"Edge of Seventeen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks from her debut solo studio albumBella Donna (1981),released as the third single from the album on February 4,1982.[2] The lyrics were written by Nicks to express the grief resulting from the death of her uncle Jonathan and the murder of John Lennon during the same week of December 1980. The song features a distinctive,chugging 16th-note guitar riff,drum beat and a simple chord structure typical of Nicks' songs. The song's title for the single release was "Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove)".
In the United States,"Edge of Seventeen" just missed the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100,peaking at No. 11. It became one of Nicks' most enduring and recognizable songs and has been covered by several artists. In 2021,it was ranked No. 217 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[3]
Background and inspiration
According to Nicks,the title came from a conversation she had with Tom Petty's first wife,Jane,about the couple's first meeting. Jane said they met "at the age of seventeen",but Jane's strong Southern accent made it sound like "edge of seventeen" to Nicks. She liked the sound of the phrase so much that she told Jane she would write a song for it and give her credit for the inspiration.[4]
Although Nicks had originally planned to use the title for a song about Tom and Jane Petty,[5] the death of her uncle Jonathan and the murder of John Lennon during the same week of December 1980 inspired a new song for which Nicks used the title.[6] Nicks' producer and lover Jimmy Iovine was a close friend of Lennon,and Nicks felt helpless to comfort him. Soon after,Nicks flew home to Phoenix,Arizona,to be with her uncle Jonathan,who was dying of cancer. She remained with her uncle and his family until his death.[7]
Nicks had never actually heard a dove's call before,as she revealed in 2020 when she had only just heard it recently.[8] The opening lyrics were inspired by a menu she was reading at a Phoenix restaurant in 1980,which said,"The white wing dove sings a song that sounds like she’s singing ooh,ooh,ooh. She makes her home here in the great Saguaro cactus that provides shelter and protection for her…".[8]
Composition and lyrics
As is typical of Nicks' songs,the lyrics are highly symbolic. Nicks has said that the white-winged doverepresents the spirit leaving the body on death,and some of the verses capture her experience of the days leading up to her uncle Jonathan's death.[9] During the recording session for "Edge of Seventeen",someone from Nicks' backing band recommended that they emulate the guitar riff The Police's "Bring On the Night",although guitarist Waddy Wachtel was unfamiliar with the song.[10]
"I had never heard "Bring On the Night," and at that session they told me they were going to do this song based on this feel. I had heard something about the Police,but I didn't know what they were talking about. Then about two years ago,I had the radio on,and on comes what sounds like "Edge of Seventeen" –and all of a sudden,there's Sting's voice! I thought,'We ripped them off completely!' I called Stevie that night and said,'Listen to me,don't ever do that again!'"[10]
Reception
Record World praised the song for its "powerful lyrics,a percolating rhythm section and Stevie's throaty vocal."[11] Author ZoëHowe,who wrote the Stevie Nicks –Visions,Dreams and Rumours biography,has described the song as being about "transforming and elevating the feelings of grief and soaring above them with strength" and having "a perfect combination of tough rock 'n' roll grit,raw emotion and full-beam,strut-about-in-platform-boots rock queen glamour."[12]
Chart performance
"Edge of Seventeen" peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in April 1982.[13] The live version on the B-side reached No. 26 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. The original album version of the song had previously made the top five of Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart in 1981,peaking at No. 4. "Edge of Seventeen" also peaked at No. 11 on the RPM Top 100 Singles chart in Canada.
The song entered the UK chart in 2021 following its use in a John Lewis commercial.[14]
↑"Old Trivia Questions". Retrieved September 11, 2007. She was telling me about Tom, about when she met him, and she has an incredible Southern accent ... and she said that she met him at the age of seventeen, but I thought she said 'edge,' and she said 'no ... age' and I said, 'Jane, forget it, it's got to be "edge." The "Edge of Seventeen" is perfect. I'm gonna write a song, ok? And I'm gonna give you credit.' She didn't believe me, you know? She couldn't believe it when it came out on the album.
↑"Stevie Nicks on 'Edge of Seventeen'". So it started out about Tom and Jane basically, who I have no idea what they were at 17, but I made it up. And, uh it went into being written about [her Uncle Jonathan and John Lennon].
↑"The Sun". Jimmy was absolutely best friends with John Lennon," she says. "So when that happened, a hush came over the house that was so overwhelming that there was nothing that I could do to help. There was nothing I could say, there was no way I could comfort him." Unable to help, Nicks flew home to Phoenix. "I went straight over to my uncle's house, and my uncle died that day. He died right there with me holding his hand, just me and my cousin, who's a little younger than me, sitting there on the bed and on the floor next to him.
↑White, Timothy (September 3, 1981). "Stevie Nicks' Magic Act: With Her New Solo Album, Fleetwood Mac's Good Fairy Tries to Balance Two Careers — and Two Personalities". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. The line 'And the days go by like a strand in the wind' – that's how fast those days were going by during my uncle's illness, and it was so upsetting to me. The part that says 'I went today ... maybe I will go again ... tomorrow' refers to seeing him the day before he died. He was home, and my aunt had some music softly playing, and it was a perfect place for the spirit to go away. The 'white-winged dove' in the song is a spirit that is leaving a body, and I felt a great loss at how both Johns were taken. 'I hear the call of the nightbird singing come away ... come away ...'
12Simons, David (April 1999). "Sidemen: Waddy Wachtel"(PDF). Musician. p.14. Retrieved March 22, 2025– via World Radio History.
↑"Hits of the Week"(PDF). Record World. February 20, 1982. p.1. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
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