(Credits: Far Out / Press)
Tue 21 October 2025 17:52, UK
Lindsey Buckingham has never been the flashiest as a guitarist and prefers to take a subtle, more nuanced approach to the instrument. With Fleetwood Mac, he often wasn’t the centre of attention. Still, his understated contribution brought an unmistakable complexion to their sound, even if it was poppier than many of his peers.
Joining Fleetwood Mac was a daunting task for Buckingham, as he had to follow in the footsteps of Peter Green and Bob Welch. There was pressure attached to being the lead guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, but rather than trying to replicate those who came before him in the role, he stayed true to himself and leaned into why Mick Fleetwood recruited him to the band.
Fleetwood had settled on Buckingham because of his unique style of playing. The American had been touring with Don Everly, even singing Phil’s parts, and he had a swagger that was unteachable. His lines and riffs felt like sunshine, and it was difficult to come up with an argument as to why he wouldn’t improve the group. It was this sway that also allowed him to bring his girlfriend, Stevie Nicks, along for the ride.
In a traditional sense, Buckingham wasn’t a typical lead guitarist, but that didn’t prevent him from inserting his name into the rock ‘n’ roll history books. “I really came in the back door. All the Jimi Hendrix and the Clapton types who were wearing their style on their sleeve were not the people I was listening to,” he once admitted in an interview from 2002.
Buckingham continued: “It was probably people whose names I wasn’t even aware of so much, like Chet Atkins and Scotty Moore. The lead playing you usually associate with the ‘rock guitar god’ thing was the last thing I picked up. I couldn’t even play lead for a long time.”
(Credits: Far Out / Steve Proctor)
Although Buckingham didn’t grow up idolising the likes of Hendrix and Clapton, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t respect guitarists from that side of the fence. Blues was always a part of the rock scene of the 1960s, but while Buckingham didn’t really connect with the old masters who had infiltrated the swinging scene in London, he did find appreciation for some of its inhabitants.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who began his career with The Yardbirds, is a figure he holds in the highest regard. A swashbuckling performer, Page was able to rip out a solo as well as anyone, but he had a secret weapon that very few of his contemporaries had in their arsenal: studio wizadry. However, Buckingham knows it’s a style he’ll never be able to replicate.
Speaking to Guitar.com, the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist explained: “I wasn’t really a lead guitar player. So in the process of retooling myself for Buckingham Nicks as the guitarist, I was listening to Jimmy Page a lot – he had great chops, but also amazing production values, and that became the key, just listening for the use of guitar in ways that were integral.”
He continued: “I can’t think of anyone who even touches Jimmy Page in terms of being able to draw from elements of folk and classical and other things and make it so musical. So I guess that became a touchstone for me.”
Although Page has never discussed his appreciation for the craftsmanship of Buckingham, he has previously revealed how the Peter Green era of Fleetwood Mac inspired Led Zeppelin’s classic track ‘Black Dog’. In conversation with All The Songs, he admitted: “I suggested that we build a song similar in structure to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well’.”
While Buckingham’s skillset is considerably different from Page’s, in his mind, there’s no point even attempting to emulate the Led Zeppelin icon as anybody would fall short of replicating his divine sound.
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