Tunes For Tuesday – Fleetwood Mac “Black Magic Woman”
A sample of some obscure – and some maybe not obscure – tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today’s selection: Fleetwood Mac “Black Magic Woman” 1968
Back in the dark ages – before fame and fortune struck – there was a band called “Fleetwood Mac”. Formed in 1967 and named for the drummer – Mick Fleetwood – and the bass player – John McVie, they formed a British blues band.
Peter Green was the guitar player that replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers whose members also included Fleetwood and McVie. After a bit of swapping musicians, the three joined together to form Fleetwood Mac. One of their first pieces was “Black Magic Woman“, first released as a single, then included on 1969’s compilation album, “English Rose”.
Santana recorded the song in 1970 and was such a success that few people realize that the tune is from early Fleetwood Mac – few people at that time knew of Fleetwood Mac; their huge success came in the summer of 1975 release of the (2nd) self-titled album.
Over the years, only Mick Fleetwood and John McVie have been consistent members of the band. Christine Perfect started playing with the band on their second album in 1968 (and married John McVie the same year) but was not a “member” until the 5th album, “Future Games” when Peter Green left the band.
Just as a side note, I prefer more of the earlier releases than later: “Then Play On“, “Kiln House“, “Future Games“, “Bare Trees“, and … both “Fleetwood Mac” albums.
With the inclusion of Buckingham and Nicks the group exploded into stratospheric exposure. They were inescapable. I concur the earlier Fleetwood Mac was the best… those four albums you mentioned, but Penguin was very good, too. A fine ingredient was Bob Welsh for a while, he penned “Hypnotized” on the Mystery To Me album along with a lot of other contributions, such as “Sentimental Lady.” Bob’s end was by his own hand, but after he left the group.
Perhaps OT: Just yesterday, my stroll around YouTube took me to this dive into Carole King. I had no idea how many credits she has as a song writer.
So sorry to hear about your septic problems. Ugh! Been there.
On the music choice: first time I heard Black Magic Women was on the Santana Abraxas album I bought surreptitiously in Toronto (that is to say, without my mother’s knowledge) when I was very young. My mother later found it and was not pleased with the album’s cover. I think it was the first album I ever bought. Got it at record shop on Bay Street with pocket money.
I’ve always liked the song but knew nothing about its history. Thanks for the interesting background. There’s always a lot to learn on this site! From music to geography to architecture, plumbing and more.
One of my favorite groups.
Having said that, I always preferred Santana’s cover to the Mac’s original.
Another album worth mentioning is Fleetwood Mac in Chicago. They played with several of the old blues greats, men old enough to be their fathers or grandfathers.
Lindsey Buckingham did an excellent cover of “World Turning” on the 1975 “Fleetwood Mac” album, but don’t miss Peter Green’s live performance here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivS5wjwGbn8