Ignored             Obscured              Restored

My wife is reading Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks (2017), by Stephen Davis.  She occasionally reads a section to me that she finds to be particularly interesting.  I will have to read it myself when she finishes.

So to celebrate Stevie, I’ll make today’s SotW a Nicks’ obscurity – a cover of the Atlanta Rhythm Section’s “Imaginary Lover.”

April Fools!

This recording is actually the Atlanta Rhythm Section played at a higher speed.  But you have to admit… it really sounds like Nicks!

The legend is that back in 1978, when both Fleetwood Mac and ARS were at the top of their games, a radio DJ accidentally played “Imaginary Lover” at 45 rpm rather than 33 1/3 and was amazed at how much it sounded like Nicks.

A Rolling Stone article by Cameron Crowe reported:

News quickly reached Nicks in Los Angeles. She rushed out to buy the record and played it at the wrong speed. “I got chills,” says Stevie. “It sounds exactly like something I’d sing, the way I’d sing it. I even played it for Christine [McVie], mixed in with some other demos for the new album. She complimented me on it.”

Out of respect for the ARS, here’s their original, played at the proper speed.

Think of the fun we’re missing out on, now that radio stations only play digital recordings!

Enjoy… until next week.