Replacing the frontperson of a famous rock band is no easy task, both for the remaining band members and the musicians who come in to fill the empty role. When the circumstances involve the death of the singer, as was the case when Brian Johnson joined AC/DC after Bon Scott died, there can be a lot of pressure to live up to the original frontperson’s legacy. But as Bekka Bramlett learned, replacing a frontperson like Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, who is still very much alive and very much watching, can be even more difficult. And awkward. And disheartening.
Interestingly, in Bramlett’s case, she wasn’t even replacing the original lead singer. Nicks didn’t join the British-American rock band until years after it started. Nevertheless, that factoid didn’t stop the two singers from sharing a tense exchange. But would one expect anything less than drama when it comes to Fleetwood Mac?
Videos by American Songwriter
Bekka Bramlett Temporarily Replaced Stevie Nicks
Interpersonal drama is as integral to the legacy of Fleetwood Mac as the music itself, and this was especially true in the 1990s, when half of the band was taking a hiatus to pursue solo careers, recover from addiction, or simply take a breather. Despite the band’s fractured state, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie were eager to keep the train rolling. So, Fleetwood hired Bekka Bramlett, with whom he had worked previously. With both Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie gone, Bramlett was essentially going to pull double-duty on both of their songs.
Well, some of their songs. Knowing that fans—and Nicks—would bristle at the idea of Bramlett coming in and trying to take over as the tophat-wearing, tambourine-wielding lead singer of Fleetwood Mac, Bramlett set some boundaries with the band. “I did choose not to do her signature songs because that would be weird,” Bramlett said in a 2023 interview with Rolling Stone.
“I was like, ‘I’m not doing ‘Rhiannon’. I’m not doing ‘Dreams’. I f***in’ did ‘Landslide’ until I replaced it with ‘Imagine’. I didn’t want to fight too hard, man, but I definitely didn’t want to do ‘Rhiannon’ and ‘Dreams’.”
As for the people who still thought Bramlett was trying to replace Nicks, the singer said, “They can suck it. There is no replacing Stevie Nicks. Everybody knows that.”
Indeed, even Stevie Nicks knew that.
The Two Singers Shared a Tense Exchange
As excited as she was to join the hallowed ranks of Fleetwood Mac, Bekka Bramlett knew she was there to serve a purpose, not get a shot at stardom. “I knew my job was to get Stevie back,” she told Rolling Stone. “I wasn’t a moron; I knew I was facing tomatoes. But I didn’t want to wear a top hat. I didn’t want to twirl around; I wanted to be me. I even dyed my hair brown just so people in the cheap seats would know that Stevie wasn’t going to be here.”
Stevie Nicks didn’t feel so accommodated, needless to say. Recalling a time when Nicks showed up to a show where Bramlett was performing after she had been selected as Nicks’ replacement, Bramlett said, “The first thing she said was, ‘Oh, I didn’t know she was blonde. And she over-sings.’ Everyone at the table said the same thing, so I know it’s true. But it’s okay. I still love her.”
“She probably felt like I p***ed on her tree,” Bramlett continued. “I can understand that; I’m a woman. I don’t dig it, but I get it.”
Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images