Explaining Gen-Z’s Mysterious Infatuation With Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ (Guest Post)

In his new work, "Don't Stop: Why We (Still) Love Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours,'" esteemed music journalist Alan Light examines the improbable, ongoing reign of the 1977 classic. Published by Atria Books, the text explores how an album born from the ashes of the band's internal romantic collapses and rampant drug use managed to become an immediate commercial titan. It has since been certified 21-times platinum in the U.S., a figure that cements its status as the nation's seventh best-selling album ever, with more than 40 million copies sold globally.

Nearly fifty years on, "Rumours" has achieved a unique distinction: it is the classic rock album that refuses to age, consistently attracting fresh, younger listeners. It sounds less like a museum piece and more like a modern pop record, a perception validated by its performance on streaming services. In 2023, it was the most-streamed album from the entire 20th century on Spotify, a platform dominated by a Gen Z and Millennial user base. The track "Dreams" alone has accumulated over two billion streams, eclipsing the streaming numbers of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." The album's longevity is further demonstrated on the Billboard Top 100, where it maintains a steady chart presence, recently surging to number 14. It is the only non-greatest-hits catalog title to achieve this. Furthermore, in the midst of the vinyl resurgence, "Rumours" is a permanent fixture in the Top Ten sales chart, rubbing shoulders with new releases from artists like Taylor Swift. In a remarkable feat, it was the best-selling rock album of 2024 by any artist.

This cultural rediscovery is a recurring theme for the album. It has been reintroduced to new audiences through various channels, from a themed episode of "Glee" to a viral 2020 TikTok trend featuring a skateboarder drinking cranberry juice to "Dreams." More recently, the bestselling novel and subsequent TV series "Daisy Jones & the Six" drew direct inspiration from the band's tumultuous saga. To understand this sustained appeal, Light interviewed close to 30 post-millennials for his book. Their perspectives often contradicted the established narrative held by those who witnessed the album's original era. While the creation of "Rumours" is famously framed by the acrimonious splits between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks and John and Christine McVie, younger listeners frequently described the music as a source of pure joy and uplifting energy, not a chronicle of heartbreak.

A significant part of its appeal to a modern, diverse audience lies in the band's groundbreaking structure. Fleetwood Mac, unlike most mixed-gender groups of the 1970s that typically featured one woman, was built around two formidable female singer-songwriters: the mystical Stevie Nicks and the melodic Christine McVie. In fact, "Rumours" holds the record as the best-selling album in American history where the majority of the songs were both written and sung by women. For contemporary fans, the visible professional partnership and supportive friendship between Nicks and McVie is a powerful and resonant element. As music historian Dr. Evelyn Choi notes, "In an industry then and now often characterized by male dominance, their collaboration presented a rare and empowering model of female solidarity that continues to inspire."

The very chaos that defined the album's creation is what ultimately gives it a timeless quality for new generations. Younger listeners, fully aware of the band's backstory, find a profound sense of comfort and inspiration in the knowledge that such profound personal dysfunction was channeled into creating art of lasting beauty. The raw, visceral emotions captured on the record—the jealousy, longing, and defiance—directly mirror the intense feelings of adolescence and young adulthood. As one fan interviewed by Light articulated, the album's power is derived from its sheer intensity, a quality that perfectly mirrors the angst and passion of being a teenager. This emotional authenticity ensures that "Rumours" feels as urgent and vital today as it did upon its release nearly half a century ago.