The stars were out in force to pay tribute to Fleetwood Mac as the legendary band picked up the Musicares Person Of The Year award.
Fleetwood Mac are the first band to be awarded the prestigious gong at the ceremony, which has become an essential part of the Grammy Awards build up. Previous winners include Sir Elton John, Bono, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty.
The event, held for the first time at New York’s legendary Radio City Music Hall, attracted a stellar cast of big names ready to pay tribute to the Mac, with the award itself presented by former US President Bill Clinton. Fleetwood Mac famously played his inauguration after Clinton used Don’t Stop in his election campaign.
“Don’t Stop has been played for me more times than Hail To the Chief,” joked Clinton. “Fleetwood Mac have meant a lot to a lot of people and they can still bring us to our feet, put a song in our heart and remind us to never stop thinking about tomorrow.”
Drummer Mick Fleetwood described the award as “a huge honour” while keyboard player/singer Christine McVie – recently reunited with the band – spoke with pride of “standing here with my family after a 15-year hiatus”.
“It’s always been a band with chemistry,” declared guitarist/singer Lindsey Buckingham. “We’re able to do shows to three generations of people.”
Singer Stevie Nicks also paid tribute to the fans “who played Rumours and Tusk to their babies, who grew up and played them to their babies”. “We have some 90-year-old fans,” she quipped. “They’re still out there, they just can’t make it to the show.”
But the band has younger admirers too, as evidence by the line-up of stars paying tribute. Lorde did a dramatic version of Silver Springs, Haim offered a sparky rendition of Gypsy and Miley Cyrus brought a stunning, smoky vocal to Landslide. Others performing included Imagine Dragons, Brandi Carlile, Portugal The Man, Juanes, Alison Krauss, Keith Urban, One Republic, Little Big Town, the Zac Brown Band and Jared Leto, who thanked the band for “changing my life and so many of our lives”.
Harry Styles meanwhile, joined Fleetwood Mac on backing vocals for The Chain at the start of their set at the evening’s finale. The band played five songs in total, ending on Go Your Own Way.
Organisers said the event had raised over $7 million (£TK) for the Musicares charity, which provides a safety net for musicians in need.
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