Mick Fleetwood Honors Christine McVie on First Anniversary of Her Death

Mick Fleetwood shared a sweet tribute to Christine McVie marking the first anniversary of her death.

Fleetwood wrote via social media, "Dear Chris, a year ago today you flew away, and memories comes flooding back. Too many to mention! I miss you. Fleetwood Mac misses you, along with so many that love your music."

McVie died suddenly on November 30, 2022 at age 79. In April, it was revealed her main cause of death was due to a massive stroke. The singer-songwriter was also dealing with Atrial Fibrillation, a type of heart arrhythmia. On her death certificate, it was also noted a secondary cause of death was cancer. It was listed as "Metastatic Malignancy of Unknown Primary Origin." In layman's terms, this means whatever cancer McVie had spread throughout her body. Whoever performed McVie's autopsy couldn't determine the origin location of her cancer.

In October, Stevie Nicks was asked in an interview with Vulture whether she could see Fleetwood Mac touring again. Nicks replied, "When she died, I figured we really can’t go any further with this. There’s no reason to."

Nicks added that if Fleetwood Mac continued, they would have to take McVie's songs out of the setlist. This is what the band did when McVie stepped away for 18 years. She noted that back then and now, no one in the band could step in for McVie on vocals.

Nicks' feelings about the future of Fleetwood Mac were echoed by Mick Fleetwood in February. He was asked on the Grammy Awards red carpet whether the band would continue to perform. Fleetwood said, "I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris."

He added, "I'd say we're done, but then we've all said that before. It's sort of unthinkable right now."

For many, when Fleetwood Mac is mentioned, they immediately think of the contributions of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. However, Christine McVie is responsible for writing some of the band's best songs. Here just five Fleetwood Mac songs that she wrote/co-wrote.

"Don't Stop" peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and would famously serve as the theme to Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. The band was even persuaded to reunite for the first time since 1982 to perform “Don’t Stop” at the inaugural ball in 1993.

Fun fact: While “You Make Loving Fun” was written by Christine McVie about her affair with Fleetwood Mac’s lighting director, she told then-husband/bassist John McVie it was about her dog.

Christine McVie said of the moving piano ballad in a June 2017 interview with People, “For some peculiar reason I wrote ‘Songbird’ in half an hour. I’ve never been able to figure out how I did that. I woke up in the middle of the night and the song was there in my brain, chords lyrics melody, everything. I played it in my bedroom and didn’t have anything to tape it on. So I had to stay awake all night so I wouldn’t forget it and I came in the next morning to the studio and had [producer] Ken Callait put it on a 2-track. That was how the song ended up being. I don’t know where that came from. I wished it would happen more often, but it hasn’t.”

“Oh Daddy” was inspired by Mick Fleetwood, who was the only father in the band at that time, even though some allege the track was another track about McVie’s affair with Fleetwood Mac’s lighting director. According to Setlist.fm, the last time the band played the track live was on November 30, 1997 at the USAir Arena in Landover, MD. 

The last single released from 1975's Fleetwood Mac, "Say You Love Me" would peak on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #11.