Since its appearance on 1977’s colossal hit album Rumours, Don’t Stop has become one of Fleetwood Mac’s signature tunes. Written by Christine McVie as a song of encouragement and resilience in tough times, it was a massive worldwide hit following its release as the second single from Rumours, in April 1977, reaching No.3 on the US Billboard 200, going Top 10 in Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands, and becoming a staple of Fleetwood Mac’s live sets during the Rumours era and beyond.
What’s more, Don’t Stop has endured, lodging itself in the collective consciousness to the point where Bill Clinton used it as his campaign song when he successfully ran for US President in 1992. Fleetwood Mac even performed it at Clinton’s inauguration gala. And musicians of every stripe love it, too – over the years the song has been covered by Elton John, the cast of Glee and Status Quo, to name just a few.
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Who wrote Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop?
Don’t Stop was written by Fleetwood Mac keyboardist Christine McVie during a period of upheaval. After eight years of marriage, Christine and the group’s bassist, John McVie, divorced in 1976. Their relationship had become increasingly strained under the pressures of fame and life on the road following the success of Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled album, and Christine had reaching breaking point.
“I was aware of it being irresponsible,” she told Rolling Stone’s Cameron Crowe in 1977. “But I had to do it for my sanity. It was either that or me ending up in a lunatic asylum. I still worry for him, more than I would ever dare tell him. I still have a lot of love for John.”
