Top 15 Solo Hits by Fleetwood Mac Members

With three strong singers and songwriters during their peak commercial years, Fleetwood Mac could never be their sole vessel of expression. Outside projects were common before and after the onetime British blues band became pop-rock royalty when they relocated to the U.S. and recruited a pair of Americans to their latest lineup.

While Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, and to an extent Christine McVie, were bound to be the most visible members with solo projects, a long parade of artists released outside projects before, during, and after their time in the band.

In the list of the Top 15 Fleetwood Mac Solo Songs, the three previously mentioned artists dominate, but they’re just part of the story. Past singer and guitarist Bob Welch is also here, as is future member Dave Mason, who had a long, prestigious career before briefly joining the band during one of its rare commercial droughts. Together, they made some of the most enduring music in rock history, but on their own, they were often as brilliant.

15. Lindsey Buckingham, “Slow Dancing”
From: Go Insane (1984)

Buckingham’s second solo album, Go Insane, broke even further from his Fleetwood Mac expectations. Heavily inspired by new wave and synth-pop, the album’s use of synthesizers and electronic sounds stamps it as a product of the era, but the dance groove of “Slow Dancing” reflects the artist’s fearless steps into the future.

14. Dave Mason, “We Just Disagree”
From: Let It Flow (1977)

Dave Mason had played with Traffic, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and scores of others before he joined Fleetwood Mac for a tour and album in 1995. Both were huge disappointments; the LP, Time, failed even to make the Top 200. Mason charted his biggest solo single with “We Just Disagree” in 1977, right when Rumours was on everybody’s lips.

13. Christine McVie, “Got a Hold on Me”
From: Christine McVie (1984)

Christine McVie released her first solo album in 1970 when she was still known as Christine Perfect. Fourteen years later, she put out a second album. Simply titled Christine McVie, the album’s highlight “Got a Hold on Me” features Buckingham on guitar and Steve Winwood on synths, sounding much like her work with Fleetwood Mac.

12. Stevie Nicks with Don Henley, “Leather and Lace”
From: Bella Donna (1981)

Stevie Nicks and Don Henley’s relationship lasted for several months during Rumours‘ marathon run on the charts, but they were broken up for three years when their Bella Donna duet “Leather and Lace” came out. Written for Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, the song became her second consecutive Top 10 solo hit.

11. Bob Welch, “Ebony Eyes”
From: French Kiss (1977)

After leaving Fleetwood Mac in 1974, Bob Welch co-founded the band Paris but soon released his first solo album French Kiss in 1977. The LP’s first single, “Sentimental Lady,” reached the Top 10; the disco-groove follow-up “Ebony Eyes” just missed at No. 14.

10. Stevie Nicks, “Talk to Me”
From: Rock a Little (1985)

One of two songs on her third solo album she didn’t have a hand in writing, “Talk to Me” was Nicks’ fourth Top 10 hit. Written by Chas Sandford, who co-produced and played most of the instruments, the song arrived during a five-year recording hiatus for Fleetwood Mac.

9. Lindsey Buckingham, “Holiday Road”
From: National Lampoon’s Vacation Original Motion Picture Sound Track (1983)

With one solo album out and the release of Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage a year earlier, Lindsey Buckingham recorded a one-off single for the 1983 soundtrack to National Lampoon’s Vacation. Although the song stalled at No. 82, “Holiday Road” has turned into one of Buckingham’s most popular solo tunes.

8. Lindsey Buckingham, “Go Insane”
From: Go Insane (1984)

Seven years after the fact, Lindsey Buckingham was still struggling over his breakup with Stevie Nicks, seeking closure. The title track to his second solo album explores these lingering issues, adding background songs to a thematic disorder.

7. Bob Welch, “Sentimental Lady”
From: French Kiss (1977)

Welch had recorded “Sentimental Lady” before his solo version hit the Top 10 in 1977, on Fleetwood Mac’s 1972 album Bare Trees. His debut album as a solo artist included assistance from Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, and Lindsey Buckingham.

6. Dave Mason, “Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave”
From: Alone Together (1970)

Following his exit from Traffic, Dave Mason lined up an all-star group to back him on his debut solo album. A highlight of 1970’s Alone Together, “Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave” is gently rolling folk rock with stinging wah guitar.

5. Stevie Nicks, “Rooms on Fire”
From: The Other Side of the Mirror (1989)

Fleetwood Mac was at a crossroads when Nicks released her fourth solo album in 1989. “Rooms on Fire” confronts Nicks’ conflicts as a single, childless woman and eventual acceptance. The album became her biggest solo record in the U.K.

4. Lindsey Buckingham, “Trouble”
From: Law and Order (1981)

Buckingham was given the reins for Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk, indulging his mad-genius impulses. In 1981, he made his first solo album, Law and Order, going even deeper into multilayers of sounds. “Trouble” features drums by Mick Fleetwood.

3. Stevie Nicks, “Stand Back”
From: The Wild Heart (1983)

Inspired by Prince’s “Little Red Corvette,” Nicks wrote “Stand Back” on the day of her brief marriage to the widower of her best friend. Prince helped with some of the synths, but it was Nicks’ performance that made “Stand Back” a No. 5 hit.

2. Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”
From: Bella Donna (1981)

Stevie Nicks’ debut solo album wasn’t a total alone affair. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” featuring Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was her debut single and biggest solo song, written by Petty and guitarist Mike Campbell.

1. Stevie Nicks, “Edge of Seventeen”
From: Bella Donna (1981)

Written as a reaction to the deaths of John Lennon and Nicks’ uncle, “Edge of Seventeen” opened Side Two of her debut solo album. The song helped carry Bella Donna to No. 1, the only Mac solo album to reach that position. It remains a powerful track that encapsulates the myth and legend of Stevie Nicks.

Source: Various