When I interviewed her in 1984, an astounding 38 years ago, she was just on tour on the heels of her solo hit “Got a Hold on Me.”
She had established herself as a solid component to what had become a wildly successful band, Fleetwood Mac. Behind Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, the shiny American couple at the forefront of the reconstituted old British band — she was the longstanding melodic keyboardist, songwriter and soulful vocalist who would provide some of the band’s best loved songs.
At the time, however, she made clear that a career in music was something she stumbled into, though she grew up in a musical family in Birmingham, England. Her grandfather had played organ at Westminster Abbey. Her father spent years attaining a degree to teach music and played violin in a local ensemble.
As a girl she got piano lessons. “I absolutely hated it,” she told me. “And my parents let me stop.”