Us Magazine

Stevie Nicks’ rented house in Pacific Palisades, Calif., looks just like the set for the "Gypsy" video: dried flowers and beautiful shawls everywhere, candles lighting a path down to a deck that overlooks the ocean. But Nicks herself, who was born in 1948 in Phoenix, looks less like her bohemian-goddess image than the house does. Straight from a rehearsal with Fleetwood Mac—who are currently taking aging baby boomers back to their teens with a moving MTV reunion special, a hit album and a tour—Nicks is comfortably dressed in sweat socks and a long, cotton-knit dress. She joined Fleetwood Mac with then boyfriend, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, in 1975 and split with him two years later. In 1977 the band released "Rumours," its landmark album inspired by the couple’s romantic problems and those of Christine and John McVie, the band’s other twosome, who divorced in 1976. In 1981, Nicks began a successful solo career with the release of the multi-platinum "Bella Donna." When the Clinton campaign used "Don’t Stop" as its theme song, it gave Fleetwood Mac a veneer of dorkiness. Now that Billy Corgan and Courtney Love have covered "Landslide" and "Gold Dust Woman," respectively, Nicks is once again being paid her rightful homage as a trailblazer.

Q: Tell me how you developed your look.

Stevie: In one of those first shows when Lindsey and I went on the road, I saw this woman walk by, and she was wearing a mauve chiffon layered midiskirt and high platform cream-colored suede boots, I thought: I want to be her. So when I joined Fleetwood Mac and I had some money, I went to a lady and I said, I want you to make me a raggy chiffon skirt that looks sort of like an urchin on the wharves of London.

Q: Nice. So, why did you want to be in rock & roll in the first place?

Stevie: I met Lindsey when I was a senior in high school and he was a junior, and we sang a song together at some after-school function. Two years later, in 1968, he called me and asked me if I wanted to be in a rock & roll band. I had been playing guitar and singing pretty much totally folk-oriented stuff. So I joined the band, and within a couple of weeks we were opening for really big shows: Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin. All of a sudden I was in rock & roll.

Q: What did you think of Courtney Love’s cover of "Gold Dust Woman?"

Stevie: I thought it was great. It’s a little raucous for me, but she’s so very true to my song. I met Courtney last December at a Smashing Pumpkins concert. Everyone wanted us to really like each other. And I really did like her. She’s really a lot of fun for me, because I get to share stuff with her like maybe I would if I had a daughter.

Q: Have you ever regretted not having children?

Stevie: I mean, I could get sad about it, because of course we all wish we had a beautiful little baby to play with. But when it comes right down to it, would I want to give up all those years of singing? Would I just have been not that great a mom and not great a singer because I tried to do both?

Q: Do you think that rock culture’s emphasis on beauty is more pronounced for women?

Stevie: This last couple of years has been hard for me because I gained a lot of weight and I thought I was never going to lose it. I was like, OK, I’m just going to get used to wearing Venice Beach bag dresses for the rest of my life. The last time I toured, three years ago, when I walked offstage I said, I will never walk onstage at this weight again, so I will never sing again. That’s how important it can become.

Q: Has being a rock star affected your personal relationships?

Stevie: It isn’t easy to find somebody. I’m not used to having to tell anybody when I’m going to be home, or where I’m going, and most men don’t like it. They try to say that they like it, but in the long run, they don’t. This pretty much goes for rich or poor. I really don’t think that I’ll ever get married. And I’m fine with that, you know?

There is a great picture of Stevie Nicks. The portrait was taken by Neil Preston.

It states the video is available at Best Buy.