Stevie Nicks is over here stealing hearts and making history once again. She will be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a second time as a solo artist. She was first inducted to the Hall of Fame In 1998 with Fleetwood Mac. She is the first female to be inducted twice to the Hall of Fame. I have loved this human since my father first introduced Fleetwood Mac to me at a very young age. Her style is one that I live by and her music will forever be a tune playing within my soul.
As history has shown, not a lot of artists make it big as soloists once they break off from a very popular band. For example, Freddie Mercury did poorly as a solo artist. So, for her solo work to be recognized is astonishing. This also marks a huge step for female representation within the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which does not have a good history of equality. The first women to ever be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was Aretha Franklin. Plenty of males have been inducted twice or even three times but this is the first that a female has been inducted twice. Nicks will also be inducted with another female artist Janet Jackson.
In Nicks honor, I wanted to dedicate a post to her achievement so I picked the song Edge of Seventeen for this post as it was the very first song I had ever heard of by her. This song is featured on Nicks very first solo album “Bella Donna“. Of course, I insistently fell in love with the song and it remains one of my all time favorite songs to this day. That is why I picked this song out of her many amazing songs. Nicks talks about how this song was written when her uncle and John Lennon had died. Her uncle had died from a very quick cancer and John Lennon had a fairly violent death. For me, there is this sense of innocence dying in this song. It has a very sad tone yet it is also uplifting. To me, the white dove that is mentioned represents this innocence. Nicks mentioned that the dove represented the peace that John Lennon preached of. So with his death, his peace dies but not necessarily the peace he managed to spread while he was alive. Nicks also opened up about the dove representing her uncle and how she was holding onto his hand until his death. This song can connect with anyone who has experienced the sight of a loved one dying. It is intense and scary much like the haunting voices heard within the song. But it is also uplifting to know and realize that that loved one is no longer in pain and hopefully in a better place.
I couldn’t be more amazed at all the things Stevie has and continues to accomplish and she serves as an icon to me (and I hope to others) to keep pursueing my passions for as long as I can and am able. I hope this piece brought some joy into your hearts and encourages you to check out her amazing talents more and the others that will be inducted to the Hall of Fame this year. Have a lovely day!
