1983 Stevie Nicks – The Wild Heart

The Wild Heart is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter and Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks. Recording began in late 1982, shortly after the end of Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage Tour. After the death of her best friend, Robin Anderson, and with new appreciation for her life and career, the recording took only a few months and was released on June 10, 1983, a year after Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage. It peaked at #5 on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts (for seven consecutive weeks) and achieved platinum status on September 12, 1983. The album has sold over 2 million copies in the US alone, and has sold approximately 250,000 copies in the US since 1991 according to Nielsen Soundscan.

The album is notable for its array of prominent guest musicians. Tom Petty made a return to write “I Will Run to You”, on which his bandmates from the Heartbreakers performed. Nicks’ Fleetwood Mac bandmate, drummer Mick Fleetwood, made an appearance on the track “Sable on Blond”. Toto’s Steve Lukather contributed some of the guitar work on what would become the album’s biggest hit single, “Stand Back”, which also features an uncredited contribution from Prince, who played the synthesizer track. Nicks also worked with friend Sandy Stewart, who wrote the music for three tracks on the album and performed on several (Stewart would go on to write the 1987 Fleetwood Mac hit “Seven Wonders”). The album’s final track, “Beauty And The Beast”, features a full string section. Nicks had recorded various other tracks prior to the album’s release, including “Violet And Blue” which was featured on the movie soundtrack for Against All Odds, and later on Nicks’ 3-disc retrospective box set Enchanted in 1998.

The Wild Heart achieved double-platinum status in 1993, ten years after its release, for selling more than 2 million copies in the U.S. It spent a whole year on the Billboard 200 from June 1983 to June 1984. It was also certified Silver in the UK for sales in excess of 60,000. Three singles were released from the album: “Stand Back”, which charted at number 5; “If Anyone Falls”, which charted at number 14; and “Nightbird”, which charted at number 33. “Stand Back” and “If Anyone Falls” featured accompanying videos that went into heavy rotation on MTV. “Nightbird”, a track that Nicks has said was her favorite on the album, was performed live on Solid Gold and Saturday Night Live.