Christine McVie, a renowned English singer, keyboardist, and songwriter, was born Christine Anne Perfect on July 12th, 1943, in the Lake District village of Bouth, England. She grew up in the Bearwood area of Smethwick near Birmingham, surrounded by a musical family. Her father, Cyril Perfect, was an accomplished violinist and music lecturer at St Peter's College of Education, Saltley. Her mother, Beatrice ("Tee", née Reece),was a medium, psychic, and faith healer. McVie's grandfather was an organist at Westminster Abbey.
Introduced to the piano at the age of four, McVie did not study music until age 11, continuing her classical training until age 15. She then shifted her musical focus to Rock and Roll, becoming addicted to it from the first time she looked through a Fats Domino songbook.
While studying sculpture at Birmingham Art College, McVie got caught in the throes of the blues revival that was sweeping England. She made some duo appearances with Spencer Davis before teaming up with Stan Webb and Andy Silvester in the band Sounds of Blue. After graduating from college with a teaching degree, McVie joined Chicken Shack, a band that found success with the song "I'd Rather Go Blind."
Touring with Chicken Shack, McVie often met with Fleetwood Mac, sharing the same label at Blue Horizon. Fleetwood Mac asked her to play piano as a session musician for Peter Green's songs on their second album, Mr. Wonderful. McVie left Chicken Shack after marrying Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie and continued her career with the recording of a solo album, Christine Perfect.
By the time she had joined Fleetwood Mac full-time, McVie had already contributed backup vocals and painted the cover for Kiln House. Peter Green had left the band, leaving Fleetwood Mac with reservations to perform live without him. Having been a huge fan of the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, McVie joined the band, versed in all the lyrics to their songs.
In 1974, with the band, McVie reluctantly relocated to the United States in effort to make a fresh start. Within a year, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the band. With a new lineup, their first album together, titled Fleetwood Mac, found success with McVie's songs "Over My Head" and "Say You Love Me" both reaching Billboard's top-20 singles chart.
The band sold 4 million copies of Fleetwood Mac and over 15 million of its follow-up, Rumours. From the album, McVie's "You Make Loving Fun" found a place on the top-10, and "Don't Stop" peaked to the #3, and years later became the song President Bill Clinton played for his Presidential campaign, and at his 1993 inaugural Gala.
The success of Rumours earned the band many accolades; however, by the end of touring for the album, McVie divorced from John McVie. In 1979, the band released Tusk, the album was considered a disappointment, merely because it was impossible for any future releases to meet the success of Rumours. Three years later, the band reunited to record Mirage, which featured the top-5 hit "Hold Me."
In 1984, McVie released her second solo album, simply titled, Christine McVie. The album featured the hit "Got a Hold on Me," positioning in the Top 10 pop, and #1 adult contemporary. She also met keyboardist Eddy Quintela (12 years her junior),they married two years later (October 1986). Although they divorced a decade later, they wrote several songs together, including "Little Lies" and "As Long as You Follow," two songs that became hits for Fleetwood Mac.
The solo album also features McVie's cover of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love," the song was featured in the Howie Mandel film A Fine Mess (1986). A year later, she reunited with Fleetwood Mac for the recording of the band's fourteenth studio album, Tango in the Night.
Always reluctant to tour, preferring to stay close to home and friends and family, and upon the death of her father, (while she was touring for Behind the Mask) (Fleetwood Mac's fifteenth studio album),McVie made the decision to retire from touring altogether. In 1998, she reunited with the band for the release of the live album, the Dance, which reached #1 on the US album charts.
The same year, despite her reservations, she toured with the band for the group's 1998 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the Grammy Awards show, and the BRIT Awards. McVie returned to England to be near her family and stayed out of public view until 2000, when she
