“Seven Wonders” – Single by Fleetwood Mac from the album Tango in the Night
B-side “Book of Miracles”
Released June 1987
Recorded 1986
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriters Sandy Stewart, Stevie Nicks
Producers Lindsey Buckingham, Richard Dashut
Charted No.19 in US; No.56 in UK; No.47 in West Germany; No.8 in Canada; No.23 in Australia.
Stevie Nicks sang lead vocals on the song, and it was written by Sandy Stewart, with additional lyrics by Nicks.
The song was written by Sandy Stewart, who had already co-written three tracks with Nicks for her 1983 solo album The Wild Heart. Stewart recorded a demo of “Seven Wonders” and sent it to Nicks without a lyric sheet. Nicks misheard one of the lines in the first verse as “all the way down to Emmaline”, a contribution that gave her a writing credit alongside Stewart. Nicks later said, “I had become so attached to the name Emmaline that we kept it in and she gave me a small percentage.”
“Seven Wonders” is one of three Stevie Nicks contributions to the Tango In The Night album, the others being “Welcome to the Room… Sara” and “When I See You Again.” After Fleetwood Mac took a break in 1982, Nicks released solo albums in 1983 and 1985, but was struggling with drug addiction. The band re-formed without her, with the other members starting work on the album in late 1985. Nicks didn’t participate in most of the sessions, which dragged on for about a year and a half. There was a lot of tension between her and Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, her ex-boyfriend and a co-producer on the album. Early sessions took place at Buckingham’s home studio, which was not where Stevie wanted to be.
In the accompanying music video, Nicks is singing in the center of a stage with the other members of Fleetwood Mac around her, playing their instruments and contributing vocals. On a background diorama, sketches of seven ‘wonders’ are pictured, including the Taj Mahal, the Roman Colosseum, and the Great Sphinx of Giza. Greek pillars are also placed around the stage.
