Blue Letter

"Blue Letter" is a song written by brothers Richard and Michael Curtis, first released by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac on their eponymous 1975 album, Fleetwood Mac.

"Blue Letter"
Song by Fleetwood Mac
from the album Fleetwood Mac
A-side"Warm Ways"
Released1975
Recorded1975
GenreRock
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Richard Curtis, Michael Curtis
Producer(s)Fleetwood Mac, Keith Olsen

It was the only song on the album not written by a band member.[1]

Background

Brothers Michael and Richard Curtis met the young couple Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, then known as rock duo Buckingham Nicks and unaffiliated with Fleetwood Mac, through Polydor Records.[2] The group of four became fast friends and worked together on two demos. The first was “Blue Letter”, which, like many of the songs on the Fleetwood Mac album, was intended for the second Buckingham Nicks LP. Unlike “Blue Letter”, the second demo titled “Seven League Boots” was not adopted by the group and was later reworked to become Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s 1982 hit, “Southern Cross”.[3]

According to drummer Mick Fleetwood’s autobiography, Play On, the choice to record “Blue Letter” was made towards the end of the Fleetwood Mac album sessions. While Fleetwood Mac was recording their eponymous album at Sound City with producer Keith Olsen, they overheard Michael and Richard Curtis rehearsing the song in another room. Pleased with what they heard, the band decided to record the song themselves to include on Fleetwood Mac. It was one of two last-minute additions, along with “World Turning”.[4]

The Buckingham Nicks studio recordings of this song have yet to surface, but live recordings of Buckingham Nicks performing in January 1975 include an early version of the track.

Meaning and legacy

Although it was not written by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks primarily,[5] there are those that believe that this song ties into their tumultuous romance. The couple's eventual breakup after years of drama came to characterize Fleetwood Mac's legacy, and they were having difficulties in their relationship as early as 1975 when they recorded "Blue Letter". It is possible that this vaguely antagonistic track[6] foreshadows more explicit breakup songs such as the Rumours hit, “Go Your Own Way”. However, the band’s comparative lack of public dialogue on the track combined with its more figurative lyrics make it impossible to discern any one true meaning.

The song also inspired the name of a set of Fleetwood Mac related archives, called "The Blue Letter Archives", self-described as the site for “over 750 articles published about the band, reviews of their albums, and information regarding their solo careers”.[7]

Remix

In 1976, "Over My Head," "Rhiannon," "Say You Love Me," and "Blue Letter" were remixed for single releases. These mixes were included on the 2004 and 2018 reissues of Fleetwood Mac.

References
  1. "Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  2. Ankeny, Jason. "Richard Curtis - Biography". Quora.
  3. Weingarten, Christopher; et al. (2 May 2022). "Fleetwood Mac's 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone.
  4. Fleetwood, Mick (2014). Play On: Now, Then, and Fleetwood Mac: The Autobiography. Little, Brown. p. 170. ISBN 978-0316403405.
  5. Constable, Tucker. "Fleetwood Mac". ALLMUSIC.
  6. Gleason, Holly (2014-05-29). "The 20 Best Fleetwood Mac Songs of All Time". Paste Music.
  7. "News and Archives". fleetwoodmac.net. Archived from the original on 2018-09-30. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
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