Christine McVie

As a key part of Fleetwood Mac's classic line-up, Christine McVie penned the band's great breezy anthems “Don't Stop,” “You Make Lovin’ Fun,” “Over My Head,” “Little Lies,” and “Everywhere” and played keyboards and sang as the soft rockers went on to become one of the biggest acts of the '70s and '80s. Born Christine Perfect on July 12, 1943,in the small northern village of Bouth in Lancashire, England, she was studying to be an art teacher when she began performing with pub groups, and cut her teeth playing keyboards and singing back-up vocals with blues rockers Chicken Shack. Marrying Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie in 1968, she released her debut solo record, Christine Perfect, in 1970 and showcased her smokey, blues voice with a cover of Etta James's “I'd Rather Go Blind” alongside early examples of her wrought, tear-jerking songwriting skills. She joined her husband in Fleetwood Mac later that year and was a lynchpin as they released the legendary albums Fleetwood Mac (1975), Rumours (1977), Tusk (1979), Mirage (1982), and Tango in the Night (1987) and notched up record sales of over 100 million. Her touching ballad “Songbird” became the closing number during their huge world tours, but she divorced John in 1978 and the volatile personal relationships within the band became the stuff of legend. A self-titled solo album in 1984 featured guest appearances from Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Mick Fleetwood and produced the US top 40 singles “Got a Hold on Me” and “Love Will Show Us How,” but its gentle melodic pop failed to make a big impact. She went into semi-retirement and returned to England in 1998, but after a long hiatus, ended up writing songs with her nephew - artist Dan Perfect - and recording in her barn at her home in Kent. It resulted in the album In the Meantime in 2004 on which she wrote about her failed marriage to musician Eddy Quintela. Christine McVie later re-joined Fleetwood Mac in 2014 and, between rehearsals, collaborated with Lindsey Buckingham on what became the duo's 2017 self-titled album. Fleetwood Mac eventually kicked Lindsey Buckingham out of the group in 2018 and toured the world before taking another break to contemplate their future. Christine McVie died after a short illness on November 20, 2022.