Landslide

"Landslide" is a song written by Stevie Nicks and performed by Fleetwood Mac. It was first featured on the band's 1975 album Fleetwood Mac. Nicks was 26 years old when she wrote the song.

Song creation

Nicks has said that she wrote this song while she was contemplating going back to school or continuing on with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. Her band Buckingham Nicks had been dropped by Polydor Records and she and Buckingham were not getting along. She wrote the song while visiting Aspen, Colorado sitting in someone's living room "looking out at the Rocky Mountains pondering the avalanche of everything that had come crashing down on us...at that moment, my life truly felt like a landslide in many ways."^[1]

Personnel

• Stevie Nicks – Vocals
• Lindsey Buckingham – Guitar
• Christine McVie – Keyboards - on live performances between 1975–1982

Cover versions

Dixie Chicks

"Landslide"
Single by Dixie Chicks
from the album Home
Released	August 20, 2002
Format	CD
Recorded	2001–2002
Genre	Country
Length	3:50
Label	Sony
Writer(s)	Stevie Nicks
Producer	Dixie Chicks, Lloyd Maines
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Dixie Chicks singles chronology
"Long Time Gone" (2002) "Landslide" (2002) "Travelin' Soldier" (2003)

The country group Dixie Chicks then covered "Landslide" on their 2002 Home album. This rendition, featuring the group's trademark two- and three-part harmonies reached the Top 10 of both the pop (#7) and country charts (#2) as well as several other charts. It became the Dixie Chicks' only #1 single (to date) on the adult contemporary chart. Lead singer Natalie Maines said she was attracted, in part, to the song because she was then the same age that Nicks was when she initially performed it.

Charts

Other covers

Alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins made an acoustic cover of the song that was featured on their 1994 B-side collection Pisces Iscariot. The cover was a hit, making it to the top three on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. that year and #30 on the U.S. Airplay charts.

Many other artists from diverse genres of music have also recorded the song. Singer-songwriter Tori Amos has covered the song in concerts since 1994 during her Pink Tour. The album Y100 Sonic Sessions: volume 1, includes a live version. Others renditions include the Red Hot Chili Peppers' guitarist John Frusciante's version recorded during solo concerts, jazz singer Stacey Kent's version on her album Breakfast on the Morning Tram, and a version by Venice, a favorite of Stevie Nicks, for their 1999 album Spin Art, ^[2]

References