FLEETWOOD MAC, “OH WELL”

Welcome to The Minute of Spin, a bite-sized music segment in which we explore a single song that came to define an entire band. Unfortunately, we can't afford the rights to the songs we spotlight, so you won't actually hear the song. But you're welcome to listen to it here.

Some bands change so much in the course of their lifespan, it’s almost like they’re made up of a bunch of different bands. Changes in personnel and approach can give this impression. Those who first encountered Fleetwood Mac through their 1975 self-titled album, or through Rumours, probably had no idea that the band started out as an all-English blues outfit when three members of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers left to start their own group – namely, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, and Peter Green.

Now known as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, the London-born Green was responsible for some of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest early hits, including “Albatross,” “Man of the World,” and “Black Magic Woman,” which was later covered by Santana. But it’s his 1969 composition “Oh Well” that remains the group’s most enduring.

Split into two parts upon its release, “Oh Well” is three minutes of hard rocking blues followed by six minutes of spaghetti Western-style strumming, piano, and cello. In a video of the band performing Part One during their BBC Sessions, Green is flanked by guitarists Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan, McVie and drummer Fleetwood, but you’re continually drawn to the bearded Green, wearing some kind of tunic, laughing throughout, like a monk possessed.

The song’s influence is undeniable. It’s been covered countless times over the years by the likes of Joe Jackson, The Rockets, Big Country, and Tom Petty. Green himself wasn’t as lucky – he got religion, then LSD, and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. He spent most of the 70s and 80s in and out of mental hospitals. But he eventually made it back, and to this day, Green’s still out there, performing with friends*. In 1998 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

You’d be hard-pressed to call “Oh Well” the song that came to define Fleetwood Mac. Following a transitional period, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the band and they achieved mainstream success with albums like “Rumours,” “Mirage,” and “Tusk.” But Mac purists will always hearken back to the formative years, and the man who gave the band its name. For this reason, we can confidently say that the defining moment of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac was “Oh Well.”

*Editor’s Note: Peter Green died on July 25, 2020.