The song that launched Stevie Nicks’ solo career

(Credits: Far Out / TIDAL)

Thursday 12 December 2024 15:00 UK

This is hard to believe Stevie Nicks ever had difficulty in gaining recognition. However, the struggle to ‘make it’ has been part of her story since day one – before she even joined Fleetwood Mac. Back then, she was so unsure that a music career would be sustainable that she wrote songs to express her despair, unknowingly creating several hits that would later define her legacy.

It’s hard to believe that Nicks ever had trouble getting recognition, just as it’s hard to believe that she ever experienced imposter syndrome, but that’s exactly how she felt, even after she was hired to join the folk rock group that would significantly change the course of music history. . Of course, she retained the kind of fire that often caused disagreements and arguments, but given that she was gaining momentum in an industry filled with toxic masculinity, some might say she earned her due.

Fleetwood Mac created some of the greatest records of all time, but Nicks’ experience throughout those processes was far from easy. In fact, there were countless times when she questioned her position, feeling like she wasn’t appreciated or didn’t see eye to eye with the rest of the band, unable to overlook the clashes that threatened to turn everything upside down. . As she later reflected, “Pretty soon I realized that I don’t like being around these people because they look at the world through a different pair of glasses than I do.”

When she finally left Fleetwood Mac, she had already established herself as an influential rock artist, with songs and lyrics that combined her whimsy and mysticism in a way that hadn’t been so overt in previous years. However, low self-esteem still lurked around every corner, which meant that by the time she came to work on her debut solo album, she felt she needed to look to an industry veteran to help her find the way

Tom Petty and Nicks had already crossed paths a few times before Nicks started working Bella Donnaespecially when Nicks informally made subtle requests for her to help with the album and write some songs. Petty eventually sent her a song, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” but her desire to overlap with Petty’s artistry didn’t stop there. She eventually brought in Jimmy Iovine, who delivered some harsh realities that initially seemed to annoy her until she decided to reframe the whole situation more rationally.

Iovine apparently pushed Nicks to release “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” as her first single because, in her words, “Your record is going to drop, and then you’re not going to have a solo career” if she didn’t- a. . Nicks was happy significant success within the bandbut her solo success was far from a guarantee, and she knew she had to listen to Iovine if she wanted to stand a chance.

Nicks wasn’t the biggest fan of cutting other songs to fit the track on the album, but after hearing Iovine’s honesty, she forced herself to be more reasonable. Before performing the song live in concert, Nicks recalled the situation, saying, “You have to let go of the self-esteem you have now and realize that the whole reason you hired Jimmy Iovine was because he produced Tom Petty and you always wanted to be in Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.”

She added: “‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart’ became a huge single, all because Mr. Tom Petty was generous enough to give me that song.” While it’s likely Nicks would still have enjoyed a successful solo career had she released another song, there’s no denying the timeless appeal of “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” Not only that, but she continued her husky, sultry trajectory with a song about romantic frustrations from just her perspective, enhanced by Petty’s rock edge.

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