Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks

Stephen Davis’ ‘Gold Dust Woman: THE Biography of Stevie Nicks’—the title is the first offender. The use of ‘the’ as a modifier implies that this is the only biography of Stevie Nicks that exists. This is not a true statement even if this biography is the one that has been promoted most heavily. To be fair, the title the book was given may have been the doing of the editor/publisher. I know that authors do not always have the final say over every aspect of their books.I started the book with an open mind. I know some basic facts about Stevie’s life. In fact, I saw Buckingham Nicks in Birmingham, AL in 1974, when they were the opening act for Mountain, a band my brother and I liked that were similar to Cream—not a huge surprise as their bass player, Felix Pappalardi, had produced and played on some Cream recordings. Buckingham and Nicks were mostly unknowns then and they recorded one album. However, they were dropped from their label after not drawing sufficient sales, even with the topless cover photo, which I found that Stevie was on record as protesting but was coerced into posing for, yet another instance of what happens when an unknown (i.e., powerless) woman protests against a record label/movie studio, etc. She always has to ask herself if her moral/ethical principles are more important than the chance of greater success? Stevie, like most other unknown young women in show business, had no bargaining chip. After they were dropped from the label, even before they were dropped from the label, Stevie was waitressing and cleaning houses while her partner in life as well as music Lindsay Buckingham stayed home and wrote more music. At the end of 1974, Mick Fleetwood, the drummer and manager of the British band Fleetwood Mac, now residents of the U.S., was looking for yet another guitarist after the latest in their succession of guitarists Bob Welch announced he was leaving. Mick heard a song, “Frozen Love,” from an album by Buckingham Nicks played for him by his producer friend Keith Olson and was immensely impressed. Once the members of Fleetwood Mac met Buckingham and Nicks they were informed that they were a package deal. If they wanted Buckingham, they must also take Nicks as a second female singer after veteran Christine McVie so the decision was left up to Christine. She would cast the deciding vote based on whether she and Stevie could get along personally. Fortunately, they did and the rest was the history they made on the rapid rise to the top. Stevie began 1975 waitressing and cleaning houses to earn money for rent and ended the year a globe-trotting and performing millionaire.The author can’t seem to resist inserting a bit of snark to garnish a statement. For example, when describing Lindsay Buckingham’s song “Without a Leg to Stand On,” which he very accurately compares to Cat Stevens, he describes Cat as “the very precious (and popular) English minstrel. Did we really need to know how he felt about Cat Stevens?At one point, he writes, “quicker than you can say Rhiannon”—a misfire of an attempt at making a verbal cliché witty in my view..”She’d never done anything without Lindsay Buckingham, who’d shaped her sound like a surfboard”—another misfire of a metaphor.“Their biggest hit was beyond-legendary “The Train Kept a-Rollin.” What is ‘beyond-legendary’ exactly? I’m only familiar with legendary music myself.“Jack Nicholson, Hollywood’s biggest star”—is that a fact? He’s not just one of the biggest stars but THE biggest star, as if that is indisputable, verifiable fact, eh?There are several other similar examples of hyperbole, exaggeration, and sarcasm but I won’t cite all of them because I don’t want the snark to devour my review.However, there is one other curious matter that I think needs to be highlighted. I had read on the book jacket that Stephen Davis had co-authored Mick Fleetwood’s first autobiography, ‘My Twenty-Five Years in Fleetwood Mac’, published in 1992. I just read and reviewed Mick’s more recent autobiography, ‘Play On: Now, Then, and Fleetwood Mac,’ which is co-authored by Anthony Bozza, published in 2014. All this is to shed some insight over why Stephen Davis titles one chapter, “The Writer”. This chapter opens with the sentence, “While Fleetwood Mac was in London, Stevie Nicks was disconcerted by the presence of a writer who was helping Mick Fleetwood with his autobiography. They didn’t usually let writers mingle with the band. “I don’t think anyone in the band welcomed it,” Mick said later.” There are several references to this writer. The chapter also goes on to say that other members of the group agreed to be interviewed by the writer, who happens to know about Mick’s and Stevie’s affair as well as Mick’s affair and later marriage with Stevie’s close friend, Sara Recor,” possibly the, or one of, the inspirations for Stevie’s song, “Sara.” When Mick informs Stevie of this, she says he knows she’d say no to an interview and that she plans to write her own book later. All of this chronicling of an episode about ‘the writer’ and Mick Fleetwood’s first autobiography sheds a strange light on these proceedings, partially because some of the writer’s descriptions of Stevie are none too flattering and mince no words, but mainly because there is no ‘full disclosure’ statement anywhere in the chapter where Stephen Davis admits that ‘the writer’ was him.All of this extensive criticism is not meant to imply that ‘Gold Dust Woman’ has no value or sheds no insight into Stevie Nicks. I learned that she was a fan of Evangeline Walton’s adult fantasy series, a retelling of the medieval Welsh Mabinogian epic writing, of which one of the volumes was titled ‘The Song of Rhiannon’, from which Stevie got the inspiration for her classic song. She even bought the film rights to the four-book series but to date none of the films have been made. The trappings of this Welsh witch have become trademarks of Stevie’s performing persona over the rest of her career. There are websites dedicated to the various shawls and chiffon capes that she has worn on stage over the years. The word ‘Rhiannon’ was even ostensibly adopted by Stevie (rather than another verbal affectation of the writer) as an adjective, as in “she is very Rhiannon.”We also learn more about Lindsay Buckingham than he would probably care for us to know, including the extent of Lindsay’s verbal as well as physical abuse of Stevie. I won’t speculate on the matter beyond that except to say that one of Lindsay’s subsequent significant others, Carol Ann Harris, has written an account of her life with him titled ‘Storms: My Life with Lindsay Buckingham.’Unsurprisingly, this biography is somewhat less favorable to Mick Fleetwood than Mick was in his own autobiography. One of the main bones of contention was over Stevie’s song, “Silver Springs,” one of the songs recorded for ‘Rumors’ and originally intended to be on the album despite Lindsay’s objection as it was a thinly veiled expression of Stevie’s view of their breakup. It was replaced with another of Stevie’s songs, “I Don’t Want to Know,” because of its length. The song had a special meaning to Stevie in that she gave the rights to her mother as a gift i.e., all publishing and performing royalties would go to her mother and help her financially in her last years. Not only was it not included on ‘Rumors’ but it was only included as the B-side to the single, “Go Your Own Way,” until a later Fleetwood Mac best-of compilation in 1992. Stevie had asked Mick to include it on a collection of her songs but was denied.Ultimately, Davis is respectful of Stevie Nicks as a person as well as a songwriter and performer while not hesitating to shed light on her shortcomings. In his ‘Author’s Notes and Sources’, he states that this is an unauthorized biography, meaning that Stevie Nicks provided no interviews directly to him but that he has used “reliable published interviews, taped interview transcripts, and Stevie’s own writings to let the reader hear her “voice” in a consistent register, to get a feeling for her interior life in her own words.” He says he has avoided suppositional language when writing about her, yet he has not used as much nuance when it comes to statements about other people, such as the examples I cited above.Because this biography serves the informational purpose of providing many of the facts of her life as well as some insight into her character, I am rounding up my two and a half star personal rating to three stars. I do hope that at some point, Stevie will get the comprehensive biography that she deserves.

I enjoyed reading this book however...as I wrote in the headline, this, and many biographies of musicians come across more an an infomercial for their music, rather than a biography of their lives. My suggestion is, keep the songs mentioned in the biogaphy to a minimum, limited to the most blockbuster songs. Stick mainly to biography. If you want to sell a playlist, then publish a playlist. I'd buy that too, but the list of every single song peppered throughout the book was distracting.The other criticism is the harshness towards Lindsey Buckingham. Physical and verbal abuse aren't to be downplayed. However, he was diagnosed with physical disease that could have definitely affected his behavior, making him more prone to violent outbursts than he would have been otherwise. He seemed singled out as the most dysfunctional member of the band, when in fact, none of them, including Stevie, had stellar behavior. They were all heavily into cocaine; not a recipe for stablity. (as is the case with so many actors and musicians, sadly) I can separate the bad behavior from the person. Would that we would all strive for that.The author conflates Lindsey's allegedly bad behavior and clearly volatile relationship with Stevie Nicks with his musicianship. That's just low: "After a month on the road, Stevie started to notice something. Nobody, in all the interviews she was doing, ever asked her, 'Where’s Lindsey?' In fact, without the moody, highly strung guitarist, the tour atmosphere was light and refreshing. Billy’s singing and Rick’s guitar effectively took Lindsey’s place. No audience ever shouted for 'I’m So Afraid' or 'Second Hand News.' No one missed Lindsey Buckingham, which seemed to give Stevie some satisfaction and not a little sadness as well."Points taken regarding moodiness. It must also be kept in mind, Lindsey turned Stevie's poetry into music. They each have talent which contributed to the success of Buckingham/Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham's voice, as we can hear on Fleetwood Mac recordings, is at least as unique and interesting as Stevie's. Yes, Stevie Nicks is a talented singer and performer, with a beautiful, unique voice and delivery. But another reason Stevie was such a big draw for Fleetwood Mac is she's cute, ultra-feminine, and sexy, moving provocatively across the stage. Buckingham didn't have that advantage. One shouldn't diss a person's profession because of their private weaknesses. Nobody did that to Stevie Nicks, but they do it to Buckingham, why? Because he's not an adorable, sexy little woman wearing chiffon.

Great book! I love Stevie!

I liked how it showed how she felt during the different decades of Fleetwood Mac

Liked the way it was laid out & the way it told you about her life not just her career! Had always been a big fan of Lindsey Buckingham due to his unusual style of playing guitar & what I felt was was musical genius similar to Prince!! Whenever I bring up the fact I graduated from San Jose State University the question often comes up "did you run into Stevie Nicks?" to which I reply "she was a little before my time", but it always brought up this curiosity about her that I could not quite understand!!! After reading this book I understand the Artist, the Lady & the Mystique that Steve Nicks is, was & will continue us to be!!!!

Liked it.

I wanted to read a memoir, but Stevie hasn’t written one, so I guess this is the next best thing, though some reviewers have said there are errors in this book. There was a lot of drama and turmoil in the group Fleetwood Mac, mostly between Stevie and Lindsey. The amounts of drugs and money wasted are horrifying and when I read about Christine and Stevie having their hotel rooms repainted, it just seemed ridiculous. Rightfully, Stevie had a solo career and I greatly admire her music and creativity. She’s unique and I applaud her later generosity when she was older and sober. There are some photos.

I didn't know much about Stevie nicks before reading this book what an amazing story lots of stuff I knew lots of stuff I didn't also goes through the Fleetwood Mac her relationship with Lindsey and other rock stars and friendships this is a awesome book if you love classic rock

Fantástica e peculiar história de vida, retrato muito transparente de acertos, erros e conexões. Stevie Nicks é uma verdadeira lenda viva, cantora e compositora muito diferenciada. Eu já tinha uma conexão muito forte com suas músicas, e depois de ler a biografia a empatia e a admiração chegaram a um outro patamar. Recomendo a todos os interessados em história do pop/rock. Uma pena ela não ser muito conhecida no Brasil e não ter versão traduzida para alcançar um público maior.

Very well presented book

Being in something of an obsessive Fleetwood Mac rediscovery mode, I was looking forward to reading this biography, hoping to discover more of the inside story of this fascinating band and Stevie Nicks. It didn’t disappoint on the whole but there were a couple of glaring oddities which wider research by the author might have smoothed out: he quotes Lindsey Buckingham as having 3 daughters when he has 2 and a son, and also describes Lindsey’s life threatening grand mal seizure in a hotel room in Philadelphia as a simple collapse. The medical investigations were extensive and at times brutal, and the band’s lack of empathy and concern at times must have profoundly affected their musical genius. His anger and behaviours are not to be downplayed but the tensions and pressures almost wrecked the band in the 1980’s. The author concentrates on his subject as one might expect.Naturally there’s much detail on the extensive collaborations with song writers, musicians, bands, producers etc and there can’t be many people Stevie hasn’t worked with during her lengthy career but this isn’t an autobiography so much of his quoted material is already out there. If Stevie ever writes her autobiography then it’ll really lift the lid on her life story and as she herself says, there are too many people whose present marriages and relationships might be affected by her revelations for her to go down that avenue. Many fans are still trying to make up their minds as to the veracity of the relationship with Buckingham as played out on stage versus real life. There exists much video footage to suggest that their love endures deep within them which seems to be at odds with Stephen Davis’s impressions, but that the complexities of working together, much less living together are, for the present, hampering that reconciliation which would bring their lives to a fairy tale conclusion, both professionally and romantically. Only time will tell whether they have the desire to heal old wounds and ride off into the sunset of their lives together.

Arrived in mint condition!

I’m giving this 5 stars as it’s immaculately researched and well written. I’d give it 2 if it was for likeability. It’s hard to imagine that Rumours - the soundtrack to my formative years - was written as a result of their hatred for each other. And boy, did they hate each other. Nicks and Buckingham had a ridiculously childish battle over who was the most talented and seemed to be extremely spoilt individuals. Christine McVie wrote the sweetest song on Rumours ‘Songbird’ written away from the toxicity. Every tour seemed to happen just to pay off Fleetwood’s drug bill - as did each album. All milked to ensure maximum money for the band (although the Tusk tour laughably made them nothing due to their spoilt demands). Stevie Nicks was possibly the worst of the 5 although Buckingham must share that honour with her. Granted she seemed nicer once she got older and off the drugs. All in all it’s hilarious. Made me think of Spinal Tap. Sobering to think they made so much money out of taking a lot of coke and drinking a great deal. Yes, they had some talent but having read this I have almost no respect for them.And one negative is that there is quite a shortage of photos - mainly just from Stevie Nicks more recent days. I could have done with more.