Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks

Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks

 By Stephen Davis





I really wanted to like this book. I had read nothing about Stevie Nicks, so this biography was supposed to be fun. Stephen Davis produced a book that was fun for the first maybe half. Then I lost the plot.

Stevie Nicks is a rock and roll legend. Full stop. You could almost end her story there. The lady is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2 categories. Many folks wind up in the Hall of Fame in just one category and we consider them legends. That would mean Stephanie Lynn Nicks is a double legend.

So reading more about her should have been enjoyable. But sadly it's hard to recommend this compiled tripe. Was it a fun read? Ummm, I tried and really wanted to have fun, but it would have been more fun if it had some original reporting and interviews.

This is just a biography of previously published material from interviews, other books, and even liner notes. Sheesh! Liner notes?? We could all write books if liner notes were the source. This is, in many ways, just second-hand news.

I, as I said, knew nothing of Nicks before this book. It was fun reading about her beginnings. It was only good because I hadn’t read anything else about her. Life before the Fleetwood Mac whirlwind was not so whirlwindish. 

Not only is Stevie Nicks a legend but she is a survivor. Ms. Nicks certainly survived cocaine, which a lot of musical artists do. It seems fewer women report surviving cocaine but there are many fewer women in rock and roll. Also, maybe other women have managed to be more candid about their private affairs.

But she also managed to survive Fleetwood Mac and is still performing with the band today. Both Stevie and the band were able to survive her breakup with Fleetwood Mac guitarist and longtime beau Lindsay Buckingham. Somehow the musical bonds of the band were much stronger than the bonds of other bands.

Stevie Nicks has managed to not only survive but has thrived well into her old age. She has also been thriving within Fleetwood Mac recording and touring with them for decades.

Ms. Nicks has thrived for decades without the aid of cocaine. This could make her happier than she has ever been.

There is a modest selection of photos here. As with many biographies, they seem almost like an afterthought. Someone must have realized they were soon releasing a Stevie Nicks biography so they sent a lonely intern to Google a few pics. The intern likely thought Stevie Nicks was a man from her name alone.  Good thing this lonely intern didn’t think the tall skinny guy next to her in many of the photos was actually Stevie… 

I really wish I could recommend you read this. I wanted to love every word and was hoping it was a fun ride. That was not the case. If you can get it very cheap then sure, spend a buck or two and a short weekend with this Stevie Nicks biography. It would be great if you received it as a gift because it would be free for you. But otherwise, it’s just a perfectly passable passel of papers.



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