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"Over My Head" is a soft rock song performed by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. The song was written by group keyboardist and vocalist Christine McVie. "Over My Head" was the band's first single to reach the Billboard Hot 100 since "Oh Well", ending a six-year dry spell on the American charts.

"Over My Head"
Single by Fleetwood Mac
from the album Fleetwood Mac (The White Album)
B-side	"I'm So Afraid"
Released	September 1975 (US) 27 February 1976 (UK) [1]
Recorded	February 1975
Genre	Soft rock
Length	3:38 (Album Version) 3:09 (Single Version)
Label	Reprise
Songwriter(s)	Christine McVie
Producer(s)	Fleetwood Mac Keith Olsen
Fleetwood Mac singles chronology
"Warm Ways" (1975) "Over My Head" (1975) "Rhiannon" (1976)

Background

Christine McVie composed the song using a portable Hohner electric piano in a small apartment in Malibu, California, where she and then-husband John McVie (Fleetwood Mac's bassist) resided after completing a concert tour to promote the previous album, Heroes Are Hard to Find.[2] The lyrics for were inspired by her working relationship with bandmate Lindsay Buckingham. "He was that kind of a guy, he could be cold as ice, and then he could be great. So I took that feeling I was feeling, and I turned it into a song".[3] The original rhythm track consisted of just vocals, drums and a Dobro. Other instruments were added later to embellish the song, including McVie's Vox Continental organ.[4] In a 1975 review, Billboard described McVie's vocal performance as "a completely distinctive voice, with a sexy huskiness that is unique in pop today."[5]

In the U.S., Reprise Records selected "Over My Head" as the lead single from the 1975 LP Fleetwood Mac, a decision that surprised the band, who believed that the song was the "least likely track on Fleetwood Mac to be released as a single."[4] Nevertheless, the song reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1976. The single's success helped the group's eponymous 1975 album sell eight million units.[6]

The 45 RPM single version of the song released for radio airplay was a remixed, edited version that differed from the version on the Fleetwood Mac album. The single version is distinguished by a cold start (rather than the fade-in intro on the LP version), louder guitar strums in the choruses, and less ensemble vocal work overall. Additionally, the single version fades during its three-bar instrumental outro[7] whereas the album version tape-loops it to six bars upon fade-out. Further, while the album version has a relatively wide stereo spectrum, the single version is mixed very narrowly (essentially mono) with stereo reverberation effects on some bongo passages and select guitar flourishes. The aforementioned remixed/edited version is the one included on the compilation album The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac. The single version is also available as a bonus track on the 2004 remastered CD release of the Fleetwood Mac album.

Cash Box said that "versatility is again demonstrated with a boiling rhythm subtly driving a soft McCartney-like vocal, shaded by organ and sweet, answering harmony."[8]

Personnel

• Christine McVie – Vox Continental organ, electric piano, lead vocals
• Lindsey Buckingham – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
• Stevie Nicks – backing vocals
• John McVie – bass guitar
• Mick Fleetwood – drums, bongos, shaker

Chart performance

References

Bibliography

The Great Rock Discography. Martin C. Strong. Page 378. ISBN 1-84195-312-1

External links

• Fleetwood Mac - Over My Head on YouTube

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