Christine McVie, Singer-Songwriter Of Fleetwood Mac, Passed Away At Age 79
Image Source: Bloomberg
On November 30th, 2022, singer-songwriter Christine McVie died peacefully in hospital at 79 years of age, her family have confirmed.
A key contributor to the success of Fleetwood Mac, McVie’s interest in music began at age 4 with the piano, though it wouldn’t be a serious focus for her until age 11. Born in the Lake District village of Bouth and growing up in the Bearwood area of Smethwick, McVie had originally intended to pursue a career within art with the goal of becoming an art teacher. Studying at the Moseley School of Art in Birmingham for five years, she met a few budding musicians during her studies, eventually joining Stan Webb and Andy Silvester in the band Sounds of Blue.
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By the time she had graduated from art college, the band had split up. With little money to launch herself into the art world, McVie moved to London, where she took a job as a department store window dresser. Her two friends Silvester and Webb were in the process of forming a new band, she had heard, and so she asked to join. Accepted by them to play piano, Chicken Shack debuted with “It’s Okay With Me Baby,” which had been written by McVie.
She was with them for three years, having married Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie in 1969 and joining the band in 1970. Having previously played piano for the band’s second album Mr. Wonderful, and being a fan of the band, she proved her worth to them on the first tour without founding member Peter Green. Though Fleetwood Mac had a rocky history, McVie would be one of the strong pillars that held it together, writing many of the band’s songs that would become top-ten hits.
In 1998, she left the band and returned to England from the US, where the band had moved in 1974. She recorded a solo album in 2004, though mostly remained quiet through the years until rejoining the band in 2014. She hwas inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, and awarded the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors’ Gold Badge of Merit in 2006. Christine McVie’s contributions to music will be long remembered. May she rest in peace.
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Source: Variety
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