Stevie Nicks’ Memorable 2019 Rock Hall Induction
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Inductees Don Henley and Stevie Nicks perform at the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony Show at Barclays Center on March 29, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/WireImage; used with permission)
Stevie Nicks was the first inductee of the night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019 ceremony. The classic rock legend—she’s the first woman to receive a second nod from the Hall after 21 men had been so honored—chose to perform before her actual induction.
[In her induction speech, Nicks said: “It’s not hard for me to go and play for you. But it’s very hard for me to try to tell you how I thank you for this, for being the first girl in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.”]
The packed house on March 29 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., was delighted when she took the stage to sing “Stand Back.”
Watch as the evening began
The audience would have even more to cheer. “We have a surprise for you but I’m not gonna actually introduce it yet,” she said. “This is a song I originally wrote for Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, and they didn’t stay married so I took the song.”
The band began to play “Leather and Lace.” As Nicks finished the first verse of the duet, she was joined on stage by a beaming Don Henley who continued their 1981 hit duet. [Video clips of the performance continue to be removed from YouTube.]
Nicks was then joined by Harry Styles of One Direction to sing “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” the 1981 smash duet she recorded with Tom Petty on her debut solo album, Bella Donna. On this evening, Petty’s absence was palpable.
Watch Nicks and Styles perform
Nicks, born May 26, 1948, closed her performance with “Edge of Seventeen,” the third single from Bella Donna.
Related: “Edge of Seventeen” – A perfect rock song
Styles was also the odd choice to make the presentation speech, saying in part, “She was far ahead of her time… Stevie could do it all.” Styles was born in 1994, 13 years after the song was released. “She is forever Stevie,” he said. “She’s so wise and serene. She sees all the romance and drama in the world and she celebrates it. Her words say, in so many ways, ‘I understand you.’ And that is true Stevie.
“You can’t take your eyes off her, as we’ve seen tonight,” he continued. “She is the magical gypsy godmother who occupies the in-between.”
When speaking with the press afterward, Nicks was asked about Styles. “What I really loved about Harry,” she said, “was that when he decided to make a solo record from NSYNC… not NSYNC, sorry… I’m never gonna live that one down.
“One Direction,” she said slowly.
In her lengthy induction speech, Nicks relayed how she cautiously broached the subject of recording a solo album without upsetting her Fleetwood Mac bandmates. Record label exec, Paul Fishkin – her boyfriend at the time – said: “If you tell them you’ll always put them first and they will always be at the top of your priority list, they will understand.”
Nicks added: “And, yes, my amazing band is still together and very strong today.”
She then went on to thank various label executives, Jimmy Iovine, who produced her Bella Donna album, her managers, and others.
Watch Nicks’ induction speech
It was an oversight, but in her “thank yous,” she never mentioned her longtime musical director, Waddy Wachtel, or the members of Fleetwood Mac by name.
Nicks is on tour. Tickets are available here and here. Her solo recordings are available here.
7 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationlooks like Waddy Wachtel on lead gtr stage left…..super back up vocals
It sure does…he’s as good as ever, too.
Your staff misquoted her. She said she wrote “Leather and Lace” for WAYLON JENNINGS and Jessi Colter, not Merle Haggard.
Thanks for catching that. Fixed!
If I’m not mistaken, Waylon and Jessie remained married until he passed away.
” Yes, my amazing band is still together and still going strong today.” Er, well, at least it was …. until you pushed your weight around in it, with a ‘him or me’ hissy fit and had Lindsay Buckingham kicked out. Yea, they supported you when you wanted to do a solo outing, but apparently pushing your tour plans back a little so Lindsay could finish plans he already made was too much to ask. So, you just ripped the heart and soul out of your beloved band, and it’s never going to be the same. No matter how many twirls you do with all your bangles and bobs, Lindsay was the only thing that made a Fleetwood Mac concert the least bit interesting. And, his backing vocals, guitar and energy made you sound good, to boot. Oh yea, I almost forgot…. The only reason you were even in the Mac was because, back at the beginning, Lindsay insisted to Mick that if Mac wanted him, they had to take his girlfriend, and partner, as well.
Excellent commentary, Da Mick! “Her band” … How very typically Stevie!