The 1950s Track Lindsey Buckingham Credits for His Entire Rock Career: “I Wouldn’t Be Doing What I’m Doing”
Lindsey Buckingham has credited Elvis Presley as the single reason he pursued a career in rock music, saying that without him "I probably wouldn't be doing what I'm doing." The Fleetwood Mac guitarist joins a long line of classic rock musicians who point to Presley as the spark that first drew them to the guitar, underlining the singer's enduring influence on the generation that shaped rock and roll.
Buckingham said he was only six years old when his elder brother, seven years his senior, brought home a record of "Heartbreak Hotel" and introduced him to Presley. He described the moment as transformative, saying it captured the sense that young people finally had music of their own, and called Presley a "role model" not for his looks but for the freedom and freshness he represented, right down to his Martin guitar. Although Buckingham's own musical style diverged sharply from Presley's bluesy, crooning sound, he maintains that Presley's influence can still be traced through his career.
- Lindsey Buckingham says Elvis Presley inspired his entire music career.
- He first heard "Heartbreak Hotel" aged six via his brother.
- Buckingham called Presley a formative "role model" despite differing musical styles.
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Elvis Presley was one of the most famous performers of the 1950s, a decade often seen as the birth of rock and roll. His early recordings, including songs like "Heartbreak Hotel," reached a generation of young listeners and are widely credited with inspiring many musicians who went on to shape rock music in the decades that followed.
Lindsey Buckingham is a guitarist and singer best known for his work with Fleetwood Mac, one of the most successful rock bands to emerge from the 1970s. He is part of a generation of musicians who grew up in the 1950s and often point to Presley as an early and formative influence on their decision to pursue music.
This background matters because it places Buckingham's comments within a broader pattern seen among rock musicians of his era, many of whom describe Presley as a pivotal figure in drawing them towards guitar and rock music, even when their own sound later developed in quite different directions.