fleetwood Mac

Christine McVie’s Top 10 Biggest Hot 100 Hits

McVie forged a legendary history on the Billboard Hot 100 with Fleetwood Mac & as a soloist.

By Keith Caulfield

Billboard

Photo Randee St. Nicholas

Late singer-songwriter Christine McVie, who died Nov. 30 at age 79, left a great impression on Billboard’s charts through the decades, thanks to her pure pop/rock sensibility that often lifted Fleetwood Mac, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band in which she was a longtime member, to incredible heights.

For most of Fleetwood Mac’s hitmaking career, McVie was one of its three primary singers and songwriters, alongside Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Notably, McVie wrote and sang lead vocals on three of the band’s top four biggest hits on the Billboard Hot 100 – including the group’s biggest song, “Hold Me.”

Billboard has exclusively compiled McVie’s top 10 biggest hits on the Hot 100 chart, based on actual performance on the weekly survey. Included were any charted songs by Fleetwood Mac that McVie wrote and on which she sang lead vocals, as well as her solo recordings outside the band.

McVie’s biggest Hot 100 hit is the 1982 Fleetwood Mac song “Hold Me,” which was released as the first single from the band’s Mirage album. It spent a staggering seven weeks at its peak of No. 4 on the weekly Hot 100 chart – a then-record for that peak rank. McVie sang lead vocals on “Hold Me,” and it was written by McVie and Robbie Patton. (Overall, “Hold Me” is Fleetwood Mac’s biggest Hot 100 hit, while the group’s No. 2 hit is its lone chart-topper on the weekly Hot 100 – 1977’s “Dreams,” penned by Nicks, who also sang its lead vocal.)

McVie’s second-biggest all-time Hot 100 hit is “Little Lies,” which was released in 1987 as the third single from Fleetwood Mac’s Tango in the Night album. McVie had lead vocal duties on the cut, and she co-wrote it with her then-husband Eddy Quintela.

Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” – which was solely written by McVie, who shared lead vocals with Buckingham – is her third-biggest Hot 100 hit. The track became one of four top 10-charting singles from the mega-successful Rumours album. The set spent 31 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – still a record for any album by a group.

Fleetwood Mac’s “Say You Love Me” and “You Make Loving Fun” (both singularly written by McVie, who sang lead) round out McVie’s top five biggest Hot 100 hits. The former was released in 1976 as the final single from the band’s self-titled album. That album was the first to feature the lineup of Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Nicks, Christine McVie and her first husband John McVie.

The Buckingham/Fleetwood/Nicks/McVie/McVie lineup would release five studio albums (from 1975’s self-titled set through 1987’s Tango In the Night) and two live albums (1980’s Live and 1997’s The Dance). All four of the act’s No. 1 albums were by that famed lineup, with the self-titled set, Rumours, Mirage and The Dance all topping the Billboard 200.

Christine McVie’s 10 Biggest Billboard Hits recap is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. To ensure equitable representation of the biggest hits from each era, certain time frames were weighted to account for the difference between turnover rates from those years.

10. Fleetwood Mac’s “Think About Me,” from Tusk, peaked at No. 20 in 1980.

09. Fleetwood Mac’s “Love In Store,” from Mirage, peaked at No. 22 in 1983.

08. Fleetwood Mac’s “Over My Head,” from the band’s self-titled 1975 album, peaked at No. 20 in 1976.

07. Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere,” from Tango in the Night, peaked at No. 14 in 1988.

06. Christine McVie’s “Got a Hold On Me,” from her self-titled second solo album, peaked at No. 10 in 1984.

05. Fleetwood Mac’s “You Make Loving Fun,” from Rumours, peaked at No. 9 in 1977.

04. Fleetwood Mac’s “Say You Love Me,” from Fleetwood Mac, peaked at No. 11 in 1976.

03. Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop,” from Rumours, peaked at No. 3 in 1977.

02. Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies,” from Tango in the Night, peaked at No. 4 in 1987.

01. Fleetwood Mac’s “Hold Me,” from Mirage, spent seven weeks at No. 4 in 1982.

Christine McVie staked her claim as one of the most potent singer-songwriters of her generation

Remembering Christine McVie Of Fleetwood Mac Through Her GRAMMY Triumphs, From 'Rumours' Onward

Unflashy and undramatic, McVie's contributions to Fleetwood Mac led to some of their greatest contributions to popular song — with two GRAMMY wins to boot.

ROB LEDONNE

GRAMMYS - DEC 2, 2022

In an acclaimed career that spanned more than half a century, Christine McVie staked her claim as one of the most potent singer-songwriters of her generation. A beloved original member of the seminal rock group Fleetwood Mac, with whom she sang, wrote and played keyboard, she and her bandmates catapulted to fame in the early '70s, scoring GRAMMY gold and influencing generations of musicians.

"As a GRAMMY Award winner and 2018 Person of the Year honoree, the Recording Academy has been honored to celebrate Christine McVie and her work with Fleetwood Mac throughout her legendary career," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. stated. In an announcement of her death, the remaining members of Fleetwood Mac mourned her passing by saying "She was truly one-of-a-kind, special, and talented beyond measure."

McVie, who passed away Nov. 30 at 79 after a brief illness, may have not been as flashy, or as dramatic, as fellow Fleetwood Mac members Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. But McVie's contributions to the band led to some of their greatest contributions to popular song, with two GRAMMY wins among seven nominations.

The tour de force that is Rumours is one of the most acclaimed and best-selling albums of all time and an inductee into GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. The masterpiece earned McVie her first GRAMMY (for Album of the Year no less) at the 20th Annual Ceremony in 1978, also earning a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Group.

Fleetwood Mac's 11th studio album, Rumours was actually McVie's 7th album with the band after making her name in the English blues scene, rising through the ranks as part of the band Chicken Shack, and even releasing a solo album.

In 1971, McVie joined Fleetwood Mac alongside her then-husband John McVie. The potent combination of the McVies, along with Mick Fleetwood, Buckingham and Nicks, catalyzed and detonated into the stratospheric Rumours.

"It's hard to say (what it was like) because we were looking at it from the inside," McVie said about the iconic album earlier this year.  "We were having a blast and it felt incredible to us that we were writing those songs. That's all I can say about it, really."

McVie's coyness may stem from the fact that prior to its production, Christine and John divorced after eight years of marriage. Meanwhile, Buckingham and Nicks were having a tumultuous relationship themselves. 

McVie is credited as sole songwriter on a handful of instant-classic Rumours tracks, all written during a perilous moment. "I thought I was drying up," explained McVie. "I was practically panicking because every time I sat down at a piano, nothing came out. Then, one day,  I just sat down and wrote in the studio, and the four-and-a-half songs of mine on the album are a result of that."

That includes "Don't Stop," an ironically peppy ode considering the turmoil McVie and her bandmates were grappling with at the time. With lyrics that staunchly proclaim "Yesterday's gone!," the song was reportedly written as a plea from Christine to John to move on from their relationship.

"I dare say, if I hadn't joined Fleetwood Mac, we might still be together. I just think it's impossible to work in the band with your spouse," McVie later said. John, meanwhile, was oblivious to the song's message during its production and early acclaim. He revealed in 2015: "I've been playing it for years and it wasn't until somebody told me, 'Chris wrote that about you.' Oh really?"

John was also equally ignorant to the source inspiration of "You Make Loving Fun"; McVie told him the joyful song ("Sweet wonderful you/ You make me happy with the things you do") was about her dog. In reality, it was about an affair with the band's lighting designer.

"It was a therapeutic move," McVie later mused of her lyrical penchant for hiding brutal honesty in plain sight. "The only way we could get this stuff out was to say it, and it came out in a way that was difficult. Imagine trying to sing those songs onstage with the people you're singing them about."

When McVie was asked earlier this year what song she written she was most proud of, it was an easy answer: the Rumours track "Songbird."

"For some peculiar reason, I wrote "Songbird" in half an hour; I've never been able to figure out how I did that," she told People. "I woke up in the middle of the night and the song was there in my brain, chords, lyrics, melody, everything. I played it in my bedroom and didn't have anything to tape it on. So I had to stay awake all night so I wouldn't forget it and I came in the next morning to the studio and had (producer) Ken Callait put it on a 2-track. That was how the song ended up being. I don't know where that came from."

McVie's most recent GRAMMY nominations were for her contributions to The Dance, Fleetwood Mac's 1997 live album that featured her stand-outs from Rumours along with the McVie penned-tracks "Say You Love Me" and "Everywhere."

The album earned McVie and the band GRAMMY nominations for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (for the Lindsay Buckingham-written "The Chain") and  Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (for "Silver Springs," penned by Stevie Nicks). It also landed a nomination for Best Pop Album. It was her final album with the band before a 15-year self-imposed retirement.

In her final years, McVie was a vital member of Fleetwood Mac, including in 2018 when they became the first band honored as MusicCare's Person of the Year.

Speaking to the Recording Academy before the ceremony, Nicks expressed that her initial goal upon joining the group was a humble one: "Christine and I made a pact. We said we will never, ever be treated as a second-class citizen amongst our peers."

Album Sales Jump In Response To Christine McVie's Death

UK Album Sales

 

The death, at the age of 79, of Fleetwood Mac legend Christine McVie was announced on Wednesday (30 November). In apparent response, the band’s most celebrated album, Rumours, bounces 42-24, achieving a 31-week high on consumption of 3,585 units, while the most recent compilation of the band’s work, 50 Years: Don’t Stop holds at No.23 (3,667 sales). In reality, Rumours was already at No.28 on Wednesday’s sales flashes before McVie’s death, while 50 Years was at No.24. They therefore secured only minor improvements after her demise – partly because, as is most frequently the case, streaming data was not available from most major players for Thursday, with the week’s data to that point being upweighted to compensate. However, sales of CD & vinyl editions of Rumours were up 56.36% week-on-week from 848 to 1,326, while digital downloads were up 2045.45% from just 22 to 472.

iTunes Charts November 30th, December 1, 2, 3

Wed November 30, 2022, 23:30

ALBUMS CHART

18 Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

27 Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits

28 Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (Deluxe Edition)

38 Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac (Remastered)

SONG CHART

Thu December 1, 2022, 10:47

20 Fleetwood Mac - Songbird

33 Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere

34 Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way

35 Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies

73 Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

86 Eva Cassidy - Songbird

ALBUMS CHART

6 Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

11 Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (Deluxe Edition)

15 Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits

17 Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac (Remastered)

22 Christine McVie - Songbird (A Solo Collection)

29 Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night (Remastered)

51 Christine McVie - Christine McVie

59 Lindsey Buckingham / Christine McVie - Lindsey Buckingham / Christine McVie

60 Fleetwood Mac - 50 Years - Don't Stop

SONG CHART

Fri December 2, 2022, 02:22

3 Fleetwood Mac - Songbird

16 Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere

19 Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies

21 Chicken Shack - I'd Rather Go Blind

27 Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way

30 Fleetwood Mac - Dreams

31 Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

32 Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop

47 Eva Cassidy - Songbird

49 Christine McVie - Songbird (Orchestral Version)

51 Fleetwood Mac - You Make Loving Fun

55 Fleetwood Mac - Songbird (2002 Remastered)

71 Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way

74 Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies (2002 Remastered)

75 Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon

80 Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere (2002 Remastered)

83 Fleetwood Mac - Dreams

89 Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (2002 Remastered)

99 Fleetwood Mac - Say You Love Me

ALBUMS CHART

3 Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

8 Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits

9 Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac (Remastered)

12 Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (Deluxe Edition)

13 Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night (Remastered)

14 Christine McVie - Songbird (A Solo Collection)

21 Fleetwood Mac - 50 Years: Don't Stop

29 Lindsey Buckingham / Christine McVie - Lindsey Buckingham / Christine McVie

30 Fleetwood Mac - The Dance (Live)

40 Chicken Shack - The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions

44 Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac

46 Christine McVie - Christine McVie

57 Fleetwood Mac - Tusk (Remastered)

91 Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night (Deluxe)

The Warner family has lost a dear friend of many decades with the passing of Christine McVie

CHRISTINE MCVIE,

1943-2022

Hits Daily Double

Keyboardist, singer and songwriter Christine McVie, a key member of Fleetwood Mac during its commercial peak in the 1970s and '80s, died on 11/30 after a short illness. She was 79.

The surviving members of Fleetwood Mac issued a statement that reads: “There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie. She was truly one of a kind, special and talented beyond measure. She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life. We were so lucky to have a life with her. Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed.”

McVie, who used her maiden name, Christine Perfect, as a solo artist and member of Chicken Shack in the 1960s, married Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie and joined his band as a permanent member in 1971. (She was a guest on two of their '60s albums.) As the group evolved from its blues-rock roots with a revolving cast of guitarists and singers, McVie blossomed as a songwriter and lead singer on such albums as Mystery to Me and Heroes Are Hard to Find; a contribution to 1972's Bare Trees, "Spare Me a Little of Your Love," demonstrated the unique soulfulness that would become her vocal trademark.    

Even after Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the band and gave it a new look and pop spin, McVie was on equal footing as a writer and singer: She had two Top 20 hits, “Over My Head” and “Say You Love Me,” on Fleetwood Mac's self-titled 1975 breakthrough album and for its follow-up, 1977’s era-defining Rumours, wrote and sang “Don’t Stop,” “You Make Lovin’ Fun,” “Oh Daddy” and “Songbird.”

Following the Buckingham/Nicks-dominated Tusk, which featured McVie’s “Think About Me,” she provided the band’s late-era hits “Hold Me,” “Little Lies” and “Save Me.” Her voice has lately been used to sell Chevrolets, with “Everywhere,” from 1987’s Tango in the Night, revived thanks to the oft-played commercial.

McVie chose to stop playing live with the band following a 1990 tour and sat out a 1994 reunion with Buckingham, Nicks, John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood, performing with the group a handful of times through 1998. The standout gig during that period was the televised 1997 special that became the multimillion-seller The Dance.

McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac for a 2014 tour and a 2018 run with Neil Finn and Mike Campbell replacing Buckingham.

As a solo artist, McVie released three albums—1970’s Christine Perfect, 1984’s Christine McVie, which cracked the Top 30, and 2004’s In the Meantime—and, most recently, an eponymous 2017 album with Buckingham.

McVie was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 as a member of Fleetwood Mac. 

"The loss of Christine McVie is not only devastating to all of us in her Warner Music family across the globe but to the entire music community and her countless millions of fans," reads a quote from WMG Recorded Music chief Max Lousada. "From her early days with Chicken Shack to her phenomenal time with Fleetwood Mac to her brilliant solo work, Christine has been in our collective musical consciousness for nearly six decades. Her voice was unmistakable and indelible, her songwriting beautiful and peerless and her live performances powerful and entrancing. She was, and is, a musical icon for the ages, and she will be deeply missed. Our condolences go out to her family, friends and bandmates."

"The Warner family has lost a dear friend of many decades with the passing of Christine McVie," added President of Global Catalog, Recorded Music Kevin Gore. "She was an exceptionally gifted musician, with her signature vocals and impeccable songwriting front and center on many of Fleetwood Mac’s most beloved hits. I had the honor of spending time with Christine a few years ago to discuss how to best present her solo work, and I’m so pleased with the collection she produced, which recently earned a Grammy nomination. Our deepest condolences go out to Christine’s family, bandmates and friends, along with her legions of fans around the world. Warner Music will continue to honor and preserve Christine’s unparalleled legacy and, though she may no longer be with us, we will all, like the songbird, keep singing her songs."

"We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Christine McVie," reads a statement from the Eagles. "Hers was a vibrant, soulful spirit, and her music was, and will remain, a gift to the world. We had the utmost admiration and respect for Christine. We send our heartfelt condolences to her family, her bandmates and her legions of fans."