CAUSE OF DEATH: Fleetwood Mac Artiste, Christine McVie, Has Died

The British singer-songwriter was behind hits including Little Lies, Everywhere, Don’t Stop, Say You Love Me, and Songbird.

She died peacefully at a hospital in the company of her family, a statement said.

McVie left Fleetwood Mac after 28 years in 1998 but returned in 2014.

The family’s statement said “we would like everyone to keep Christine in their hearts and remember the life of an incredible human being, and revered musician who was loved universally”.

Born Christine Perfect, McVie married Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie and joined the group in 1971.

Fleetwood Mac was one of the world’s best known rock bands in the 1970s and ’80s.

Their 1977 album Rumours – inspired by the break-ups of the McVies and the band’s other couple, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks – became one of the biggest selling of all time, with more than 40 million copies sold worldwide.

A statement by the band said of McVie: “We were so lucky to have a life with her.

“Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed.”

The band announced the news in a tweet on Wednesday, writing in a statement: “There are no words to describer our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie. She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure. She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life.

We were so lucky to have a life with her. Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed,” the statement added.

Her family released a statement, saying: “On behalf of Christine McVie’s family, it is with a heavy heart we are informing you of Christine’s death. She passed away peacefully at hospital this morning, Wednesday, November 30th 2022, following a short illness. She was in the company of her family. We kindly ask that you respect the family’s privacy at this extremely painful time, and we would like everyone to keep Christine in their hearts and remember the life of an incredible human being, and revered musician who was loved universally. RIP Christine McVie.”

Originally known professionally by her maiden name, Christine Perfect, she first arrived on the charts as a member of the British blues-rock combo Chicken Shack, where she took the lead vocals on the No. 14 U.K. hit “I’d Rather Go Blind,” the band’s 1969 cover of American vocalist Etta James’ 1967 R&B number. She was named best female vocalist by the British weekly Melody Maker in 1969-70.

By that time, she had wed John McVie, bassist for the English blues-rock unit Fleetwood Mac, then led by guitarist and founder Peter Green. She appeared on the band’s sophomore album “Mr. Wonderful” (1968) and on Green’s last record with the group he founded, “Then Play On” (1969).

Over the course of five 1971-74 releases, she grew as an artistic force in the band as a songwriter and lead vocalist, but the band was largely viewed as a journeyman act, forgotten in its country of origin and modestly successful in the U.S. (where it would ultimately take up residence in the late ‘70s).

However, after the arrival of the American duo of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in the band on New Year’s Eve 1974, Fleetwood Mac underwent a transformation and became a pop music juggernaut. Singer-songwriter-keyboardist McVie took an important role in its multi-platinum efforts, with her warmth and gravitas balancing the contributions of her younger new bandmates.

The New York Times’ critic Jon Pareles wrote in a 2014 review, “Ms. McVie was the more levelheaded, kindly voice alongside the band’s other two songwriters: Ms. Nicks — sometimes dreamy, sometimes vindictive — and the guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, who tucked angry, wounded lyrics into virtuosic guitar parts….Ms. McVie’s demure alto bound together the group’s vocal harmonies; her songs promised that loyal affection was still possible.”

In the early days of the band’s chart dominance, McVie’s voice was usually the one listeners heard coming out of their radios: She wrote and sang two of its breakthrough pop hits from its self-titled 1975 Reprise album, “Over My Head” (No. 20) and “Say You Love Me” (No. 11). With even its deepest cuts gaining traction at album rock radio, the LP climbed to No. 1 and was certified for sales of five million.

As “Fleetwood Mac” was lofted up the charts, the band experienced all the excesses and tensions that sudden fame, great wealth, huge industry leverage and skyrocketing label expectations can bring to a rock group, and the completion of the album’s immensely popular successor “Rumours” (1977) seems miraculous in hindsight.

Writer Dave DiMartino noted in an expanded 2004 edition of the album, “…[T]he most phenomenal aspect of ‘Rumours’ is twofold: 1) It is an extraordinarily good, rich album featuring a superb rock ‘n’ roll band at their very best; 2) in retrospect, it’s remarkable that it was even made in the first place. One of only a handful of records that seamless blend real-life experience and art, the album that defined an era for so many people was an emotionally harrowing affair for each of the band members who made it.”

Buckingham and Nicks’ personal relationship and the McVies’ marriage both disintegrated (the latter owing to Christine’s affair with the group’s lighting director) during the run-up to the release of “Rumours,” but the group translated the friction into a universally embraced song cycle about romantic dissolution. The album shifted more than 19 million copies in the U.S; Christine McVie accounted for the collection’s two sunniest hits, “Don’t Stop” (No. 3) and “You Make Loving Fun” (No. 9). “Rumours” received a Grammy as album of the year in 1978.