Edge Of Seventeen
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Edge of Seventeen" is a song by American singer-songwriter
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 ...
from her debut solo studio
album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
'' Bella Donna'' (1981), released as the third single from the album on February 4, 1982. The lyrics were written by Nicks to express the grief resulting from the death of her uncle Jonathan and the murder of John Lennon during the same week of December 1980. The song features a distinctive, chugging 16th-note guitar riff, drum beat and a simple chord structure typical of Nicks' songs. The song's title for the single release was "Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove)". In the United States, "Edge of Seventeen" just missed out on the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at No. 11. It became one of Nicks' most enduring and recognizable songs and has been covered by several artists. In 2021, it was ranked No. 217 on Rolling Stone's list of the "
500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...
".


Background and inspiration

According to Nicks, the title came from a conversation she had with
Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...
's first wife, Jane, about the couple's first meeting. Jane said they met "at the age of seventeen", but Jane's strong Southern accent made it sound like "edge of seventeen" to Nicks. She liked the sound of the phrase so much that she told Jane she would write a song for it and give her credit for the inspiration. Although Nicks had originally planned to use the title for a song about Tom and Jane Petty, the death of her uncle Jonathan and the
murder of John Lennon On the evening of 8 December 1980, the English musician John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles, was shot and fatally wounded in the archway of the Dakota, his residence in New York City. The killer, Mark David Chapman, was an American Beatles fa ...
during the same week of December 1980 inspired a new song for which Nicks used the title. Nicks' producer and lover
Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...
was a close friend of Lennon, and Nicks felt helpless to comfort him. Soon after, Nicks flew home to
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, to be with her uncle Jonathan, who was dying of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
. She remained with her uncle and his family until his death. Nicks had never actually heard a dove's call before, as she revealed in 2020 when she had only just heard it recently. The opening lyrics were inspired by a menu she was reading at a Phoenix restaurant in 1980, which said, "The white wing dove sings a song that sounds like she’s singing ooh, ooh, ooh. She makes her home here in the great Saguaro cactus that provides shelter and protection for her…".


Composition and lyrics

As is typical of Nicks' songs, the
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
are highly symbolic. Nicks has said that the white-winged dove represents the spirit leaving the body on death, and some of the verses capture her experience of the days leading up to her uncle Jonathan's death. During the recording session for "Edge of Seventeen", someone from Nicks' backing band recommended that they emulate the guitar riff
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...
's " Bring On the Night", although guitarist Waddy Wachtel was unfamiliar with the song.
"I had never heard "Bring On the Night," and at that session they told me they were going to do this song based on this feel. I had heard something about the Police, but I didn't know what they were talking about. Then about two years ago, I had the radio on, and on comes what sounds like "Edge of Seventeen" – and all of a sudden, there's Sting's voice! I thought, 'We ripped them off completely!' I called Stevie that night and said, 'Listen to me, don't ever do that again!'"


Reception

''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
'' praised the song for its "powerful lyrics, a percolating rhythm section and Stevie's throaty vocal." Author Zoë Howe has described the song as being about "transforming and elevating the feelings of grief and soaring above them with strength" and being "a perfect combination of tough rock 'n' roll grit, raw emotion and full-beam, strut-about-in-platform-boots rock queen glamour." The song is a favourite among Nicks' fanbase.


Chart performance

"Edge of Seventeen" peaked at No. 11 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks in April 1982. The live version on the B-side reached No. 26 on ''Billboard''s
Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
chart. The original album version of the song had previously made the top five of ''Billboard''s Mainstream Rock chart in 1981, peaking at No. 4. "Edge of Seventeen" also peaked at No. 11 on the ''
RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
'' Top 100 Singles chart in Canada. The song was also covered on season 9 of '' The Voice'' by
Amanda Ayala Amanda Ayala (born September 23, 1997) is an American singer from New York who made her first appearance on the national scene on NBC's Emmy Award-winning show ''The Voice (U.S. TV series), The Voice.'' Following her time on The Voice she contin ...
and Shelby Brown. Their cover entered the top 100 of the
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
rock chart. The song entered the UK chart in 2021 following its use in a
John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
commercial.


Track listing and formats

* US 7"
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
single # "Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove)"  – 4:28 # "Edge of Seventeen" (Previously unreleased live version)  – 5:57


Personnel

Musicians *Stevie Nicks – lead vocals, writer *
Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Beth Hart, Stevie Nicks, Miranda ...
– guitar *
Bob Glaub Bob Glaub (born May 10, 1952)Hageman, William (April 29, 2005)."The aces of bass: Five giants of an overshadowed instrument", Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists an ...
– bass guitar *
Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Cass Elliot, Dan Fo ...
– drums *
Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for ...
– percussion *
Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin M ...
– organ *
Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synth ...
– piano *Lori Perry – backing vocals *Sharon Celani – backing vocals Production *
Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...
– producer


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Covers

*
Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera ' ...
released a version of "Edge of Seventeen" on her second studio album '' A Little More Personal (Raw)'' (2005). *In 2020,
Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...
interpolated the song for her single " Midnight Sky", which was later remixed as a mashup featuring Nicks titled " Edge of Midnight". *In 2022, American DJ and record producer Wuki released a remixed version of the track. This version was certified gold in Australia in 2024.


Sampling

* The guitar riff from the song was
sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...
by American
girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...
Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...
in their 2001
hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...
"
Bootylicious "Bootylicious" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for their third studio album '' Survivor'' (2001). It was written and produced by Rob Fusari, Beyoncé and Falonte Moore. The song contains a prominent sample from Stevie Nic ...
", with Nicks making a cameo appearance in the accompanying
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
.


Use in soundtracks

The song was used in the TV series ''
The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
''.


References


External links


Stevie Nicks on "Edge of Seventeen"
— Quotes by Nicks about the song, gathered from interviews throughout the years. {{authority control 1981 songs 1982 singles Stevie Nicks songs Songs written by Stevie Nicks Song recordings produced by Jimmy Iovine Songs about John Lennon Commemoration songs Lindsay Lohan songs Modern Records (1980) singles