40th Anniversary of my favorite album: Bella Donna

When my youngest daughter was about 13, she started questioning all family members regarding who their favorite singers were, in particular female vocalists. Inevitably she would scoff no matter who we choose and state that Celine Dion was so superior to whomever we favored. I don’t remember any of my early choices but I finally was allowed to say Diana Ross was my favorite female singer. I love Diana Ross’s soft, smooth, sultry voice but I never felt comfortable with her in the number one female vocalist spot on my list. Today (fifteen years later) somehow the subject was brought up again at Sunday dinner.

I was ready this time.

The past couple of years I have been choosing my own curated music rather than allowing the radio to dictate what I listen to. This has given me a chance to see which vocalists I prefer. I should not have been surprised who came out on top.

40 years ago Stevie Nicks released her first solo album, Bella Donna. “Stop Draggin’ my Heart Around,” a duet with Tom Petty was the first single from it. I had been a fan of Tom Petty since “Breakdown” several years before. Being of age during the Rumours era I, of course, had my requisite copy and especially enjoyed “Dreams” and “Gold Dust Woman” both of which had Stevie on main vocals. I was thrilled with their collaboration. When “Leather and Lace”, a ballad with Don Henley, was released in the fall, I fell in love with the song. I received Bella Donna as a Christmas gift from my sister that year. I was seventeen. Just like a white-winged dove…

You know how some albums only have a few decent cuts that you really like? Bella Donna was not one of these. Hearing almost any song from that album these days can take me back to that winter. I turned eighteen around the time “Edge of Seventeen” was released. I felt it in my soul. I eloped during spring break of that year. “After the Glitter Fades” still makes me cry.

Why didn’t I answer Stevie Nicks the first few (hundred) times I was asked? I think it might be because she doesn’t fit the standard female vocalist ideal. I was trying to find an answer that would fit into the box my daughter was trying to get me to fill. Stevie Nicks is no Celine Dion, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, or Mariah Carey. She is not a typical powerhouse singer. She's beyond compare. She has a unique voice that is unmistakable. She is the only woman to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once with Fleetwood Mac and again as a solo artist. She is my favorite female vocalist of all time. She has said, "Bella Donna was a dream". I'm so grateful that dream came true.

Please check out my top 10 favorite Stevie Nicks songs.