Search in your mental index of rock and roll queens, and you will not find one like Stevie Nicks. This musical goddess of all things ethereal, who most recently made history as the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, has clearly set the bar in the music industry.
From her outrageously cool outfits to her bewitching lyrics about love, life, gypsies, and even Greta Garbo, Nicks has a boho energy all of her own making. And, she’s willing to sweep her fans up and take them with her as she performs her own emotional ballet on stage.
What is the cost of becoming a whimsical and unapologetic yet powerful diva of the music world? If you’re Stevie Nicks, the cost can be quite painful at times. For nearly 50 years, the artist has worn her heart on her sleeve for all to see, balancing her career with her relationships as the world watches eagerly.
But fear not for Nicks, who can’t be counted among the faint-hearted. She’s weathered everything the universe has thrown at her — all the while willingly sharing her triumphs and sacrifices with her fans. Here’s an intimate look into how Stevie Nicks has climbed her own enchanted ladder to the top.
The tour of Stevie Nicks’s life begins in Phoenix, Arizona. It was 1948 when Stephanie Lynn Nicks came into the world. Her parents, Barbara and Jess, were typical young newlyweds — he was a corporate executive, and she was a homemaker, according to Biography.
Nick’s grandpa, Aaron Nicks, was an aspiring country music singer who taught her to sing at the age of four, built a guitar for her, and began taking her with him to local music gigs. Ultimate Classic Rock says that following a successful tap dance performance in the sixth grade, Nicks knew she wanted to be a performer.
There was much in store for Stevie Nicks as she attended Menlo-Atherton High School. There was a boy: Lindsey Buckingham, a high school classmate, was singing at a party Nicks went to in 1966, per MTV. On a whim, Nicks “brazenly burst into harmony with him,” as Buckingham played. The two didn’t see each other again for two years until Buckingham called out of the blue and asked Nicks to join his band.
The group was called Fritz, and Nicks was a welcome addition. She also fell in love with Buckingham, and the duo remained together as Fritz opened for Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Santana before breaking up in 1971. Nicks and Buckingham, however, remained together and formed their own band: Buckingham Nicks.
Within two years, Buckingham Nicks was signed by Polydor Records, Factinate says. Their debut, self-titled album came out in 1973 and “went largely unnoticed,” per Biography.
Except for one thing: The couple appeared nude from the waist up. Fleetwood Mac News, quoting from a 2014 eBay listing of images from the photo shoot, says it was the first time “a music duo appeared on the cover of their LP topless.” But there was more to the story. In his biography Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks, author Stephen Davis explains that after Nicks demurred when asked to take off her blouse, the abusive Buckingham threw a fit. “This is art!” he had said.
Nicks gave in, hiding the album and refusing to show it to her father. It was not the first or last time she would give in to Buckingham. Following the virtual failure of the album, the couple struggled financially.
Buckingham continued working on his music, but Nicks worked at a variety of jobs to keep the couple afloat, including dental assistant, maid, and waitress. In 1994, Nicks told the Island Ear (via In Her Own Words), “I worked at the Copper Penny, Clementine’s and Bob’s Big Boy. I supported Lindsey and I for years.”
There is no doubt that Stevie Nicks is a fighter. In 2019, the rock icon made history yet again: she was inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for the second time (the first being in 1998 as part of Fleetwood Mac). No other woman in music history has achieved such an honor. She was inducted by musician Harry Styles, whom Nicks told Rolling Stone “is the son I never had.” Indeed, the lady has a lot to be thankful for. She is rich in fans, rich in friends, and just plain rich; The Richest estimates her net worth at a cool $75 million dollars.
Nicks also continues to tour, and her “24 Karat Gold The Concert” was recently made into a film. The lady has few regrets, though one is that she never got to meet Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “I wanted to hold her hand and give her a huge hug and thank her for all she had done for women, and for all she would continue to do,” Nicks wrote on Facebook.
She sufficed by honoring Ginsburg another way. “She was a political rock star. As a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, the first female to be inducted twice, compared to 22 men having been inducted twice, I Stevie Nicks, induct Ruth Bader Ginsburg into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of Life.” Ginsburg would probably like that.
