Of all the groups that defined the 1970s rock scene, none were as chaotic and cool as Fleetwood Mac.

Long before they topped the charts, Fleetwood Mac got its start in London in 1967. Stemming from the blues rock group John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, the band — which got its name from members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie — found quick success, their self-titled album reaching number four on the U.K. albums chart.

Despite Fleetwood Mac’s instant rise to stardom — and continued success with later singles, including “Black Magic Woman” and their cover of “Need Your Love So Bad” — things quickly took a turn for the worse after founding member Peter Green endured a life-altering bad acid tip.  "The truth about Peter Green and how he ended up how he did is very simple,” Clifford Davis, the band’s former manager, recalled. “We were touring Europe in late 1969. When we were in Germany, Peter told me he had been invited to a party. I knew there were going to be a lot of drugs around and I suggested that he didn't go. But he went anyway and I understand from him that he took what turned out to be very bad, impure LSD. He was never the same again." Green continued to play with the band for several months after, however he ultimately left Fleetwood Mac in May of 1970.

Green was only the first Fleetwood Mac member to leave the band. Throughout the next several years, the band saw a whole host of other shakeups, including the departure of Danny Kirwan after an alcohol-fueled tirade and Jeremy Spencer, who left the band after joining the Children of God. With the band in shambles, Fleetwood decided to offer a spot to Lindsey Buckingham, after hearing a track from his 1973 album with Stevie Nicks, ‘Buckingham Nicks.’ Buckingham accepted Fleetwood’s offer, only on the condition that Nicks join the band as well. The pair officially became members of Fleetwood Mac in December 1974.

With a solid new lineup, Fleetwood Mac released yet another self-titled album — their tenth record since their foundation. Boasting hits like “Landslide,” “Rhiannon,” and “Over My Head,” the album not only sold seven million copies, but also hit number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.

This success, however, didn’t ease tensions brewing within the band member's personal lives. By the time the group began recording their 11th album in 1976, John and Christine McVie were ending their eight-year marriage, Nicks and Buckingham’s fraught, on-again-off-again relationship had ignited tensions, and Fleetwood learned his wife was cheating on him with his best friend. Add in a whole bunch of cocaine and ‘Rumours’ was born, a recording process Christine described as a“trauma.” “The sessions were like a cocktail party every night—people everywhere,” She recalled. “We ended up staying in these weird hospital rooms ... and of course John and me were not exactly the best of friends.”

But with great tensions came great music. Released in 1977, ‘Rumours’ dominated the charts — and airwaves — with singles including ‘Go Your Own Way,’ ‘Dreams,’ ‘Don’t Stop,’ ‘You Make Loving Fun,’ and ‘The Chain.’ Alongside winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978, ‘Rumours’ sold roughly 10 million copies in the first 13 months after its release.

Despite trying to recapture the success of 'Rumors' with two additional albums, ‘Tusk’ and ‘Mirage’ the band took a brief hiatus to pursue solo careers. Nicks, Buckingham and McVie all garnered acclaim for their work, however the break proved difficult for several members of the band, with Fleetwood filing for bankruptcy and both Nicks and McVie struggling with substance abuse issues. Though they reunited in 1987 to record and release ‘Tango in the Night,’ Fleetwood Mac broke down once again, Buckingham — and then Nicks — leaving the group by the early '90s.

Even with their apparent differences, there was one force that could bring the splintered group back together — President Bill Clinton. In 1993, the soon-to-be-POTUS requested that Fleetwood Mac perform at his inauguration for a one-off reunion. The band obliged and played their '70s hit "Don't Stop," which had served as the 'theme song' for Clinton's campaign.

Though the group released their 16th album — Time — with an altered lineup, Fleetwood Mac couldn’t stay apart for too long. By May 1996, the group slowly began getting back together, Nicks and Buckingham’s song for ‘Twister’ sealing the deal. By 1997, the group had reunited again, releasing their live album, ‘The Dance.’

Releasing their final album, 'Say You Will', in 2003, the group continued to tour throughout the 2000s and early 20-teens. Though they were generally able to get along, by 2018, Buckingham had been booted from the band over an argument about what the setlist of their tour should entail.

By 2022, however, Fleetwood Mac as fans came to know and love it came to an end when Christine McVie passed away at the age of 79. “She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life,” read a statement from the band, Nicks dubbing the artist her "best friend in the whole world" in a post of her own. But even with this sad ending, the group’s legacy will always live on in our ‘Dreams.’