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On This Day: Fleetwood Mac Releases ‘Rumours’ Album in 1977

One of the most influential bands of all time, Fleetwood Mac put out one of their most successful albums 44 years ago.

The studio album “Rumours” was released on February 4, 1977, and became a smashing hit for the group. The album did remarkably well, spending 31 weeks atop American Music Album charts. It also produced four top 10 hit singles and won a Grammy Award for Top Album of the Year in 1978.

Rumours is one of the top selling albums of all time with 40 million copies sold world-wide.

It was the second album for the band since guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Steve Nicks joined the group in 1974. The two new additions gave the band a different vibe with a more “pop-rock” sound. It was the eleventh studio album overall for Fleetwood Mac. The band reportedly partied heavily during the album’s recording.

Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ Still Impactful Today

Music scholars say the album has had a profound effect on modern music. The top hits from the album are “Go Your Own Way,” “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop” and “You Make Loving Fun.” Each of the songs are still relevant today and can be heard on a variety of radio stations across the world.

“Go Your Own Way” is considered to be one of the band’s all time great songs and was wildly successful. Buckingham reportedly wrote the song as a message to Nicks regarding their break up.

“It was certainly a message within a song,” the singer says in a 2009 interview with Q Magazine. “And not a very nice one at that.”

Another song on the Fleetwood Mac album, “Dreams,” is Nicks’ message to Buckingham about their separation.

The song produces the famous lyrics, “Players only love you when they’re playing,” and “Thunder only happens when it’s raining.”

According to Song Facts, the album was originally going to be called “Yesterday’s Gone.” Bassist Jon McVie suggested calling it “Rumours” because “it seems like everyone in Southern California was talking about the personal drama Fleetwood Mac was going through.”

In the United States the album was certifies Diamond twice by the RIAA and sold more than 20 million copies.