Songbird

Christine McVie, who died last week at 79, was possibly the most underappreciated of the three singer-songwriters who fronted Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 (and again, sporadically, thereafter).  Neither a sex symbol like Stevie Nicks nor an offbeat experimentalist like Lindsey Buckingham, McVie provided the solid, conventional basis for Fleetwood Mac's more soulful ballads and light rockers with her accomplished keyboard playing, as well as some of the warmest, most tender songs in seventies and eighties rock that featured her distinctive, R&B-based vocal style.      

When Christine McVie joined Fleetwood Mac in 1971, she had already gained a reputation for being a fine blue-eyed-soul singer in the blues-rock band Chicken Shack.  Her talents were evident almost as soon as she joined Fleetwood Mac, named for the rhythm section of drummer Mick Fleetwood and Christine's husband, bassist John McVie.  Early songs such as "Spare Me a Little of Your Love" revealed a sense of intimacy in Christine's writing, and her comforting singing style was in sharp contrast to the more haunting vocals of her then-bandmate Bob Welch.  While she could be self-assured in songs like "You Make Lovin' Fun," she was just as adept at display her vulnerable side in songs such as "Say You Love Me," "Songbird," and "Hold Me," providing a respite from the musical dialogue between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.    

Ironically, her most assertive song ended up being used as a balm for supporters of politicians promising a better future.   Christine divorced John McVie as the band began recording 1977's Rumours LP, and her determination to get through the misery of a marital split inspired "Don't Stop."  It's a song about hope for the future, yes, but it also acknowledges the unfairness of a bitter past - she's pretty much saying that you can't have rainbows with the rain.  But beginning with Bill Clinton in 1992, just about every politician in the 1990s used "Don't Stop" to offer an agenda with nothing but rainbows, with a few unicorns thrown in for good measure.  "Don't Stop" proved that Christine McVie could be a tough cookie as well as a sweetheart, and her complex personality - which she channeled into her music - sustained her to the very end.  RIP.