This week's "robbed hit" is by Fleetwood Mac, the iconic rock band that had kicked around since the 1960s, going to many transformations and lineup changes culminating in their classic quintet of drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John and keyboardist/singer Christine McVie, guitarist/singer Lindsey Buckingham, and singer Stevie Nicks. Their keystone opus Rumours from 1977 is one of the most highly regarded as well as best-selling records of all time. But by the time the nineties came around, their future was unsure. Buckingham had quit the group, and an while an attempt to restart with two new hires in 1990 with the Behind The Mask album did get a top-40 pop hit with "Save Me", the single and record by far wasn't as warmly received. Then Nicks left after a dispute over using this very song here on a box set compilation of the band (she wanted the non-album song for her own retrospective). Bringing on former Traffic member Dave Mason didn't help, and the resulting Time album didn't even make the charts in America, and even Christine McVie hit the road. So the only remaining members at that point were Fleetwood and John McVie, and the future looked pretty dim.
But then came Bill Clinton.
Elected president in 1992, Clinton's inauguration marked the reunion of the classic five (their hit "Don't Stop" was the campaign's "theme" song). Even though it was a one-off gig, it put them on speaking terms enough to keep the idea of coming together a possibility in their minds. So after the spectacular failure of Time and the departure of those new members, eventually Buckingham, then Nicks, then Christine agreed to reunite in 1997. In spring of that year, a recorded concert called The Dance was released as a live album and a special that MTV broadcast as an exclusive. Mostly made up of their hits, the show record also featured some new songs from Nicks, Buckingham, and McVie. They only played "Silver Springs", that song that Nicks left the band for in the first place. Originally the song
was only available as the "B-side" of the 7 inch single for "Go Your Own Way" from back in 1977. Nicks meant for it to be on Rumours, and it's poetic sadness about her break-up with Lindsey fit in with the album perfectly...
So with the release of The Dance, "Silver Springs" was promoted to radio as the lead "single". The reception was great, with the live album ending up being their most successful in fifteen years. While the live version sort of strips some of the pained intimacy of the original in contrast, Nicks certainly is in fine form for her recreation of their classic, and as a time capsule, it was a welcome callback to their fans...
Since "Silver Springs" wasn't released as a physical commercial single in the U.S., it wasn't able to place on Billboard magazine's official Hot 100 pop chart. However, the song got enough mainstream radio love to just miss the top-40 on the airplay component of the tally in October of 1997. The song did go all the way to #5 on their Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart, and got as high as #22 on the Adult Top-40 format list. Internationally, the single reached the top-40 in Canada at #38. The Dance album went to #1 on the Billboard 200 sales chart, going on to move over five million copies. At the Grammy Awards in 1998, The Dance was nominated for Best Pop Album, losing out to James Taylor for his Hourglass record. "Silver Springs" also got a nod for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, which went to Jamiroquai for "Virtual Insanity".
Another live remake from the album, the Fleetwood Mac album cut "Landslide", was released as a true "single" as a follow-up. But so many people had already bought the album it stalled down at #51 on the Hot 100, though it got to #10 at Adult Contemporary and #26 on the Adult Top-40 list. The live version of "The Chain", also from Rumours, went to #30 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart in Billboard, and was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Duo/Group Performance, which the Wallflowers took home for "One Headlight".
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