Fleetwood Mac had weathered many storms by 1977. The turnover of band prior to 1974 resulted in a near Ship of Theseus re-configuring. The tragic departure of Peter Green and Danny Kirwan left the band in a state of insecurity. Their sound fluctuated as the character of the band morphed. Something had to give; short stints weren't going to sustain the group.

Mick Fleetwood struck gold when he discovered the young duo Buckingham Nicks in search of a new guitar player. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks not only brought a new crowd-pleasing pop sound to the group but also a new dynamic entirely. The band became an ABBA-esques couples band with Christine McVie and John McVie married alongside Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in a relationship.

Why Fleetwood Mac's Rumours Was So Difficult To Record

The band was under incredible pressure to follow up their 1975 eponymous hit

With Rumours nearly half a century in the rearview mirror, it can be difficult to imagine a different album being the defining Fleetwood Mac release. And yet, it was Fleetwood Mac, the self-titled 1975 record, that changed the band's trajectory following several identity crises in their eight-year existence.

This 1975 album was the first to feature the band's newest recruits, a young band called Buckingham Nicks. The album fans refer to as the "white album" was lightning in a bottle. The iconic magick-infused "Rhiannon" was among the solid gold found in Fleetwood Mac. Nicks proved to be a compelling and masterful lyricist, flexing her characterization and storytelling in "Rhiannon" and showing her deeply personal poetic sensitivity in "Landslide." Christine McVie's talent for ear-catching choruses and romanticism gave audiences "Over My Head" and "Say You Love Me." Lindsey Buckingham stays true to his high energy pop rock style with the lead track "Monday Morning."

The band hit the road with this album, determined to find an audience for it. The band put in months on the road, sharing this album from coast to coast. The group knew they had created something significant with Fleetwood Mac and were proven right when the album landed at the number one spot on the US charts.

In the wake of their critical success and quick rise to superstardom, pressure was building. After over a year on the road together, tensions were high within the band, devastating the harmonious love that once enshrined the group. More daunting than their personal struggles was the unbearable weight of expectations.

Fleetwood Mac was Basically a Soap Opera While Recording Rumours

Affairs, break ups and feuds fueled by parties and drugs

It's true what they say: You should never date your coworkers. Christine McVie ed the band when she was already married to bass player John McVie. However, being on the road together was not beneficial to the pair. The building tension between the two was increased by her husband's infamous drinking habit. By the time the band was going to the studio to record Rumours, the couple was already separated and preparing for divorce. Christine engaged in an affair with the band's lighting technician, Curry Grant. She wrote "You Make Loving Fun" about Grant, but she lied about the song's muse being her dog to avoid fighting with John in the studio.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were also in the tumultuous process of breaking up. Although they had come into the band together, their nearly decade-long relationship was consistently hot and cold. When the group came together in the studio, it was an all-out verbal brawl. Recording sessions were ended by unrestrained screaming matches and not even the crowds of guests could cushion the space between the feuding . It certainly didn't help that the band took inconceivable amounts of cocaine.

Several Songs On Rumours Are Deeply Personal (And You Can Feel It)

Rumours is the ultimate breakup album

As previously stated, Christine McVie wrote "You Make Loving Fun" about her affair, but this is the tamest instance of life-inspiring art on the album. Naturally, the musicians used their struggles to fuel their creative endeavors. The album is an honest reflection of their inner monologues at the time.

Nicks and Buckingham both channeled the break-up into songwriting. Nicks wrote "Dreams," a tranquil song that suggests, despite the hardship, the pair will be better off going their separate ways, as well as the decidedly more bitter "Silver Springs," in which she sings "I know I could have loved you, but you would not let me" and most devastatingly, "you will never get away from the sound of the woman who loves you."

Today, "Silver Springs" can be found on the deluxe edition of Rumours, but it was originally left off of the album. The track was fittingly released as a B-side to Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way" single.

Buckingham did not take this same approach. His breakup song "Go Your Own Way" is a belted rock banger with a hauntingly angry energy found nowhere else on the album.

Every member of the band has a writing credit on "The Chain." The lyrics were originally written for a different track by Nicks about her break up with Buckingham. Christine and Stevie worked together to rework the lyrics to fit the song. The song's intro was taken from a Buckingham Nicks song, and Mick Fleetwood and John McVie created the song's famous outro jam. The song was born from all the relationship issues plaguing the band, and is therefore emblematic of Rumours as a whole.

Sources: Biography, Rolling Stone, 20 Watts Magazine