Fleetwood Mac - Dragonfly
"Dragonfly" was adapted in 1970 by Danny Kirwan of Fleetwood Mac from the poem "Dragonfly" by Welsh poet W.H. Davies.
Fleetwood Mac is a London based band that formed in 1967 named after two of its founding members, Mick Fleetwood and John "Mac" McVie.¹ Though their lineup changed constantly up through the 1980s as with their sound, Fleetwood Mac continued to succeed in the Billboard charts. Over their musical career, they've reached 22 Billboard charts, had a song, "Dreams", at the #1 position on the Billboard Top 100 and had some of their music last over 20 weeks on the Billboard charts.² It wasn't until 1971 that Fleetwood Mac, being performed by Danny Kirwan (guitar and vocals), John McVie (bass guitar), Mick Fleetwood (drums) Jeremy Spencer (guitar and vocals) and Christine McVie (piano), released their single "Dragonfly", alongside with their B-Side "The Purple Dancer". Dragonfly was written by bandmate Danny Kirwan and was transcribed and inspired by the poem "Dragonfly", written by W. H. Davies.
An early iteration of Fleetwood Mac, from left: John McVie, Danny Kirwan (who left the band in 1972), Christine McVie (who joined in 1970), Bob Welch (who joined in 1971), and Mick Fleetwood.
Image: McCormack, Eamonn. "Christine McVie on Rejoining Fleetwood Mac."CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 2014. Web. 05 June 2015.
Although Dragonfly was not a success at the time, the song resurfaced the Billboard charts on May 3rd, 2014 entering the "Top 25 Hot Singles Sales Chart" at No. 9. A the time of its release, Dragonfly was well recognized and acknowledged by Fleetwood Macs former band members. "The best thing he ever wrote... that should have been a hit.", said Peter Green, a former band member, about Danny Kirwan's writing of Dragonfly.³ "... wonderfully textured guitar playing. It has shimmering chords and the tune coming down in octaves... This is far and away the best thing which Kirwan ever wrote." said Rikky Rooksby, another former band member, in his 1998 book about the band.
References
1. Serpick, Evan. "Fleetwood Mac Biography." Rolling Stone. N.p., 2001. Web. 05 June 2015.
2. "Fleetwood Mac." Chart History. Billboard.com, n.d. Web. 05 June 2015
3. Vernon, Mike (1999). The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions (CD box set booklet). Fleetwood Mac. Sire Records.
4. Rooksby, Rikky, "The Complete Guide to the Music of Fleetwood Mac", Omnibus Press, 1998, p. 173.
An early iteration of Fleetwood Mac, from left: John McVie, Danny Kirwan (who left the band in 1972), Christine McVie (who joined in 1970), Bob Welch (who joined in 1971), and Mick Fleetwood.
Image: McCormack, Eamonn. "Christine McVie on Rejoining Fleetwood Mac."CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 2014. Web. 05 June 2015.
Although Dragonfly was not a success at the time, the song resurfaced the Billboard charts on May 3rd, 2014 entering the "Top 25 Hot Singles Sales Chart" at No. 9. A the time of its release, Dragonfly was well recognized and acknowledged by Fleetwood Macs former band members. "The best thing he ever wrote... that should have been a hit.", said Peter Green, a former band member, about Danny Kirwan's writing of Dragonfly.³ "... wonderfully textured guitar playing. It has shimmering chords and the tune coming down in octaves... This is far and away the best thing which Kirwan ever wrote." said Rikky Rooksby, another former band member, in his 1998 book about the band.
References
1. Serpick, Evan. "Fleetwood Mac Biography." Rolling Stone. N.p., 2001. Web. 05 June 2015.
2. "Fleetwood Mac." Chart History. Billboard.com, n.d. Web. 05 June 2015
3. Vernon, Mike (1999). The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions (CD box set booklet). Fleetwood Mac. Sire Records.
4. Rooksby, Rikky, "The Complete Guide to the Music of Fleetwood Mac", Omnibus Press, 1998, p. 173.