It has been said that artists must suffer for their art. No one exemplified that adage more than Fleetwood Mac on their 1977 album Rumors, which topped the U.S. albums chart on the first week of April, 1977. All four of the album’s singles—”Go Your Own Way”, “Dreams”, “Don’t Stop”, and “You Make Loving Fun”—cracked the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, with “Dreams” ascending all the way to No. 1.

The internal discord between drummer Mick Fleetwood, singer-keyboardist Christine McVie, bassist John McVie, singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, and singer Stevie Nicks didn’t peek through Rumors’ flawless harmonies and impeccable storytelling. Inside the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, Fleetwood Mac had never sounded more in sync.

Outside the studio was a different matter. Husband-wife duo John and Christine McVie ended their eight-year marriage. Tensions mounted so high that the former couple stopped speaking about anything other than music. The quintet’s other romantic pairing, Buckingham and Nicks, continued their famously tumultuous relationship, fighting more often than not. Even Mick Fleetwood wasn’t immune, as the drummer learned his wife was having an affair with his best friend.

The ready accessibility of c*caine in the Bay Area, coupled with the band’s open-ended budget, certainly didn’t help on that front. Record Plant owner Chris Stone later recalled parties that began at 7 a.m. and lasted until 1 or 2 a.m. the following day. ” Then when they were so whacked-out they couldn’t do anything, they’d start recording,” he said.

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Despite “Falling Apart”, Fleetwood Mac Had Never Sounded Better

With Rumors, Fleetwood Mac was looking to build off the commercial success they’d experienced with their self-titled 1975 album. By all metrics, they accomplished that goal and then some, scoring a Grammy for Album of the Year in 1978.

Speaking with ABC News in February 2017, Stevie Nicks expressed nothing but fondness for that chaotic year.

“It was not awful at all, it was fantastic!” she said. “We were rich, we were young, we were falling out of love with each other, but, hey … there was a lot of other men and women in the world, and we were all moving on. … So as bad as it was, it was still great.”

Nicks added, “If anything was keeping us from falling apart, it was going into the studio every day. And we were totally having a great time.”

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