The one performance that convinced Stevie Nicks to be a singer
One of the greatest recording artists of all time, Stevie Nicks has enjoyed a career that many budding creatives could only dream of. Having failed to hit the big time with her high school boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham as part of the Buckingham Nicks outfit, the passionate couple were gifted a lifeline when Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac came calling. From that moment, they never looked back, etching their names in the annals of rock and roll history.
As part of a group environment, with fresh faces to bounce ideas off, Nicks was let off the leash, and she rapidly propelled herself into the role of an international pop star. The difference from her contemporaries, however, is that Stevie Nicks had a prolific knack for songwriting. With an innate talent for lyrical exploration, Nicks emerged as one of the most prominent female rock stars and pioneered seismic change within the music industry.
While she is now widely adored for her symbolic lyricism, iconic singing style, and almost mystic stage persona, Nicks wasn’t always secure in the destiny to reach the top of the pile — but that isn’t to say she has never had the desire. While there have been countless occasions throughout the formative years of her career that further drove home the dream of being a performer, there was one show specifically that set her on the path to stardom.
With a supportive family unit from a young age, it would be Nicks’ grandfather, Aaron Jess ‘A.J’ Nicks Sr, who first instilled the idea of artistic expression. From the age of four, Nicks and her grandfather would perform duets together, setting the foundations for what was to come. Just a few years later, when the budding artist was in sixth grade, she entered a talent show in her first effort to perform live.
Setting up as a tap dancer, Nicks and her close friend ran through a routine during the talent show, which, ultimately, gave her the confidence to become a performer on a larger scale. Dressed in a vest and top hat, the routine was widely praised and arrived as a pivotal moment in her life, a defining moment in which she decided was her future.
The rest, as they say, is history.