Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is regarded by many as the greatest album ever recorded. 45 years on, the album is still growing in popularity.
This month, Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 record Rumours is celebrating its 45th birthday. The milestone marks its 928th week in the UK’s album chart, and over 6,000 vinyl sales in a single week – 6,000 sales in the US alone.
As much as we love Adele’s 30, it’s hard to imagine that the biggest album of 2021 will be in the charts by the year 2066, let alone topping the vinyl album charts in the US.
While there’s no doubting the album’s brilliance and longevity, modern pop-culture has also influenced the record-breaking success of Rumours.
Perhaps the greatest outside factor was the ‘cranberry juice guy’ who launched the record’s second track, Dreams back into the charts in 2020.
The now globally recognised face of Nathan Apodaca went viral, after posting a video of himself skating while drinking cranberry juice and listening to Dreams.
@420doggface208 ♬ Dreams (2004 Remaster) – Fleetwood Mac
The resurgence of vinyl has no doubt played a part in the album’s continued success. The unquestionable cultural significance of the album makes it a vital component of any record collection.
The other major factor that carried Rumours into the zeitgeist of younger generations was Harry Styles’ cover of The Chain for BBC Radio 1.
The former One Direction star’s rendition of the Fleetwood Mac classic introduced the track to millions of fans, who may never have fully appreciated the mastery of Rumours had it not been breathed into the air of a generation by the pop icon.
Few albums could replicate the success of Rumours, nor the significance it holds for multiple generations. It’s hard to know if there will ever be another album to consistently sell 35,000 vinyl copies, more than four decades after its initial release.
