A producer is not required by law to like the music that the musician they are working with makes. Their responsibility is to record the magic and preserve it on tape. Any enjoyment they derive from the song in the process is essentially a bonus. Any song on the Rumours album of Fleetwood Mac could be considered a classic. But their producer was never all that thrilled with the song “Don’t Stop.”
It’s never simple to identify the standout singles from the album tracks while individuals are in the studio. To start recording the album, the band first got back together at The Record Plant in California. Most of the works consisted of different scraps that the group had begun writing during their tour and subsequent breakups with their partners.
Some songs were left unfinished because they were too explicit. Lindsey Buckingham first withheld the words “Second Hand News” and “Go Your Own Way” from the public because she knew it would infuriate Stevie Nicks. But as long as there was excellent music, it didn’t matter, as Christine McVie kicked things off with a lovely bluesy romp.
By the time Rumours went into production, McVie was an experienced player. While Buckingham and Nicks were still relatively fresh to the band. “Don’t Stop” was the kind of upbeat rock and roll song that would have blended in nicely with their pop sensibilities. It was especially after they had contributed lovely ballads like “Songbird.”
McVie had an issue with the song only in terms of how it sounded when she sang it. Thinking it would work better as a duet, each verse featured McVie and Buckingham trading lines back and forth. He resembles a conversation between two people about moving on to better things. This is one of the few songs without a negative undertone. But producer Ken Callait never understood the song’s appeal.
When speaking with MusicRadar later, Callait stated that he never understood what the rest of the band saw in the piece. He said, “I never really liked this song.” I had never worked on a shuffle before. I didn’t like the drum sound, either – maybe it’s because it started kind of slow. This was Christine’s song, and she loved it, so that’s all that matters. What did improve it dramatically was when she said to Lindsey, ‘Why don’t we make it a duet?’ That opened things up.”
Even though Callait sees more flaws in the work than anyone else, the song helped the band get back on track. Most of the classic lineup pursued solo careers in the 1990s. President Bill Clinton’s decision to use McVie’s work as a campaign song eventually persuaded them to reunite. And they quickly delivered one of their best performances at the president’s inauguration.
That wouldn’t even be McVie’s best moment on record. She later wrote ‘You Make Loving Fun’ about the man she was seeing on the side while with John McVie. The atmosphere may have been tense, and the producer may not have pleased. But all of that faded when this song came on.
