- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- Stevie Nicks is the first woman to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice – as a member of Fleetwood Mac and also as a solo artist.
The Greatest Music
Ever Recorded!
Stevie Nicks – Bella Donna (1981): Oldtimers view Stevie Nicks and her former hubby Lindsey Buckingham as the “new” members of Fleetwood Mac, even though they joined up over 45 years ago. After working together on a number of musical projects, the two made their first record in 1973, a well-regarded folk-rock album called Buckingham Nicks. Just two years later, these two Americans were invited to join the established British band Fleetwood Mac; together with Christine McVie, who joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970 following her marriage to founding member John McVie, the revitalized band now had two distinctive female vocalists, almost unheard of in the 1970’s, and released a series of massive hit albums, including Rumours (1977), one of the largest selling albums of all time.
Bella Donna is Stevie Nicks’ debut solo album and is very much a Southern California record. Most of the songs were written or co-written by her, and Stevie Nicks enlisted 20 supporting musicians in recording the album, but each song bears the stamp of her personality. Tom Petty and his frequent songwriting partner Mike Campbell wrote “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”, one of the biggest hit songs on the album; and Petty contributed vocals to the song as well. Don Henley of the Eagles sang a duet with Stevie Nicks on another song, “Leather and Lace”. Other hit songs include Stevie Nicks’ signature song “Edge of Seventeen”, plus the Top 40 song “After the Glitter Fades”. Stevie Nicks is the first woman to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice – as a member of Fleetwood Mac and also as a solo artist. This particular album is a “specialty pressing” under the name Modern Records and might be the first edition of Bella Donna.