One of the neat things about Fleetwood Mac is that, during their most popular period, they had three strong singers and songwriters in Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and Christine McVie. While Stevie Nicks and her songs seemed to get the most attention, Christine McVie’s contributions are not to be slighted.
Case is point is today’s classic song of the day, “You Make Loving Fun.” Written and sung by Christine McVie, this was one of the standout tracks on a standout album, Rumours. Released as a single in September of 1977, “You Make Loving Fun” went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the Cash Box Top 100.
Unlike Ms. Nicks’ tunes, which tended to be shaped and arranged by Mr. Buckingham, Ms. McVie took more complete charge of her compositions. So instead of being guitar-driven, as were most of Ms. Nicks and Mr. Fleetwood’s songs, “You Make Loving Fun” featured Ms. McVie on multiple keyboards—Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner Clavinet (with wah-wah pedal), and Hammond B3 organ. Lindsey added some guitars, as one might expect, but this was a keyboard-heavy arrangement.
“You Make Loving Fun,” was apparently inspired by Ms. McVie’s affair with Curry Grant, the band’s lighting director, although she told her then-husband, bassist John McVie, that it was about her dog. Let’s be honest, though; given all the romantic goings on during the making of Rumours, the likelihood that any given song was about any given relationship was pretty high.
For your viewing pleasure, today’s daily bonus video of the day features Fleetwood Mac performing “You Make Loving Fun” live at the rehearsal stage at SIR (Studio Instrument Rentals) in 1976.
