Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac (1976) 1/18/20

I feel like today's “Great Song of the '70s” requires a short course in Mythology 101. I will try to keep it brief, knowing full well that I might miss a few important facts. :-) So here goes:

One day in 1972, Stevie Nicks was reading Triad: A Novel of the Supernatural, by Mary Bartlet Leader, when she came across the name of a mythological Welsh witch named Rihannon. Stevie was not only fascinated by the name, but the mythology itself.

Rhiannon is a major figure in the Mabinogi, the Welsh mythology collection. She was intelligent, politically strategic, beautiful, and famous for her wealth and generosity. She also experienced hardships that included the kidnapping of her son, and a charge of infanticide. Through it all, however, she was known for her “enchantments,” leading people to believe she was either a good witch...or a Celtic deity.

Whew!

Stevie freely admits that she didn't know the entire story when she wrote the song, but felt “magically compelled” to write it immediately. Fifteen MINUTES later, it was done! Stevie was later surprised to find out that her lyrics actually applied to Rhiannon's full backstory. Was Rhiannon speaking to her from another realm? Stevie doesn't rule it out!

The song “Rhiannon” has now become legendary. It originally appeared on Fleetwood Mac's eponymous album in 1976, and was released as a single shortly thereafter. On the charts, it went to #11 on Billboard's Hot 100, and in Canada, it did even better, reaching #4 on both the Top 40 AND the Adult Contemporary Charts.

Rolling Stone Magazine currently has it at #488 on their list of the “Top 500 Songs of All Time!” And people who have seen Fleetwood Mac in concert have raved about the intensity that Stevie brings to the song. Mick Fleetwood himself has called Stevie's performances “exorcisms!”

“Rhiannon:” a truly enchanting—and GREAT—Song of the '70s!

Album version:

Live version: