Mick Fleetwood Honors Christine McVie on Her ‘Heavenly 80th Birthday’

Mick Fleetwood shared a touching tribute to Christine McVie today (July 12) on what would have been her 80th birthday.

Fleetwood wrote via Instagram, "For Christine, Here we are thinking of you on your heavenly 80th birthday! For me, although missing you on this celebration of your 80th birthday…I like so many have the greatest memories in plenty!"

He continued, "And most of all, your songs are lighting up the world on this your birthday. Chris, Happy Birthday. You are loved and dearly missed. Love, Mick Fleetwood and Fleetwood Mac."

McVie died suddenly on November 30, 2022 at age 79. In April, it was revealed her main cause of death was due to a massive stroke. The singer-songwriter was also dealing with Atrial Fibrillation, a type of heart arrhythmia. On her death certificate, it was also noted a secondary cause of death was cancer. It was listed as "Metastatic Malignancy of Unknown Primary Origin." In layman's terms, this means whatever cancer McVie had spread throughout her body. Whoever performed McVie's autopsy couldn't determine the origin location of her cancer.

With the passing of McVie, it appears Fleetwood Mac, as an active band, is over. In February while at the 2023 Grammy Awards to honor McVie, Fleetwood said about the future of Fleetwood Mac, "I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris. I'd say we're done, but then we've all said that before. It's sort of unthinkable right now."

For many, when Fleetwood Mac is mentioned, they immediately think of the contributions of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. However, Christine McVie is responsible for writing some of the band's best songs. Here just five Fleetwood Mac songs that she wrote/co-wrote.

"Don't Stop" peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and would famously serve as the theme to Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. The band was even persuaded to reunite for the first time since 1982 to perform “Don’t Stop” at the inaugural ball in 1993.

Fun fact: While “You Make Loving Fun” was written by Christine McVie about her affair with Fleetwood Mac’s lighting director, she told then-husband/bassist John McVie it was about her dog.

Christine McVie said of the moving piano ballad in a June 2017 interview with People, “For some peculiar reason I wrote ‘Songbird’ in half an hour. I’ve never been able to figure out how I did that. I woke up in the middle of the night and the song was there in my brain, chords lyrics melody, everything. I played it in my bedroom and didn’t have anything to tape it on. So I had to stay awake all night so I wouldn’t forget it and I came in the next morning to the studio and had [producer] Ken Callait put it on a 2-track. That was how the song ended up being. I don’t know where that came from. I wished it would happen more often, but it hasn’t.”

“Oh Daddy” was inspired by Mick Fleetwood, who was the only father in the band at that time, even though some allege the track was another track about McVie’s affair with Fleetwood Mac’s lighting director. According to Setlist.fm, the last time the band played the track live was on November 30, 1997 at the USAir Arena in Landover, MD. 

The last single released from 1975's Fleetwood Mac, "Say You Love Me" would peak on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #11.