1976 song by Fleetwood Mac
"Rhiannon" (released as a single under the title "Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)") is a song written by Stevie Nicks and originally recorded by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac on their eponymous album in 1975; it was issued as a single the following year. The song's U.S. chart peak was in June 1976, when it hit no. 11.[3] The song peaked at no. 46 in the UK singles chart for three weeks after re-release in February 1978.[4]
"Rhiannon" was voted no. 488 in The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine. They also ranked the song number six on their list of the 50 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs.[5]
When Nicks performed the song live, she often introduced it by saying "This is a song about an old Welsh witch."[6] During 1975–1982, Fleetwood Mac's live performances of "Rhiannon" took on a theatrical intensity not present on the FM-radio single. The song built to a climax in which Nicks's vocals were so impassioned that, as drummer and band co-founder Mick Fleetwood recalled, "her Rhiannon in those days was like an exorcism."[7]
Background
Nicks discovered the Rhiannon character in the early 1970s through a novel called Triad by Mary Bartlet Leader.[8] The novel is about a woman named Branwen who is possessed by a witch named Rhiannon. There is mention of the Welsh legend of Rhiannon in the novel, but the characters in the novel bear little resemblance to their original Welsh namesakes (both Rhiannon and Branwen are major female characters in the medieval Welsh prose tales of the Mabinogion).[8][9]
After writing the song, Nicks learned in early 1978 that Rhiannon originated from a Welsh goddess, and was amazed that the haunting lyrics in her song applied to the Welsh Rhiannon as well. Nicks told the Times that a fan sent her “four paperback novels in a Manila envelope” five years after she first wrote “Rhiannon” in 1973 that explored all the mythology behind the song. Included in the envelope was Evangeline Walton’s adaptation of the ancient British Mabinogion, which Nicks then bought the rights to after being “transfixed” by the prose.[10] Nicks researched the Mabinogion story and began work on a Rhiannon project, unsure of whether it would become a movie, a musical, a cartoon, or a ballet. There were several Rhiannon-centered and themed songs from this unfinished project, including "Three Birds of Rhiannon (Maker of Birds)", "Forest of the Black Roses" and "Stay Away". Additionally, Nicks wrote the Fleetwood Mac song "Angel" based on the Rhiannon story[9] although at times she has stated that parts of the song was about Lindsey Buckingham. In 2020, Nicks mentioned that she had started working on the Rhiannon project once again and that it will be in the form of a television miniseries. While a studio contract appears to have been signed by Nicks, no specifics have yet been mentioned as of 2023. In 1978, she wrote 10 songs that she earmarked and never released in order to include them in the “Rhiannon” miniseries.[11]
Single remix
The single version of the song was mixed on January 19, 1976 in studio 1 at Wally Heider Studios. Ken Caillat had previously mixed a live version of the song two days earlier from a performance at the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show, and was interested in engineering the sessions for the radio edit, although the band had already booked Kelly Kotera for the session. However, the studio's computer-automated console crashed, and Kotera struggled to mix the song manually as both Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut hovered over him throughout the session. Dashut then asked Caillat to mix the song, which he agreed to.[12]
Whereas Keith Olsen's album mix emphasized the bottom end of the instruments, Caillat instead accentuated the midranges. To compensate for the reduced lower frequencies, Caillat brought the bass guitar further up in the recording. The mix took seven hours to complete and was transferred onto an Ampex stereo two-track recorder.[12]
Live performances
"Rhiannon" was first performed live with Buckingham Nicks as an uptempo number. Bob Aguirre, who was one of the drummers for the Buckingham Nicks tour, recalled that Buckingham had already finalized the song's arrangement prior to its first performance, although the band was reminded by Nicks to be mindful of the song's tempo. "We needed another uptempo song in the set so we made it faster, you can hear Stevie say right after her intro 'And remember, not too fast'".[13][14]
Prior to the release of the band's 1975 eponymous release, Fleetwood Mac played "Rhiannon" in El Paso, Texas, which was Nicks' and Buckingham's first live show as members of Fleetwood Mac. Nicks frequently introduced "Rhiannon" as "a song about a Welsh witch" during this time period.[15] Up until the late seventies, Christine McVie played a Fender Rhodes for live performances of "Rhiannon", saying that "the Rhodes was great to play on something like "Rhiannon" because it's so bell-like, but on anything else it would kind of get lost among the electric guitars."[16] A live recording of "Rhiannon", taken from a 1980 performance in London, was included on Fleetwood Mac's Live album that same year.[17] "Rhiannon" was performed on every tour from 1975 to 1982 (Fleetwood Mac Tour [1975-1976], Rumours Tour [1977-1978], Tusk Tour [1979-1980] and Mirage Tour [1982]). While the song was included on Fleetwood Mac's 1987-1988 Shake the Cage Tour, the band occasionally omitted "Rhiannon" from the setlist when Nicks was suffering from problems with her throat.[18]
Following Nicks' departure from Fleetwood Mac in 1991, the band did not include "Rhiannon" in their setlist for their Another Link in the Chain Tour. Nicks' replacement, Bekka Bramlett, insisted on not playing it live, largely because she felt that her voice would be unsuitable for the song. "I didn’t want to fight too hard, man, but I definitely didn’t want to do "Rhiannon" and "Dreams." Also, I didn’t sound anything like her." Before the band embarked on the tour, Christine McVie approved of Bramlett's decision, saying that it was "quite honorable to not sing those particular songs of Stevie's".[19]
When Nicks returned to Fleetwood Mac in 1997, "Rhiannon" was added back to the band's setlist. A performance at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California was included on The Dance album.[20] "Rhiannon" remained in the setlist for the band's Say You Will Tour and also appeared on Fleetwood Mac: Live in Boston, a live video/music album taken from two nights in September 2003. AllMusic called this rendition of "Rhiannon" a "blowout performance".[21] "Rhiannon" has since been included in every subsequent Fleetwood Mac tour, including Fleetwood Mac's Unleashed Tour in 2009, the Fleetwood Mac Live Tour in 2013, the On with the Show Tour in 2014-2015, and the An Evening with Fleetwood Mac Tour in 2018-2019.[22][23][24][25]
Reception
Billboard described "Rhiannon" as a "haunting song" with an "infectious melody".[26] Record World said that "Stevie Nicks' vocal evokes a magic that is hard to ignore on this scintillating track."[27] The Guardian and Paste ranked the song number seven and number six, respectively, on their lists of the 30 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs.[28][29]
Covers
Sticky Fingers recorded a reggae soft rock version of the classic rock song Rhiannon by Stevie Nicks with Fleetwood Mac in 2012. They recorded the song as an unofficial single[41] and also performed it on the popular radio show Triple J's Like A Version increasing their popularity among classic rock fans.
Best Coast recorded a cover version of "Rhiannon" for the album Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac in 2012
