"Gold Dust Woman" is a song from British-American rock band

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epo ...

's 11th studio album, '' Rumours'' (1977). The song was written and sung by

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer 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, releasi ...

and released as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to the " Don't Stop" single (in the UK) and the "

You Make Loving Fun "You Make Loving Fun" is a song written and sung by Christine McVie of British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. The song was released as the fourth and final 45 rpm single from the band's 1977 album '' Rumours''. "You Make Loving Fun" was the a ...

" single (in the US). The 2004 two-disc special edition release of '' Rumours'' includes two demos of "Gold Dust Woman". One demo features vocal melody and lyrics in the coda which would later be developed into the stand-alone single "If You Ever Did Believe" in 1997, which Nicks recorded with

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three ...

as part of the early sessions for her 2001 ''

Trouble in Shangri-La ''Trouble in Shangri-La'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks. Released in 2001, it was her first new solo album since 1994's '' Street Angel''. The album debuted at number five on the ''Billboard'' 200, Nicks' h ...

'' album. However, the track, "If You Ever Did Believe" was instead chosen as the theme song for the 1998 Warner Bros. film ''

Practical Magic ''Practical Magic'' is a 1998 American fantasy romantic drama film based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Alice Hoffman. The film was directed by Griffin Dunne and stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Aid ...

'', starring

Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, Bullock was the world's highest-paid actress in 2010 and 2014. In 2010 ...

and

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

, and is only available on the film's soundtrack album.

Background

The take chosen for release on the 1977 '' Rumours'' album was reportedly recorded at 4 a.m., after a long night of attempts in the studio. Just before and during the final take, Stevie Nicks had wrapped her head (though not mouth) with a black scarf, veiling her senses to tap memories and emotions. Many unusual instruments were used in the recording, including an electric

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

with a jet phaser, which was marked with tape so Mick Fleetwood could play the right notes. To accentuate Nicks's vocals, Fleetwood broke sheets of glass. According to producer

Ken Caillat Kenneth Douglas Caillat ( ) is an American record producer. He is best known for engineering the Fleetwood Mac albums '' Rumours'', ''Tusk'', ''Mirage'', ''Live'', and '' The Chain Box Set''. Life and career Caillat was the president of 5.1 Ent ...

"He leetwoodwas wearing goggles and coveralls — it was pretty funny. He just went mad, bashing glass with this big hammer. He tried to do it on cue, but it was difficult. Eventually, we said, 'Just break the glass,' and we fit it all in." The song's title, "Gold Dust Woman", comes from Gold Dust Lane, a street in

Wickenburg, Arizona Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa and Yavapai counties, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 7,474, up from 6,363 in 2010. History The Wickenburg area, along with much of the Southwest, became part ...

where Nicks spent time as a child. ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

'' critic Barry Walsh described the song as finding Nicks "at her folky (not flaky) best with one of her most poignant character studies".

Interpretations

When asked about the song in an interview with

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as ...

for ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' in October 1997, Nicks confirmed that "gold dust" was in fact a metaphor for

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

. In an interview for VH1's

Classic Album series ''Classic Albums'' is a British documentary series about pop, rock and heavy metal albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music. Format The TV serie ...

, Nicks offered further insight into the song's meaning:

Personnel

– lead vocals *

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

– guitars, dobro, backing vocals *

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...

– drums, cowbell, electric

(processed), sound effects *

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...

–

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

, backing vocals *

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 Mick Fle ...

– bass guitar

Certifications

Hole version

A cover version by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band Hole was released on

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

in 1996 as their ninth CD single. It was also featured on the soundtrack to '' The Crow: City of Angels'' and was produced by

Ric Ocasek Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...

the Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr ( bass guitar), Elliot Easton ( lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboar ...

Charts

Other covers

A cover version by

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

was released on the Waylon and Willie album in 1978.

References

External links

The Penguin: GDW Lyric Interpretations
{{authority control Fleetwood Mac songs Hole (band) songs 1977 songs 1996 singles Songs written by Stevie Nicks Song recordings produced by Ken Caillat Song recordings produced by Richard Dashut Songs about drugs Geffen Records singles Warner Records singles Songs about cocaine