Fleetwood Mac Author Sam Graham Brings New Book

BEFORE THE BEGINNING

“A Personal and Opinionated History”

Ebook Chronicles Fleetwood Mac Saga From A Unique Perspective

A 36-year gap between original and “sequel”? With the publication of his eBook Before the Beginning: A Personal and Opinionated History of Fleetwood Mac, author Sam Graham has traveled a long road.

Graham’s first book about the band, Fleetwood Mac – The Authorized History, was published in 1978, sold a few copies, then quickly slipped out of print. And that was that — at least until Rumours, one of the most successful albums in pop history, neared its 35th anniversary, and Graham was invited to write a piece re-visiting his experiences interviewing and writing about the band during their ‘70s explosion. As he began work on the new project, he was pleasantly astounded to discover that he had kept nearly all of the material he’d gathered for the earlier book, including cassette interviews, letters and other documents, and various memorabilia.

Intrigued by the possibility of combining these elements into something more entertaining and interactive than mere pages of text, Graham partnered with artist and illustrator Kirsten Huntley, who also had the experience and know-how to make the eBook’s technical elements flourish.

The eBook they created, Before the Beginning (the title comes from a Fleetwood Mac song written by the group’s founder, legendary guitarist Peter Green), features more than 30 audio clips from Sam’s interviews, digitized from the ancient cassettes he found collecting dust in his basement. Along with current members Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey Buckingham, we hear from former members Jeremy Spencer and the late Bob Welch, as well as Mike Vernon, who produced Fleetwood Mac’s earliest recordings (including “Albatross,” the classic 1968 instrumental).

“In 1976-77,” says Graham, “the Rumours phenomenon was just starting — they were already big, but getting much bigger. It’s a snapshot of that particular point in their career, hearing them talk as they’re on the cusp of becoming biggest thing since sliced bread and the toaster.”

There are also click-able scans of such items as Graham’s correspondence with former manager Clifford Davis (at the time an opponent of the group in a lengthy lawsuit), signed photos, handwritten notes from interviews with Green and Mac bassist John McVie, a Fleetwood Mac timeline spanning 1967 to 1983, and more.

As for the text, Before the Beginning is part memoir, part band history. “I’ve been a fan since I first saw them onstage in 1968,” Graham says. “The Lindsey-Stevie era is by far the longest and most productive, but they had an inspiring and tumultuous prior history, so that’s in there too. We tried to satisfy both those who knew there was a Fleetwood Mac before ‘Rhiannon’ or Rumours and those who didn’t.

“The fact that they’re still around after almost 50 years and still at it in any form, with original members, is remarkable. This is our little tribute to a group that has combined quality and longevity like few, if any, others.”