Stevie Nicks: 'El Paso ... is the place where I learned how to sing'

Last month it was announced that Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel will hit the road together in 2023.

When the tour was announced in early November, three dates were on the schedule. The first in Los Angeles on March 10, followed by Arlington on April 8 and Nashville on May 19.

On her Instagram page, Nicks announced two additional dates: Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 5 and Kansas City, Missouri, on Aug. 19. She ended the post with "More soon!"

Fans have flooded the artists’ social media pages with requests for them to add their cities to the schedule.

Perhaps Nicks will pay homage to the town she says is “the place where I learned how to sing” and add El Paso to the tour.

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Moves to El Paso in 1954

Stephanie Lynn Nicks was born May 26, 1948, in Phoenix, Arizona. Her nickname and stage name, Stevie was a childhood nickname.

Her father Jess Nicks managed a meat-packing company, which led to the family moving several times during her younger years. The Nicks family arrived in El Paso in late 1954.

While in El Paso, Nicks attended Loretto Academy, which she later said was too difficult for her, then Crockett Elementary and Bassett Junior High.

The family left El Paso in 1959 for Utah and later California.

More:Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac dies at 79 after 'a short illness'

'I moved a lot'

In a Dec. 21, 1981, Special RKO Radio interview, Nicks described her childhood travels:

See, I moved a lot. I was born in Phoenix and I moved from there when I was a baby to Los Angeles and I lived there until I was about five and a half or six. And then we moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and I lived there for a year and a half, two years. And then we moved to El Paso, Texas and I lived there for five years, till the end of the seventh grade. Then we moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and I lived there until the end of the ninth grade. Then we moved back to Los Angeles, and I lived there for my 10th grade and 11th grade year. And then we were transferred again to San Francisco ‒ to up by Stanford University ‒ so I was a brand new senior there. Then I went to junior college that was halfway down the peninsula, in San Mateo, for two years. Then I went all the way back to the other side to San Jose State (University) for another three years, then, when I was in a band with Lindsey (Buckingham). And then Lindsey and I moved back to Los Angeles in about 1971.

Joins Fleetwood Mac

It was in early 1975 that Nicks and Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac. The band was about to start a Texas tour and the first stop was Nicks' old hometown, El Paso, on May 15, 1975.

There was no review of that concert in the El Paso newspapers, but the following is a review of the Aug. 5, 2003, concert in which Nicks talks about her early days in the Sun City:

Fleetwood’s back

Aug 6, 2003, El Paso Times:

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham returned to where it began for them in the mid-1970s.

“I’m going to say this little thing about El Paso, then I’ll leave it alone,” Nicks told the crowd at the Don Haskins Center on Tuesday night. “This was the first city Lindsey and I played when we joined the band. It was the most exciting night of our career because we knew it was going to work.”

The crowd of more than 8,000 fans who came to watch Fleetwood Mac screamed in appreciation.

“This is also the place where I went to third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh grade,” she said. “I went to this little all-girls’ Catholic school called Loretto, but that was too hard for me, so I went to Crockett. El Paso will always have a special place in my heart; it is the place where I learned how to sing.”

And sing she did.

Nicks and Buckingham shared the spotlight throughout the 24-song, two-hour-plus set during the “Say You Will” stop.

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Do as El Pasoans do

The tickets had an 8 p.m. start time, but when in El Paso, do as El Pasoans do – so Fleetwood Mac – Nicks, vocals; Buckingham, vocals/lead guitar; Mick Fleetwood, drums; and John McVie, bass – were 25 minutes late.

The fifth member of the group, Christine McVie, has officially retired to a castle in England ....

As for Nicks, she was simply Stevie Nicks.

Dressed in black robes most of the evening, her enchanting voice and mystique eventually were showcased when the band broke into “Rhiannon” and “Gypsy.”

Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Nicks mourns Christine McVie

Nicks honored Christine McVie after learning of her death Wednesday at the age of 79, posting a message on Instagram: "A few hours ago, I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975, had passed away. I didn’t even know she was ill … until late Saturday night. I wanted to be in London; I wanted to get to London – but we were told to wait. So, since Saturday, one song has been swirling around in my head, over and over and over. I thought I might possibly get to sing it to her, and so, I’m singing it to her now.

"I always knew I would need this words one day.

"(Written by the Ladies Haim)

"It’s all I can do now …"

Trish Long may be reached at tlong@elpasotimes.com or 915-546-6179.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Stevie Nicks: 'El Paso ... is the place where I learned how to sing'