1977 Timeless Breakup Anthem Became Band's First-Ever Top 10 U.S. Single
In between legs of the Fleetwood Mac Tour and on the heels of his breakup with front-woman, Stevie Nicks, guitarist and producer Lindsey Buckinghamwrote"Go Your Own Way" between 1975 and 1976. Buckingham described the writing process as a "stream of consciousness" fueled by his raw emotions from his painful split with Nicks.
The song ended up being the second the group recorded for their album, Rumours, much of which ended up focusing on the interpersonal struggles happening within the band. Nick was famously not happy with many of the lyrics in "Go Your Own Way," particularly the line ""packing up, shacking up is all you wanna do." She demanded that Buckingham remove or change the lyrics, but he ultimately refused.
Buckingham later confessed that he really struggled with maintaining a semblance of professionalism with Nick after their romantic relationship ended.
"Go Your Own Way" was released as a single in December of 1976 after accumulating more than 800,000 preorders, a record for Warner Brother at the time. The track entered the Billboard Hot 100 in January of 1977, before making it to the top 10 in March of that same year where it would stay for two weeks. This marked the first time Fleetwood Mac had a top 10 single on the charts in the U.S.
"Go Your Own Way" has been played on every tour of the band's since the Fleetwood Mac Tour. Even after Buckingham famously left the band in 1987, they continued to play the track at live performances. Buckingham even went on the play the song on his own solo tours, starting in 1995.
When Rolling Stone compiled their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time," they ranked "Go Your Own Way" at 120. The magazine also listed the song in the number two spot on its list of "Fleetwood Mac's 50 Greatest Songs," just behind "Dreams." The song has received critical acclaim over the years, with critics noting how it has continued to resonate with younger generations as well as those who were around when it originally was released.
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Related: 1975 Classic Just Named the Greatest Breakup Album of All Time
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 2:01 PM.