| Lindsey Buckingham |
Article Index for Lindsey |
Website Links For Lindsey |
Information AboutLindsey Buckingham |
|
Lindsey Buckingham (born October 3 , 1949 ) is an American Guitarist and Singer for the musical group Fleetwood Mac . During his career he has also done some independent recording since he first became a member of Fleetwood Mac. He is married to photographer Kristen Messner and has three children. EARLY YEARS Born in Palo Alto, California , Buckingham was the third and youngest son of Morris and Rutheda Buckingham. Lindsey had two older brothers, Jeff and Greg. Growing up in the Bay Area community of Atherton, California , Lindsey and his brothers were encouraged to swim competitively. Though Lindsey dropped out of athletics to pursue music, his brother Greg Buckingham went on to win a Silver Medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City . Lindsey's first forays into guitar playing took place on a toy Mickey Mouse guitar, playing along to his brother Jeff's extensive collection of 45s. Noticing his talent, Lindsey's parents bought their son a $35 Harmony guitar. Buckingham never took guitar lessons and does not read music. By age 13, he became interested in Folk Music and, influenced by banjo methods, practiced the Fingerpicking (also known as "travis picking") styles of The Kingston Trio . At 15 he joined a small Folk group providing vocals and guitar work. FRITZ Lindsey met Stevie Nicks while they both attended Menlo Atherton High School , and later formed The Fritz Rabyne Memorial Band with her and three other friends. Lindsey's Fingerpicking style gave him difficulty playing rock guitar, and he was transferred to bass. After gaining popularity at Menlo-Atherton High School , " Fritz " became a popular local act and even opened for such acts as Santana , Jimi Hendrix , and Janis Joplin . After cutting some demos with Fritz for producer Keith Olsen , Lindsey and Stevie struck out on their own, and Fritz disbanded in 1971 . Lindsey and Stevie became an item, dropping out of San Jose State to pursue a career making music together. In this time Lindsey was stricken with a case of Mono . His illness forced Stevie to begin waiting tables and cleaning houses to support the couple, while allowing Lindsey the free time to master his guitar techniques even further. BUCKINGHAM NICKS It took a year for Buckingham and Nicks to record seven Demo s in 1972 . After recording the demos on an Analog 4-track, the two drove to Los Angeles to get a record deal. In 1973, Polydor records signed the pair. The album, ''Buckingham Nicks'', was released in September of 1973 ; soon after its release, Polydor Records dropped Nicks and Buckingham due to poor sales. Life dealt Lindsey another blow soon after, when his father Morris died of a heart attack in 1974 at age 56. To help make ends meet, Lindsey toured with Don Everly 's back-up band, singing Phil 's parts. Lindsey and Stevie were eventually forced to move in with record producer Keith Olsen , who helped the pair work on several demos for the next Buckingham/Nicks album, including "I'm So Afraid", "Monday Morning", and "Rhiannon". ''Buckingham Nicks'' was never officially released on CD format due to the fact that it has no record company. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham have "split" ownership of the album. The only song that has been commercially released on digital format is "Long Distance Winner" found on Stevie Nicks' Box Set ''Enchanted'', released in 1998 (though there is a promotional only CD release from 1992 that includes 'Stephanie' from this LP entitled 'Lindsey Buckingham Words and Music (A Retrospective)' which was released to promote Lindsey's third solo release 'Out of the Cradle'). In addition, the Buckingham Nicks song "Crystal" was re-recorded by the duo a few years later and can be found on the 1975 Fleetwood Mac album "Fleetwood Mac." ''Buckingham Nicks'' is unlikely to ever see a CD release. LP s of the album are quite valuable to collectors. JOINING FLEETWOOD MAC While checking out the Sound City recording studio in California, Mick Fleetwood heard the song "Frozen Love" from the ''Buckingham Nicks'' album. He asked who the guitarist was, and immediately stated that he wanted him to fill a recent vacancy. Lindsey insisted to Mick Fleetwood that he and Stevie were a package deal. If Fleetwood didn't want Stevie, he wouldn't get Lindsey. The duo was quickly asked to join Fleetwood Mac on New Year's Eve, 1974 . After the resounding commercial success of the group's second album, '' Rumours '' (during the making of which Lindsey and Stevie famously split), Lindsey was bent on not falling into the same pattern. The result was '' Tusk '', a two album set that Buckingham primarily directed. It was during this time that Lindsey moved in with record company secretary and aspiring model Carol Ann Harris, with whom he lived until 1984. Though by most standards a hit, '' Tusk '' failed to come anywhere close to what '' Rumours '' had done, and Buckingham, who also produced the albums, took the brunt of the criticism. Lindsey never fully got over his animosty towards the band for putting a commercial price tag on their art, and it finally came to a head with the release of their 1987 recording, '' Tango In The Night ''. Buckingham had already given up much of the material for his third album, ''Out of the Cradle''. Just prior to touring for the release of the album, Buckingham left against the others' pleas. He was replaced by guitarists Rick Vito and Billy Burnette . SIDE PROJECTS During the time he worked on '' Tusk '', Lindsey also produced albums for Walter Egan and John Stewart in the late '70s. In 1981 , Lindsey released his first solo album '' Law And Order '', playing nearly every instrument and featuring guest appearances by bandmates Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie . The album spawned the hit single "Trouble" which reached #9 on the US Charts. Two years later he wrote and performed the songs "Holiday Road" and "Dancin' Across the U.S.A." for the film '' National Lampoon's Vacation ''. "Holiday Road" was released, but reached only #82 on the '' Billboard '''s Hot 100 . In 1984 , after ending his 7 year relationship with Carol Ann Harris, he released his second solo album ''Go Insane''. Following his split with Fleetwood Mac , Lindsey spent the better part of four years holed up in the studio, crafting his third solo album ''Out of the Cradle'' which was released in 1992 . Many of the songs seem to deal with the death of his father, and the sudden death of his brother Greg in 1990 . ''Out of the Cradle'', while not successful commercially, is often considered Lindsey's best solo work to date. Lindsey recently contributed the song "Shut Us Down" (co-written with Corey Sipper) to the soundtrack of the Cameron Crowe movie, '' Elizabethtown ''. In November of 2005, he released his Soundstage performance on DVD (taped in 2003) as a precursor to his upcoming fourth solo album slated for release in the Spring of 2006. REJOINING FLEETWOOD MAC In 1992 , newly elected president Bill Clinton asked Fleetwood Mac to come together to perform the song he had chosen for his campaign, " Don't Stop ", at his inaugural ceremony. Lindsey agreed to be part of the performance, but the experience was something of a one-off for the band, who were still very much at odds with one another and had no plans to reunite officially. While assembling material for a yet to be released fourth solo album in the late '90s, Buckingham contacted Mick Fleetwood for assistance on a song. Their collaboration lasted much longer than anticipated, and the two eventually decided to call upon John and Christine McVie . The band's old chemistry was clearly still there, and plans for a reunion tour were soon in the works. In 1997 , Lindsey and all four of his bandmates from the original ''Rumours'' line-up of Fleetwood Mac went on the road for the first time together since 1982 in a reunion tour titled '' The Dance ''. The tour was hugely successful and did much to heal the damage that had been done between Lindsey and his bandmates. In 2003, the reformed band released the first studio album involving Buckingham and Nicks in 15 years called '' Say You Will ''. Buckingham's song "Peacekeeper" was the first single off of the album. On July 8 , 1998 , Lindsey and girlfriend Kristen Messner welcomed a son, William Gregory Buckingham. Lindsey and Kristen married in 2000 , and Kristen gave birth to a daughter, Leelee, the same year. Their third child, Stella, was born on April 20 , 2004 . EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|