Although Stevie Nicks has always been gifted beyond most, her gender and the nature of the industry have required her to put in twice as much work as some of her peers. But as time went on, Nicks emerged as one of the most well-known rock stars. Her appeal hasn’t wavered in the more than fifty years that she has been in the spotlight.
In the early 1980s, Nicks felt optimistic about life and her spotlight career. She had just finished her tour with Fleetwood Mac for the Mirage tour and was starting a new chapter in her life after her friend Robin Anderson passed away. In contrast to some of her most trying times, recording The Wild Heart opened Nicks’ heart to more beauty than she could have ever imagined.
The involvement of numerous well-known musicians created a whirlwind of interest in The Wild Heart. These musicians included Steve Lukather, Mick Fleetwood, Sandy Stewart, Paul Buckmaster, and Petty’s band The Heartbreakers, who performed on the album’s hit track “I Will Run to You.”
The lead single, “Stand Back,” became a mainstay of Nicks’ live performances and a Fleetwood Mac song in late 1980s. It was among the album’s highlights. On the day of her marriage to Kim Anderson, Nicks heard Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” on the radio and felt inspired to write the song. The synthesizers ultimately played a crucial role in the song “Stand Back.” Prince quickly left the studio after entering to perform the song, saying it was all a dream, according to Nicks.
Apart from Prince’s contribution, working with Jimmy Iovine during the song’s recording helped it flow naturally. Nicks previously told MTV that Iovine was the one who “pulled me out of the depths of darkness.” The musician recalled how he would charmingly give songs “a grand sound” in the studio, such as “Because the Night,” which she had grown attached to from the moment she heard it.
They cut the song in a single take after Nicks sang the lyrics and Sandy Stewart played the drum machine. After that, “we never did it again.” She felt The Wild Heart was different, primarily because of the experience of recording the songs in a studio. Some of her songs required recording vocals more than once.
Nicks found the process so magical that she wanted to capture it on camera to watch anytime. In her own words: “I feel there’s no way to redo the vocal on The Wild Heart, so why bother? And we have a lot of fun recording because of that. Everybody gets dressed up, and we video it. It’s…wild!”
