Seven Wonders (song)

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"Seven Wonders"
Seven Wonders single.jpg
Single by Fleetwood Mac
from the album Tango in the Night
B-side "Book of Miracles"
ReleasedJune 1987
Recorded1986
Genre Pop rock
Length3:38
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Fleetwood Mac singles chronology
"Big Love"
(1987)		"Seven Wonders"
(1987)		"Little Lies"
(1987)
Music video
"Seven Wonders" on YouTube

"Seven Wonders" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from their fourteenth studio album, Tango in the Night (1987). Stevie Nicks sang lead vocals on the song, and it was written by Sandy Stewart, with additional lyrics by Nicks.

Contents

In the song, the singer remembers a love affair from her past. She sings that even if she should live to see the Seven Wonders of the World, doing so would not compare to the beauty of that romance. The song was released in June 1987, by Warner Bros. Records, as the second single from Tango in the Night. The single became the second of four US Top 20 hits from the album, peaking at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 15 August 1987.

The single was also available on the 12-inch single format, which included an extended remix, a dub mix and an instrumental, "Book of Miracles", which later became the track "Juliet" on Nicks' fourth solo studio album The Other Side of the Mirror (1989). A limited edition 12-inch picture disc version was also released in the United Kingdom, where the single reached number 56.

Background and composition

Nicks delivered the demo tape of "Seven Wonders" to Fleetwood Mac at a Halloween party; it was the first song that she submitted to the band for the Tango in the Night album. [1] 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." [2] An earlier version of the song found on the deluxe edition had a longer run-time and placed less emphasis on the song's hook. [3]

Release and music video

The song debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 52 on the week dated 20 June 1987. That same week, it reached its peak of number two on the Billboard Album Rock chart and was also the second most added song on radio. [4] The song entered the top 40 on the week dated 4 July 1987 and peaked at number nineteen on the 15th of August. It spent a total of 13 weeks in the top 100, eight of which were in the top 40. [5] [6]

The accompanying music video for "Seven Wonders", which was directed by Marty Callner, [4] features the band performing without an audience in front of a backdrop with red curtains. On a background diorama, sketches of various landmarks are included including the Taj Mahal, the Roman Colosseum, and the Great Sphinx of Giza. [7]

Critical reception

Cash Box said that "Nicks' distinctive raspy voice buzzes over the song's tranquil lyrics and sterling production." [8] Ivy Nelson of Pitchfork felt that the song's hook was a crucial component of the song's arrangement. [9] The Guardian and Paste ranked the song number 20 and number ten respectively on their lists of the 30 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian called Nicks' vocal performance on the song "amazing" and Matt Mitchell of Paste praised the song's "ethereal" keyboards. [10] [11]

Appearances in other media

"The Seven Wonders", the season finale of American Horror Story: Coven , which premiered in 2014, opened with Nicks performing the song. This helped the song to reach number 18 on the Billboard Rock Digital Songs chart with sales of 13,000. [12]

Track listing and formats

US 7-inch vinyl single (Warner Bros. Records 7-28317)

  1. "Seven Wonders" – 3:38
  2. "Book of Miracles" (Instrumental) – 4:28

UK 12-inch vinyl single (Warner Bros. Records W8317T)

  1. "Seven Wonders" (Extended remix) – 6:37
  2. "Book of Miracles" (Instrumental) – 4:28
  3. "Seven Wonders" (Dub version) – 4:32

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [27] Platinum600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ White, Timothy (1990). Rock Lives: Profiles and Interviews. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. p. 622. ISBN   0-8050-1396-2.
  2. ↑ Sheffield, Rob; Weingarten, Christopher R.; Browne, David; Dolan, Jon; Cummings, Corinne; Harris, Keith (11 July 2017). "Fleetwood Mac's 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  3. ↑ Hann, Michael (16 February 2017). "Fleetwood Mac – hear an unreleased version of Seven Wonders". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  4. 1 2 "New Videoclips" (PDF). Billboard . 20 June 1987. pp. 15, 55, 65. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  5. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2010). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (9th ed.). New York, NY: Billboard Books. p. 241. ISBN   978-0-8230-8554-5.
  6. 1 2 "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  7. ↑ Roubin, Olivier; Ollivier, Romuald (1 April 2025). Fleetwood Mac: All The Songs. New York: Black Dog Leventhal Publishers. p. 479. ISBN   978-0-7624-8630-4.
  8. ↑ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. 13 June 1987. p. 9. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  9. ↑ Nelson, Ivy. "Fleetwood Mac: Tango in the Night". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  10. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (19 May 2022). "Fleetwood Mac's 30 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian . Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  11. ↑ Mitchell, Matt (7 August 2023). "The 30 Greatest Fleetwood Mac Songs". Paste . Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Chart Moves: John Legend, Sara Bareilles Hit New Highs; Imagine Dragons Close In On Coldplay Hot 100 History; Daft Punk's 'Lucky' Grows Post-Grammys". Billboard. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  13. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  14. ↑ "ultratop.be Fleetwood Mac – "Seven Wonders"" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  15. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 46, No. 22". RPM . 5 September 1987. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Adult Contemporary - Volume 46, No. 24". RPM . 19 September 1987. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "Single Search: Fleetwood Mac – "Seven Wonders"" (in German). Media Control. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "Search the Charts" (enter "Fleetwood Mac" into the "Search by Artist" box, then select "Search"). Irish Recorded Music Association . Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  19. ↑ "European Playlist Reports: RAI - Italy" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 4, no. 37. 19 September 1987. p. 16.
  20. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Fleetwood Mac – "Seven Wonders"" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts . Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  21. ↑ "charts.nz Fleetwood Mac – "Seven Wonders"" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand . Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  22. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  23. ↑ "The Official Charts Company – "Seven Wonders" by Fleetwood Mac Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
  24. ↑ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  25. ↑ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  26. ↑ Billboard Magazine – Year End Charts of 1987. Nielsen Business Media Inc. 26 December 1987.
  27. ↑ "British single certifications – Fleetwood Mac – Seven Wonders". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 29 August 2025.
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