Background
"You Make Loving Fun" was inspired by Christine McVie's affair with the band's lighting director,Curry Grant. [1] "To avoid flare-ups",she told her then-husband and fellow band member,John McVie,that the song was about her dog. [2] The song uses descending seconds in its chord progression. [3] In an interview with the New York Post ,McVie remarked that she wanted it to be the third US single from the album,but "Don't Stop" was chosen instead. [1]
Early tracking of the song was done,according to Christine McVie,in the absence of Lindsey Buckingham,which gave her the freedom to "build the song on [her] own". [2] For the February 8 session,Fleetwood was on drums,Stevie Nicks played the tambourine,and Christine McVie played a Rhodes piano that was sent through a Stratoblaster,which boosted the instrument's output by 15 decibels. John McVie's bass was re-recorded,and Christine McVie overdubbed a Hohner Clavinet,which was fed through a wah-wah pedal. [2] McVie struggled to play the clavinet in tandem with the wah-wah pedal,so Fleetwood got on the floor and operated the pedal with his hands while McVie played the keys of the clavinet. [4] Buckingham arrived at the studio in the late afternoon and chose to play a Gibson Les Paul for the rhythm guitar parts,which was plugged into a rotating Leslie speaker. A Hammond organ was also overdubbed during the recording session,which lasted until six in the evening. [2]
Buckingham wanted accented tom-tom beats in the chorus,but Fleetwood was unwilling to try this idea. Instead,Buckingham played the instrument himself. Producer Ken Caillat remarked that "Lindsey was the accent king. He could accent with guitars,he could accent with toms [and] he could accent with Naugahyde chairs." [5]
During the tracking of the backing vocals,Caillat recalled that Nicks and Buckingham were engaged in "vicious name calling":"The tape would start rolling and they’d sing,'Yooooooou make loving fun,' just beautiful,two little angels. The tape would stop and they’d be calling each other names again. They didn't miss a beat." [4]
"You Make Loving Fun" was a concert staple for Fleetwood Mac and was played during every tour that included Christine McVie from 1976 until 1997,a year before McVie's departure from the band and retirement from touring. However,the song was revived for Fleetwood Mac's 2014–2015 tour when McVie rejoined the band, [6] as well as their 2018-2019 tour with new members Mike Campbell and Neil Finn. [7]
Cover versions
Cyndi Lauper covered "You Make Loving Fun" in 1984. A non-album single, it was only released in Japan. [24]
As part of the Mick Fleetwood-produced 20th anniversary tribute album Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, "You Make Loving Fun" was covered by American singer-songwriter Jewel. [25]
The outro for the Bob's Burgers episode "The Helen Hunt" parodied the song as "You Make Plumbing Fun". [26]
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