# Crystal (Fleetwood Mac song)
"Crystal" is a folk-pop ballad written by [Stevie Nicks](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-nicks) in the early 1970s, first recorded by the duo [Buckingham Nicks](https://www.edgepedia.org/buckingham-nicks) in 1973 and re-recorded by [Fleetwood Mac](https://www.edgepedia.org/fleetwood-mac) for the band's self-titled 1975 album, where it closes side one.[1](https://parade.com/entertainment/stevie-nicks-recorded-one-of-her-most-beautiful-songs-three-times-but-it-was-never-released-as-a-single) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/41240b22c0c03bb4cd9a728bc12f7820) • [3](https://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/discog.php?pid=14) Although it was never released as a lead single, the song has been recorded three times over 25 years and gained a second wave of exposure through the 1998 film *Practical Magic*.[1](https://parade.com/entertainment/stevie-nicks-recorded-one-of-her-most-beautiful-songs-three-times-but-it-was-never-released-as-a-single)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Writer | Stevie Nicks (music and lyrics)[4](https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?cat=s&interpret=Fleetwood+Mac&titel=Crystal) |
| First release | Buckingham Nicks, 1973, the duo's only album together[2](https://apnews.com/article/41240b22c0c03bb4cd9a728bc12f7820) |
| Fleetwood Mac version | Track 6 on *Fleetwood Mac* (1975), closing side one[5](https://stevienicks.info/music/fleetwood-mac-1975/crystal/) • [3](https://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/discog.php?pid=14) |
| Lead vocal (1975) | Lindsey Buckingham, with Nicks on background vocals[6](https://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/songs.php?j=lyrics&sid=5) |
| Third recording | 1998, for the *Practical Magic* soundtrack, Nicks on lead vocals for the first time[1](https://parade.com/entertainment/stevie-nicks-recorded-one-of-her-most-beautiful-songs-three-times-but-it-was-never-released-as-a-single) |
| Single status | Never released as a lead single in any of its versions[1](https://parade.com/entertainment/stevie-nicks-recorded-one-of-her-most-beautiful-songs-three-times-but-it-was-never-released-as-a-single) |
## Origin on Buckingham Nicks
Nicks wrote "Crystal" before she and [Lindsey Buckingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/lindsey-buckingham) joined Fleetwood Mac, and the song appeared on *Buckingham Nicks*, the 1973 album the pair made as a duo, their only recording project together before joining the band.[2](https://apnews.com/article/41240b22c0c03bb4cd9a728bc12f7820) • [7](https://www.aol.com/stevie-nicks-unearthed-2-long-203000959.html) Its best-known lyric line, "Do you always trust your first, initial feeling? / Special knowledge holds true, bears believing," comes from this version.[2](https://apnews.com/article/41240b22c0c03bb4cd9a728bc12f7820) The Associated Press review of the album's digital reissue describes the song as "a rare expression of devotion, or gratitude" and notes that it is the only song from *Buckingham Nicks* also to appear on the breakthrough *Fleetwood Mac* album of 1975.[2](https://apnews.com/article/41240b22c0c03bb4cd9a728bc12f7820)
## The Fleetwood Mac recording (1975)
When Nicks and Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac, the song was recorded again for the band's self-titled 1975 album, where it serves as the closer of side one.[8](https://fleetwoodmac.fandom.com/wiki/Crystal) • [3](https://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/discog.php?pid=14) Nicks later said she resisted including it: "John McVie wanted to put that on the Fleetwood Mac album," she recalled in a 1981 interview with The Source, and the bassist's preference carried the day.[1](https://parade.com/entertainment/stevie-nicks-recorded-one-of-her-most-beautiful-songs-three-times-but-it-was-never-released-as-a-single)
On the 1975 recording, Buckingham sings lead while Nicks takes background vocals.[6](https://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/songs.php?j=lyrics&sid=5) The performers listed for the track are [Mick Fleetwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/mick-fleetwood) on drums and percussion, [John McVie](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-mcvie) on bass, [Christine McVie](https://www.edgepedia.org/christine-mcvie) on keyboards, synthesizer, and background vocals, Buckingham on guitars and lead vocal, and Nicks on background vocals; production is credited to Keith Olsen and to the band's members collectively.[6](https://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/songs.php?j=lyrics&sid=5) The album was recorded at Sound City in Van Nuys, California, and mixed there and at Kendun Recorders in Burbank.[3](https://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/discog.php?pid=14) Mick Fleetwood later told MOJO that the band redid the song from the Buckingham Nicks album because "that song had so much connective power to our story."[9](https://fleetwoodmac-uk.com/wp/mick-fleetwood-the-mojo-interview-oct-28th-2015/)
## The 1998 Practical Magic version
In 1998 Nicks recorded "Crystal" a third time for the soundtrack of the film *Practical Magic*, marking the first time she took the lead vocal on her own song. She recorded it with her longtime backing vocalist Sharon Celani: "It was recorded for Buckingham Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, and then it was rerecorded for Practical Magic, with me and Sharon [Celani]."[1](https://parade.com/entertainment/stevie-nicks-recorded-one-of-her-most-beautiful-songs-three-times-but-it-was-never-released-as-a-single) The song was featured prominently in the film, which gave it new exposure, but it still was not released as a single and did not reach the [Billboard charts](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-charts).[1](https://parade.com/entertainment/stevie-nicks-recorded-one-of-her-most-beautiful-songs-three-times-but-it-was-never-released-as-a-single)
## Related releases
A 1976 release paired "Don't Let Me Down Again," another Buckingham Nicks song, with "Crystal" as its flip side.[6](https://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/songs.php?j=lyrics&sid=5) [The 1975](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-1975) album it appears on reached number one on the Billboard Album Chart in the United States, spent 37 weeks in the top ten, and sold over five million copies.[10](https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Fleetwood.pdf)
## References
1. [Stevie Nicks Recorded 'Crystal' Three Times in 25 Years, Parade](https://parade.com/entertainment/stevie-nicks-recorded-one-of-her-most-beautiful-songs-three-times-but-it-was-never-released-as-a-single)
2. [Music Review: 'Buckingham Nicks' is an engaging blueprint for the classics to come, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/41240b22c0c03bb4cd9a728bc12f7820)
3. [Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac (album page), The Penguin Discography](https://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/discog.php?pid=14)
4. [Fleetwood Mac – Crystal (song), australian-charts.com](https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?cat=s&interpret=Fleetwood+Mac&titel=Crystal)
5. [Crystal (1975), Stevie Nicks Info](https://stevienicks.info/music/fleetwood-mac-1975/crystal/)
6. [The Penguin Discography: Crystal](https://discog.fleetwoodmac.net/songs.php?j=lyrics&sid=5)
7. [Stevie Nicks Unearthed 2 Long-Buried Songs for the "Practical Magic" Soundtrack, AOL](https://www.aol.com/stevie-nicks-unearthed-2-long-203000959.html)
8. [Crystal, Fleetwood Mac Wiki (Fandom)](https://fleetwoodmac.fandom.com/wiki/Crystal)
9. [Mick Fleetwood – The MOJO Interview, Fleetwood Mac News UK](https://fleetwoodmac-uk.com/wp/mick-fleetwood-the-mojo-interview-oct-28th-2015/)
10. [Fleetwood Mac court filing excerpt, Courthouse News](https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Fleetwood.pdf)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Pop rock songs › 1960s and 1970s pop rock songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license