World Turning

This article is about the Fleetwood Mac song. For the song by Yothu Yindi, see World Turning (Yothu Yindi song). For the album by Tony Trischka, see World Turning (album).

"World Turning"
Song by Fleetwood Mac
from the album Fleetwood Mac
Released	1975
Recorded	1975
Genre	Blues rock, country rock
Length	4:25
Label	Reprise
Songwriter(s)	Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham
Producer(s)	Fleetwood Mac Keith Olsen

"World Turning" is a song written by Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham for the British/American rock band Fleetwood Mac's tenth album, Fleetwood Mac . ^[1] Fleetwood Mac took inspiration from a song included on their 1968 debut album titled "The World Keeps on Turning" and reworked it for their 1975 album. The band has since performed "World Turning" live on several concert tours, often with an extended drum solo.

Background

The origins of "World Turning" date back to 1968 when Fleetwood Mac's first album, titled Fleetwood Mac , was released. One of the tracks included on the album was "The World Keep on Turning", which was written by founding member Peter Green. The band reinterpreted this song for the 1975 Fleetwood Mac sessions and truncated the title of their updated version to "World Turning". Fleetwood referred to the song as "an intersection of both eras of the band". ^[2]

Unlike other songs on the album, "World Turning" was a collaboration with two Fleetwood Mac members: keyboardist Christine McVie, and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. ^[3] Keith Olsen, who produced Fleetwood Mac's 1975 self-titled album, claimed that Stevie Nicks was initially jealous over her lack of involvement in the writing process, and said that she eventually "got over it". ^[4] Nicks confirmed the matter in an interview with Spin magazine, saying that "I remember getting very upset when I realised he and Christine had written 'World Turning'. I had been with Lindsey all these years, and we had never written a song together." ^{[5] [6]}

Buckingham used two guitars on the track: a Fender Telecaster electric guitar and a Dobro, a resonator guitar that produces sound through one or more metal cones. ^[7] He also had his low E string tuned down to a D. ^[8] Mick Fleetwood played a talking drum on both the studio recording and subsequent live renditions of the song. A Nigerian musician named Speedy made a red talking drum for Fleetwood, which he included in his equipment setup for every Fleetwood Mac tour since 1969. ^[9]

"World Turning" has appeared on most of the band's concert tours from the Fleetwood Mac tour onwards. Starting with their Shake the Cage Tour in 1987, the band performed an extended live version that showcased Fleetwood's drumming. ^[10] For this tour Fleetwood's drum solo was augmented with additional percussion from Asante and a solo played by Fleetwood on a "drum vest" utilising MIDI. The vest, which was connected to an amplifier, had five touch-activated pads that produced various sampled noises such as bells, screams, horns, and shattering glass. ^{[11] [12]} Fleetwood continued to incorporate the drum vest solo through the 2003–2004 Say You Will Tour. ^[13] Performances on the 2018–2019 An Evening with Fleetwood Mac Tour lasted over ten minutes that featured both a talking drum solo and a call and response section. ^[14]

Personnel

• Lindsey Buckingham – guitars, Dobro, lead and backing vocals
• Christine McVie – keyboards, lead and backing vocals
• Stevie Nicks – backing vocals
• Mick Fleetwood – drums, talking drum, tambourine
• John McVie – bass guitar

Covers

• The song was covered by former Fleetwood Mac member Bob Welch on his 2006 album His Fleetwood Mac Years and Beyond, Vol. 2 .
• Tony Trischka covered this song on his 1993 album World Turning featuring Alison Krauss on vocals.
• Leo Kottke covered this song on his 1997 album Standing in My Shoes .

References

1. Evans, Mike (2011). Fleetwood Mac: The Definitive History. New York: Sterling. p. 124. ISBN   978-1-4027-8630-3.
2. Fleetwood, Mick; Bozza, Anthony (October 2014). Play On: Now Then & Fleetwood Mac (First ed.). New York: Little Brown and Company. pp. 82, 170. ISBN   978-0-316-40342-9.
3. Williamson, Nigel (29 January 2013). "Mac:'Everybody was pretty weirded out' - the story of Rumours". Uncut . Retrieved 4 August 2015.
4. "Keith Olsen Question and Answer Session". The Penguin. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
5. "Stevie Nicks: Blonde on Blonde". Spin Magazine. October 1997. Retrieved 16 September 2025– via fleetwoodmac-uk.com.
6. Blake, Mark (2024). The Many Lives of Fleetwood Mac. New York: Pegasus Books. p. 184. ISBN   978-1-63936-732-0.
7. Levitin, Dan (August 1992). "Lindsey Buckingham: The Return of the Soul Lifter" (PDF). Recording Engineering Production. pp. 12, 20. Retrieved 22 June 2025– via World Radio History.
8. Forte, Dan (January 1977). "Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham". Guitar Player . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2015– via The Blue Letter Archives.
9. Fleetwood, Mick (1 June 2014). "Mick Fleetwood goes his own way: 'My red African talking drum is my voice'". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
10. Fleetwood, Mick; Davis, Stephen (1990). Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures with Fleetwood Mac. New York: William Morrow and Company. p. 278. ISBN   0-688-06647-X.
11. Davis, Stephen (1988). Greatest Hits (1988 Fleetwood Mac album) (Liner Notes). Fleetwood Mac. United States: Warner Bros. p. 7.
12. Naman, Mard (Summer 1988). "Making Tracks with MIDI: Mick Fleetwood". STart . Retrieved 2 January 2016– via Classic Computer Magazine Archive.
13. Chonin, Neva (25 July 2003). "Fleetwood Mac rocks harder than ever as old songs mix well with new" . SFGate . Archived from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
14. Sherman, Stacey (31 October 2018). "Fleetwood Mac spreads some fresh gold dust at Little Caesars". The Oakland Press . Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2025.