30 Years Later, Stevie Nicks Resurrected This Forgotten Song Left Off Fleetwood Mac’s Boldest Album

Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks is responsible for some of the five-piece band’s biggest hits, but not every song she wrote made it onto their biggest albums. When working on Tusk, Fleetwood Mac’s riskiest and most experimental album, Nicks wrote “The Dealer”, which was cut from the album. Nicks took the song and released it during her solo run, but it took over 30 years for the song to see the light of day.

"The Dealer" Was Written For the Iconic 'Tusk' Album

Nicks wrote “The Dealer” in 1979 while the band worked on Tusk. However, “The Dealer” received a lukewarm response from her bandmates, especially Lindsey Buckingham, her bandmate and ex-boyfriend. Fleetwood Mac spent far less time working on the song in comparison to the other songs from the album, and eventually, “The Dealer” did not make the tracking list. While “The Dealer” was unsuccessful, Nicks’ contributions to the album were still important and iconic, as “Sara” reached the top ten on the charts.

“The Dealer” was shelved, but Fleetwood Mac’s engineer, Hernan Rojas, saw the song’s potential. He stated that the chord progression was more advanced than Nicks was used to writing, meaning she was unable to provide the band with proper guidance on how to approach “The Dealer,” which led to the song’s exclusion from Tusk. If only the band paid more attention to it, then maybe “The Dealer” could have been met with more success and recognition.

This is not the first time Nicks has been shut down. A few of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits, which Nicks had written, initially received some pushback. Nicks had to convince the band to record “Dreams” since the band found the song boring, while “Silver Springs” was rejected from Rumours due to its length. “The Dealer” was hard for the band to resonate with, which was why it took several months for the band to record the song.

Stevie Nicks Revisited "The Dealer" Two Years Later

Tusk was released in October 1979, shortly before Nicks’ solo endeavours. While the album received great responses, it was unfortunately not as successful as Rumours. The album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, while “The Dealer” was still searching for a home.

1981 was the year when Nicks briefly separated herself from Fleetwood Mac and became a solo artist. It was also the year she released her debut album, Bella Donna, which she had been working on since 1979, and featured hits such as “Edge of Seventeen” and “Leather and Lace,” which was a duet with Don Henley. While working on the debut album, she revisited “The Dealer” but was unable to find a place for it on the album. As a result, the song was shelved for three decades.

While “The Dealer” was locked away in a vault, Bella Donna became Nicks’ breakout. It peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the charts for nearly three years. It was not until 2014 that Nicks felt inspired to return to “The Dealer” once again, only this time, the song saw its way out of the vault.

Stevie Nicks Released "The Dealer" In 2014

Nicks’ manager found a bootleg recording of “The Dealer” on YouTube, inspiring Nicks to re-record the song. “The Dealer” was then released in 2014, accompanied by a lyric video, and as part of her album 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault. The album, which peaked at seven on the Billboard 200, marked Nicks' first album since In Your Dreams, which was released in 2011.

Though 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault gave Nicks her sixth top ten album on the Billboard 200, “The Dealer” was not a commercial success. The song became a minor hit in Belgium as it peaked at 72 on the charts. However, due to its absence from the charts, “The Dealer” became one of Nicks’ most underrated songs.

As “The Dealer” was written in 1979, the song can also be considered a time capsule and a part of Fleetwood Mac’s history. “The Dealer” was written during the Tusk sessions, so not only do listeners get a small insight into Nicks’ creativity during the sessions, but they are also listening to the song that could've been on the album. Although “The Dealer” is Nicks’ most underrated song, it is also a nostalgic nod to the iconic Tusk era.