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"Don't Stop" is a song by the British-American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...
, written by
Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, notably Chic ...
. The song was sung by
Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician, record producer, and the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with ...
and McVie, and was released as a single from the band's album '' Rumours'' (1977). One of the band's most enduring hits, "Don't Stop" was released as the second single from ''Rumours'' in the United Kingdom in April 1977, peaking at No. 32, while in the US it followed "
Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...
" as the third single from the album in June, eventually peaking at No. 3 at ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
in September.


Music and concept

"Don't Stop" is a
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
song. It reflects Christine McVie's feelings after her separation from Fleetwood Mac's bass guitarist,
John McVie John Graham McVie (; born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of drummer ...
, after eight years of marriage. McVie noted in ''The Fleetwood Mac Story: Rumours and Lies'', that "Don't Stop" was directed towards her ex-husband John McVie,Brunning, Bob .(2001). ''Rumours and Lies: The Fleetwood Mac Story''. . Retrieved 2 January 2007. who was unaware of the song's subject matter until its release. "I've been playing it for years and it wasn't until somebody told me, 'Chris wrote that about you.' Oh really?" The song was originally tracked with drums, bass, electric guitar, and electric piano on March 16, 1976. Its
working title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...
was "Yesterday's Gone", although Christine McVie changed the title to "Don't Stop" a few weeks later after she asked Buckingham to sing the song as a duet. Fleetwood Mac producer Ken Caillat recalled that the decision to sing the song as a duet "improved things dramatically". Take 25 was deemed satisfactory and used as the master. Following the completion of the basic tracks at the
Record Plant The Record Plant was a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and last operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it produced highly influential albums, including the New York ...
in
Sausalito, California Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...
, the band relocated to
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for additional overdubs. By this point, "Don't Stop" only lacked the final lead vocal take, although McVie and Buckingham thought that the song was not in a suitable key, so all of the instrumentation was scrapped with the exception of the drums. On August 9, McVie replaced the electric piano with a tack piano, an instrument with metal thumb tacks attached to the hammers. Caillat described the decision to add a tack piano as a "breakthrough" that "made the song bounce along". During the same recording session, Buckingham overdubbed an "up-strumming syncopated electric guitar part, along with some lead licks" and also doubled his vocals with McVie, which allowed for the backing tracks to be pushed up in the mix. In Caillat's estimation, this provided the song with "a new range of dynamic energy". Caillat commented that he was never fond of "Don't Stop", citing grievances with the
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
and the sound of the drums, but he stated that Christine McVie still loved the song. He was more complimentary of the band's backing vocals after the song's final chorus. "The band kept changing their background vocals. Anytime I thought I knew what they'd sing, they'd do something different. That's a hallmark of classic Fleetwood Mac, their backgrounds. They're incredible singers."


Reception

''
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'' said that "
Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and actor. He is the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of the group's bassist John Mc ...
and
John McVie John Graham McVie (; born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of drummer ...
comprise a deadly rhythm section, especially when they're working with a straight ahead shuffle like this one." ''
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'' and '' Paste'' ranked the song number four and number 25 respectively on their lists of the 30 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs. ''The Guardian'' wrote that the song's "cantering rhythm and chorus are so impossibly, infectiously buoyant, the song so flawless, that it cancels out the unhappiness that provoked it".


Political usage

The song was the theme music for United States presidential candidate
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
's 1992 presidential campaign, and was played at the 1992 Democratic National Convention during its final night balloon drop. Upon winning the election, Clinton persuaded the group to perform the song for his inaugural ball in 1993. Some of Clinton's staff attempted to convince him to pick a more contemporary song;
Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...
' " We Shall Be Free" was briefly considered, although Clinton ultimately settled on "Don't Stop" because he approved of its message. In the aftermath of the 1993 performance, Fleetwood Mac's ''
Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
'' album jumped from number 30 to number 11 on the Catalog Albums Chart. At the 2000 convention, Clinton ended his speech by saying, "Keep putting people first. Keep building those bridges. And don't stop thinking about tomorrow!" Immediately after the final sentence, the song began playing over the loudspeakers. The song was also played for Clinton's appearances at the
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
,
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
,
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
,
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, and
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
conventions. Additionally, the song was played at Conservative Conferences during David Cameron's tenure as
party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a politica ...
.


Personnel

*
Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, notably Chic ...
– piano, tack piano, Vox Continental organ, lead vocals (2nd verse) *
Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and actor. He is the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of the group's bassist John Mc ...
– drums, tambourine *
John McVie John Graham McVie (; born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of drummer ...
– bass guitar *
Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician, record producer, and the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with ...
– electric guitars, lead vocals (1st verse) *
Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...
– backing vocals


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Notes


References

{{Authority control 1977 singles Fleetwood Mac songs Songs written by Christine McVie Song recordings produced by Ken Caillat Song recordings produced by Richard Dashut Warner Records singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles 1976 songs Male–female vocal duets Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign Political party songs Presidential campaign songs