Since the book of Daisy Jones And The Six released almost four years ago, there has been speculation over whether it is about Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac.
WARNING: Some Daisy Jones And The Six spoilers ahead
When author Taylor Jenkins Reid wrote Daisy Jones And The Six in 2019, readers were instantly hooked by the fictional band. With the effortless magnetism of Daisy Jones and the rockstar image of Billy Dunne, it’s not hard to see why.
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But one thing that was picked up time and again by readers were parallels between the fictional band and Fleetwood Mac. As the screen adaptation premieres on Amazon Prime Video this spring, the parallels are being revisited again.
So, did Reid base Daisy Jones on Stevie Nicks or The Six on Fleetwood Mac? We’ve done some digging to find out.
Is Daisy Jones And The Six about Stevie Nicks?
No, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s book isn’t about Stevie Nicks, although the author has confirmed that she was inspired by the singer while writing Daisy Jones And The Six. Drawing inspiration from Nicks’ life and career working with Fleetwood Mac, several parallels can be drawn between the real life band and Reid’s fictional work.
Stevie Nicks started out her music career in a duo with then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham. They released the album Buckingham Nicks, which found little success when it debuted but has since become a classic of the rock singer’s oeuvre. In 1975, Buckingham was asked by Mick Fleetwood to join Fleetwood Mac. But he would only join on the condition that Nicks also join the band.
When Stevie Nicks signed on as one of the band’s lead singers, Fleetwood Mac rose to meteoric success. They were an instant hit, as well known for their musical successes as their backstage dramas which led to the group disbanding. Sound familiar?
Parallels between Stevie Nicks and Daisy Jones explored
While Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) isn’t based on Stevie Nicks, there are striking parallels between the two singers. These haven’t been overlooked by fans of the book, who have pointed out such mirroring over the years.
The major similarity between the two women is that Jones joins The Six and is a large factor as to their meteoric rise in popularity. A similar pattern happened in real life with Nicks joining Fleetwood Mac.
The romantic relationships within the band, and subsequent infighting, also is a great similarity. Daisy Jones and frontman Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin) have an unspoken love, as do Karen Sirko (Suki Waterhouse) and Graham Dunne (Will Harrison). In Fleetwood Mac, these relationships were far more public and substantiated. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham dated for years, but split around the time Buckingham left the band. Late singer and keyboardist Christine McVie was married to her Fleetwood Mac bandmate, John McVie, from 1968 to 1976. Christine once revealed she believed their relationship would’ve prevailed if they hadn’t stayed in Fleetwood Mac together.
Like Christine, Karen was the group’s keyboardist. John McVie was the bassist while Graham Dunne was the fictional band’s guitarist. However, Graham was a founding member of The Six, potentially a nod to John McVie co-founding Fleetwood Mac.
Another parallel drawn between Stevie Nicks and the fictional Daisy Jones is their history of addiction. Nicks has opened up on her struggles with a cocaine addiction which amplified during Fleetwood Mac’s rise to stardom, Far Out Magazine reports.
In a blog post written for Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon’s media and production company, Taylor Jenkins Reid opened up on the inspiration for her novel. She explained that watching a clip of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham perform Landslide together set off the spark of a story which would turn into Daisy Jones And The Six. You can watch the clip below.
So, while the novel and show aren’t about or based on Nicks, Buckingham, or Fleetwood Mac, their real story brought us this fictional one.
Watch new episodes of Daisy Jones And The Six Fridays on Amazon Prime Video.