Remembering Christine McVie: Songbird (Fleetwood Mac) | The Daily Doug (Episode 493) 

This song is a metaphor for Christine it is classy, understated, controlled, beautiful, delicate and heartfelt. If more people on the world were like Christine McVie the world would be a better place. RIP Christine McVie, a songstress, a poet, a troubadour, a lady.

This song was recorded in the wee hours of the moring at a concert hall in Berklety. A big empty place with fantastic acoustics. You can hear the resonance in the piano and her voice on the recording. They did a FANTASTIC job capturing the sound. What a beautiful, classy lady with a beautiful voice!

She stayed on stage alone with her piano at the end of each of their performances and performed it live. I saw them many times and the crowd went quiet for the whole song. Wonderful.

I cried to Songbird whilst she was with us…even more tears now.💙

ALWAYS loved Christine's Fleetwood Mac songs best, her voice is enchanting, her harmonizing with Stevie Nicks was beyond heavenly. She was elegantly sexy too. RIP to you Songbird...she lives on IF you play her music

RIP Christine McVie. A respectful, gentle and reserved tribute as it should be. Emotionnal accompaniment. Thank you, Master Helvering.

Very sad news to hear of her recent passing. One of my favorite artists of all time. RIP Christine McVie. You were a beautiful Songbird and we will treasure your music always.

Music fans here lost an icon. Heaven's choir gained a lot. Rest in Paradise little songbird. Thank you for this Doug.

I knew Chris when she was in Chicken Shack--an out and out blues band--and I was playing in another local band. We all knew each other. She was the nicest person you could ever wish to meet. Have a listen to some Chicken Shack songs---"Get Like You Used to Be" is one she wrote. Very bluesy. Of course Fleetwood Mac started out as a blues band.

A beautiful song, and an almost equally beautiful tribute. Thanks for posting!

This is my favourite Fleetwood Mac song. It is just so delicate and tender. Christine McVie was a supremely talented woman. R.I.P

This really hurts because she could make you fall in love with her just by hearing her soft wondrous one of a kind voice let alone the fact that she was absolutely beautiful and I definitely had a life long crush on this sweet classy lady thankfully they play her lovely songs on the radio pretty regularly I will never forget you Songbird

The most transcendent musical concert experience of the many dozens I've had was seeing Christine perform this on her birthday during their Rumours tour. I was only 13 years old and will always remember how special it was to close out the concert with just her singing this alone at the piano with flowers on it in a stadium of 18,000 hushed fans.

I struggle to understnd how it is even possible to compose such a beautiful song in just an hour and in the context of Rumours, it is almost an antidote to the vitriol in other songs on the album. It is well-known that Christine became dreadfully homesick for England and here the Songbird now rests.

I’ve heard Songbird countless times and it makes me cry every time. Magnificent.

Hello Doug. I have been a hardcore metalhead since I was 11 years old. I'm now 52. I grew up listening to thrash metal in the mid 80s, and it's STILL my favorite form of music. I wanted to copy and paste a story that I just put on my private FB page this week and if you want to delete this post, that's OK. But, even though I listen to some of the most extreme forms of music, I also LOVE Fleetwood Mac. RiP beautiful one. 🙁 This one has my mind spreading out in all directions. You see, music is extremely important to me. It defines who the f**k I am. Fleetwood Mac brought me closer to my son. I have so much to say, but I know most won't read all this. It's the week of Nov 16, 2019. I am lucky enough to have a sister who can get me tickets to certain shows in Vegas. This one came on the docket and I asked her if this one was possible. This show was long sold out. My sister worked her magic with her rep at the Mirage. My older son attends UNLV, and I wanted to surprise him with tickets. So, I call my sister and I ask her if she can make this happen. I told her I want to surprise Matt with tickets to this concert as he said he was 'struggling' this particular semester. She said she would get back to me in a few days and she delivered 2 days later. I call Matt to let him know that I will be up there. I told him that we will enjoy the UNLV/Hawaii football game. I kept the concert a secret. The football game was a 1:00 game, so the timing was perfect since the concert was at 8. So, we're sitting at Sam Boyd stadium and I remember waiting for these Fleetwood Mac Tickets to drop in my ticket APP. The game ends.....no tickets. It's now like 4:00 and no tickets. I start to get a little worried. I text my sister. She lets me know that her Mirage rep said everything is a go. I'm still nervous. LOL Now, what to do? I end up taking Matt to the Ladies UNLV volleyball game. That is a 5:00 start. We sit and start watching this game, but I'm edgy. LOL I stand up and head to the bathroom...call sister one more time. She said be patient brother. I even strike up a conversation with an usher at the game and he let's me know I'm a good dad. LOL! 5:30.....tickets drop in the app! I grab Matt, time to go son! He's like why? I tell him that we have a change in plans and need to leave immediately. We leave and for those that know where T-Mobile is, I decide to park at the Tropicana....still keeping the concert a secret to Matt. He still has no clue. We eat at the Shake Shack next to the NY NY Casino. When we leave, I told him we need to walk this way....toward T-Mobile Arena. He finally put 2 and 2 together and grabs my arm and we stop walking. Matt's eyes open up and his mouth kinda drops........ "Dad, did you get us Fleetwood Mac tickets?" I said, "No, your aunt got us Fleetwood Mac tickets." He hugs me and starts to get a little wet around the eyes. "Let's go watch Fleetwood Mac for the first time." I guarantee you I was the only dude in that arena with a Kreator shirt on. 🤘 When you have a chance to see a band, you do it. You go see your heroes. Live music is the greatest thing on earth. You never know what will happen. Thanks big sister.

The music of Fleetwood Mac has colored all of the best memories of my life. Over My Head will always have a special place in my heart. So glad I got to see them perform twice on the last real FM tour in 2014. RIP Christine. Fly high🕊🎹

Thank You, Christine, For The Ethereal Love Of SONGBIRD, & For Sharing All Your Music🎹, Your Words & Your Beautiful Voice....You Were Loved!💗 Rest Now In The Lord🙏

This song pretty much single-handedly inspired me to take up piano after giving up learning in my childhood. May her soul be at peace and her memory live on in the vibration of the air.

Saw FM in Pittsburgh several yrs ago & the concert closed with Christine & this song. A silence fell over the arena like nothing I've ever seen. I'm sure like me, many had tears. It was the most beautiful performance ever.

I grew up with the Rumors album being part of my childhood, as it was one of my mother's favorite albums ,which she played often. My mom passed away last year. Now the world has lost Christine I McVie. May she rest in peace. Thank you for such a wonderful tribute to her.

Such a beautiful voice and artist. RIP Christine McVie.

Songbird has been a song that has healed me quite a few times in my life. I lost my youngest brother earlier this year after a long, painful battle with cancer. “For you, there’ll be no more crying…” my brother. Thanks for picking Songbird. Thanks Christine.

Thank you for the music, Christine.....We love you.....and thank you for this, Doug....

This one hits hard. Her ability to get intimate with the listener, almost instantly, was something very special. Her songwriting, performing and singing were divine.

This song is a 11 out of 10 love song. In my teenage years, in a time everybody hears this classic rock bands of the 70´, this little song pops suddently up and it will be allways a treasure. What a masterpiece. I´m sitting hear and got tears in my eyes and i´m sure everyone is feeling the same at the moment. Thank you doug for this little video and for choosing songbird. RIP Christine, see you in the next life. You are and always will be our songbird ♥

These songs are some of my earliest memories. My dad played their album at home when it first came out. McVie’s voice is like honey and butter; I could listen to it all day.

She was such a beautiful soul and I loved her music deeply. Over My Head is my favorite. She touched so many people with her classy, bluesy, intimate perspective. Praying for the repose of her soul.

"Rumours" completely bypassed me when it first came out (I was into other genres of music at the time), but over the years I have gradually been discovering its brilliant songs. I first heard this song when I heard my teenaged daughter singing it in 2014, after which I sought out the original. It is such an amazingly beautiful work, and a great legacy from a talented singer and songwriter.

I got to see them live twice. The end of the night with this song was like a thank you and I love you to the audience.❤

One of the most talented underrated female singers of our time...She was DEFINITELY the HEART and SOUL of FLEETWOOD MAC...R.I.P. "CHRISTINE Mc VIE...🙏🙏🙏...

With my wife we were two rows back in Wembley Arena as Christine played this. You could have heard a pin drop A memory for ever RIP Christine

This is the kind of song that you only have to have to hear once to truly believe that it is a masterpiece. If I didn’t think of art as subjective, I would probably insist that it is a masterpiece. RIP Christine.

Just discovered your channel and it's not like you haven't heard something similar when I say "I'm diggin Doug!". Thanks for what you do. It's making me feel old (at 63, near 64) to more and more hear of yet another passing of voices and guitarists I loved in my teens and twenties. 😒😧

I've been a Fleetwood Mac fan since the mid '70s, and started collecting albums that pre-dated 'Rumors', and even managed to find a copy of her solo LP, "Chickenshack". Her songs have always been my favorites, especially this one.

This song always reminds me of my sister that passed last year. In high school, she would sit in her car listening to Fleetwood Mac on cassette and writing down the lyrics to all the songs. Songbird just makes me miss her all the more.

Always loved Christine's voice, it felt like Fleetwood Mac's secret weapon, only to get pulled out on a few tracks per album. The clarity and sweetness of her voice reminds me of Joni Mitchell's. RIP.

IT is said, it was mostly the last song of the concert and all the members of Fleetwood Mac gathered behind the stage crying. It is a healing song.I also cry while listening.

Beautiful song. RIP Christine McVie Songbird fly high.

This is one of my favorite love songs and I'm quite sure it's one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. I mostly have to sing along and it brings tears to my eyes, whenever I sing. Thank you for the informations about Christine McVie.

Beautiful tribute, Doug. How can a song so beautiful also feel so sad? So simple, yet so elegant and heartfelt. Absolutely stunning vocals. Legendary song, legendary performer. She will be greatly missed.

That's a very big loss. She was absolutely amazing. I feel so out of time with today's music.

She had the voice of an angel, her and Stevie nix made some magical music together, she left us a great gift her music will live on,RIP Christine Mcvie Perfect.

I am a HUGE Queen fan. I am also a HUGE Fleetwood Mac fan---especially Christine McVie. So glad you highlighted this brilliant woman and this song. The tone and expression of her voice and this song in particular carries me to another place. Like a Songbird. Magical.

I still can't believe it. From inside out, she was authentic. Miss her now and always.

Thank you for this tribute . I was fortunate enough to see Fleetwood Mac on the Rumours tour in Toronto in July of 1977. She sang this beautiful song between Over My Head and Oh Daddy in the setlist . An irreplaceable loss .

I had the honour and pleasure of seeing the mighty Mac (minus Lindsay) in Vegas a few years ago, on a Friday evening. And here I am, by chance back in Vegas, on a Friday, knowing I can never now take my family to see them. 😢 Rest in peace, Songbird.

Her passing hit me so hard, each time i listen songbird cant stop crying. It amazes me how deep her music touched me. RIP Songbird and fly high 😢

Christine McVie was such an overlooked songwriter and performer. Oh Daddy and Songbird are my personal favorites.

Thank you, Doug, for a moving tribute to a lovely person.

Thank you Doug for appreciating Christine McVie. Such a great songwriter, singer, artist. She will live on in our hearts through her music. R.I.P.🙏🙏🙏

Ever since I first hear Songbird, I could be sure there is beauty in the world. Just perfection.

The sad passing of Christine McVie brings to mind a comment that Mick Fleetwood made about her. When asked about Christine, Mick said (something like) "Christine - the band's Earth Mother. She keeps us where we need to be". I suppose considering the length of time Christine was part of all of the incarnations of Fleetwood Mac then she - "like Mother" always knew best and would guide/counsel/calm the sometimes difficult situations within the band. The worldliness of a real woman. Thank you for leaving us the gift of all of your music Christine. May you Rest In Peace ma'am.

Doug, That was such a beautiful tribute. You spoke so eloquently on the song and the artist. I wept as it played. I’ve been listening to this album since I was a kid over 40 years ago. Peace

Doug, I just found your channel and much to my surprise, you had this beautiful tribute to such a beautiful talent and soul. I've had this song in my life since the Rumours album came out in 1977. I wrote in the comments on Rick Beato's channel when he did a similar tribute to Christine mcVie that, the best I can ever hope for is to just get a bit misty when I hear Songbird. I was 16 when it came out and 61 now and it hits me Every. Single. Time. More than a single tear is shed listening to this beautiful song. Your tribute was wonderful. Thank you for the video and your work!!

So many glorious Christine McVie songs, and "Songbird," is a no-brainer, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE "Why," from Fleetwood Mac's "Mystery to Me"...we could play loads of her songs, but I like to focus on ones she composed (try, "You'll Never Make Me Cry," on Mac's Tusk). Missing her like all get-out. MM

Very nice and thoughtful of You. Wow! From the seventies until 2022. An inspiring musical journey for us musical enthusiasts. Thank you Christine.🥲☺

Thank you so much for this so tender and respectful tribute.

Great tribute to Christine Mc Vie, dear Doug, and very nice piano addition by yourself. Maybe it is possible to review her works in a next session. Christine's solo records are not enough known. And her blues lead vocals and piano with Chicken Shack in the late 60's are very interesting, like in Etta James classic "I'd rather go blind" and in "It's Okay With Me Baby" (written and sung by Christine), that charted and gave her the Melody Maker Award (in 1969 or 1970). One of her last recordings was a fine album with Lindsey Buckingham. She was a star but was not a diva. Christine was a band builder, a team worker. In Fleetwood Mac she was the solid foundation of the band sound. A songbird in heaven.

A very respectful and heartfelt tribute, Doug. Christine was born in a small village 2 or 3 miles from my home town. Bouth has lost its most famous daughter. On a side note, her cousin was one of my English teachers when I was young.

Chris Perfect ❤️. World Turning

This is the song I would have suggested for her. Such an incredible piece of music

Glad you honored Christine McVie with this video. I understand how it touched you emotionally at the end. Rumors was/is one of my favorite albums. I didn't see Fleetwood Mac in concert but I did see Lindsey Buckingham at Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth, TX Saturday, January 27th, 2007.

A serene, wistful and beautiful song, Rumours is one of my all time favourite albums, interesting you mentioned it was recorded with 14 mics, you can experience the effect via Dolby Atmos on Apple Music, may you rest peacefully Christine

Thank you Christine for sharing your talent with the world. God bless you and rest in peace.

Hey yo daily Doug, thank you for making the best for this beautifully voiced woman who shall be missed. Somehow I knew in my grief that it was you I should turn to for a well done commentary and homage. Once again Sir, I thank you. 🖐️

This is one of my favorite songs from Christine McVie and Fleetwood Mac. But, now that she's gone, this hits me differently. It's as if she's telling us that she's at peace and that she loves us. You are surely missed and loved. Rest in peace, Songbird.

that song gets me every time .....

Christine was nominated for a 2023 Grammy. Hoping and praying she wins.

The songbird is now an angel in heaven for eternity to listen to. As much as I love her beautiful songs, to me, the most memorable musical snippet contributed by Ms. McVie's got to be her counter melody to The Chain. It is a totally unexpected musical device, and the first time I heard it, it caught me by surprise. It was the first time I got seriously interested in the use of backing vocals.

I remember rocking my newborn baby to sleep to a “sleepy time mix” and song bird always got him down. Such a beautiful song.

R.I.P., Ma'am. You entertained millions for generations. You will be missed.

A song like no other! A song for all times! Thank you Christie🙏 You are missed 💜

Simply beautiful, Doug. And I echo all the heartfelt messages for and about the great Christine McVie.

Oh, I still can’t listen to that song yet. I am watching until you play it. Thank you for all the info you gave us about our Songbird.

So sad to lose Christine. She's my favorite vocalist (of either gender) from Fleetwood Mac. And she wrote some of the best songs for the Mac...my favorites are actually from _Bare Trees_ (Homeward Bound) and _Mystery to Me_ (Believe Me; Why). And some of the deep tracks from _Tusk_ are just gold...Over and Over comes immediately to mind. And Doug is right - Songbird is brilliant.

A beautiful remembrance Doug, your words and her haunting music.

This was such a moving tribute. She was always my favorite contributor to the band.

Magic piano playing , beautiful lyrics and a songbird who sang this sweet sweet tune!❤😢

A classy and beautiful piece of music just like she was!

For me, Christine was my favorite person in the band. I just love the warmth in her voice.

Stevie was a great singer, and I LOVED her songs but, Christine was always my favorite, and I LOVED her deeply from the moment I first heard her. RIP sweet, warm, wonderful one 🙏😭 ... looking forward to hearing you play your sweet music in heaven ... save me a seat ...

Wonderful Gets me always Thankyou Christine

I had heard my fair share of Fleetwood Mac songs through the years, but this absolute gem I had really missed out on. Thanks Doug, and thanks Christine

Such a Lovely way to Remember Christine McVie RIP Sweet Songbird ❤

She truly was one of a kind. R.I.P. Songbird ❤️

I just love your podcasts. Great work. Thank you

I was blessed to have seen them several times and they always were stellar performers. RIP Christine ...

I’d love to hear your reaction to some selections from the Fleetwood Mac album Bare Trees. A fusion of the songwriting and musical talents of Christine McVie and the late Bob Welch.

Although she was often in the shadow of Stevie nicks, I believe she was the real female musical talent in the group. IMHO.

I was born in 1965 and graduated from high school in 1983. EVERYONE owned a copy of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album back in those days. It really sucks to see the classic rockers from those days passing away now. Songbird is just one of many songs that are part of the soundtrack of my life. Rest in peace Christine, and thank you.

Very touching memorial, thank you.

Another local icon lost for us. So sad, thanks for the music Christine

I’ve been begging for a reaction to this song forever. It’s said the band and crew would cry when she sang this. What a loss.

Thanks for sharing Doug.

Nicely done, RIP Christine McVie.

RIP Christine McVie. 💔💔

Thank you, Doug. I am just speechless, and i think she would love what you have done, for us and for her. Thank you.

This was the perfect choice to pick for Christine. Even the title describes her perfectly.

It's been a tough one to hear the last few days. RIP