In 1976, Christine McVie woke up in the night and wrote the best song of her career in 30 minutes
Christine McVie said “Songbird”, one of Fleetwood Mac’s best-loved songs, came to her in the middle of the night and took about half an hour to write. The story highlights her importance to the band as a songwriter whose quieter profile could obscure how much she contributed to their sound and success.
McVie recalled waking with the melody and lyrics in her head, then getting up to play and sing the song through on a small piano without recording it. Afraid she would forget it, she stayed awake until morning; later, she performed it alone on stage at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley. She described the song as a kind of prayer and a spiritual experience, and said it helped keep the band together.
- “Songbird” came to McVie during a sleepless night.
- She said she wrote the song in about 30 minutes.
- McVie regarded it as a spiritual experience and a band unifier.
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Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in 1967. Christine McVie joined in 1970 as a singer and keyboard player, and became one of the band’s main songwriters alongside Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
The band’s line-up and personal relationships changed over the years, while their music brought together blues, rock and pop. McVie often took a lower-key role than some of her bandmates, but her songs and warm vocals were central to Fleetwood Mac’s sound. Her work helped shape the group’s success and the songs for which they are remembered.