Go Your Own Way (1977) 4/19/20

In 1977, Fleetwood Mac released its “Rumours” album...an album that had been delayed by heavy drug usage and personal breakups.

At this point, Christine and John McVie had divorced, Mick Fleetwood had separated from his wife, and Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were no longer a couple.

Recording and mixing problems also played a part in the delay...with most of the tracks recorded separately at 4 different studios and put together without all (and sometimes ANY) of the band members present.

The whole thing was a recipe for disaster...and yet, once it hit the charts, it stayed there for months. In fact, it spent 31 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Album chart...and it also went to #1 in Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and The Netherlands.

Overall, the album spawned 4 Top 10 singles...including today's “Great Song of the ''70s!”

“Go Your Own Way” was the first single, and it also had an impressive chart run: #1 in Belgium and The Netherlands, #4 in South Africa, #10 in the US and #11 in Canada.

The song was written by Lindsey Buckingham about his breakup with Stevie Nicks, and although she recorded her part as written, she took issue with the lyric, “\Packing up, shacking up is all you wanna do.” She felt it was a personal “slam” that Buckingham knew wasn't true, and demanded he change it. He didn't, and their relationship crumbled even more.

But all that drama aside, ”Go Your Own Way” is #120 on Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has it on their list of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Note: The other 3 hits from “Rumours” were, in order: “Dreams,” “Don't Stop,” and “You Make Lovin' Fun."

From 1977: