Stevie Nicks Writes Handwritten Note for Christine McVie: 'Don't Forget Me'

Stevie Nicks wrote a touching tribute to fellow Fleetwood Mac member Christine McVie, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 79.

Tributes for McVie poured in on Wednesday afternoon at the news of her death, which was announced in a statement from her family and later a statement from the band.

McVie—born Christine Perfect—married Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie before joining the band in 1970, and Nicks joined in 1975. Through the years, the pair have always spoken highly of one another, Nicks dedicating a song at one of her shows in 2013 to her "mentor, big sister, best friend."

On Instagram on Wednesday, Nicks posted a handwritten, heartfelt letter to McVie following the news of her death.

"A few hours ago," Nicks wrote, "I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975, had passed away. I didn't even know she was ill...until late Saturday night. I wanted to be in London; I wanted to get to London—but we were told to wait. So, since Saturday, one song has been swirling around in my head, over and over and over. I thought I might possibly get to sing it to her, and so, I'm singing it to her now."

"I always knew I would need these words one day," she added, before citing the band HAIM, and writing, "It's all I can do now..."

In a second photo in the post, in Nicks' cursive scrawl, are some of the lyrics to HAIM's 2020 song "Hallelujah."

"I had a best friend but she has come to pass / One I wish I could see now / You always remind me that memories will last / These arms reach out / You were there to protect me / Like a shield / Long hair running with me / Through the field... / Everywhere, / You've been with me all along," the lyrics read. "Why me? / How'd I get this hallelujah."

"See you on the other side, my love," Nicks signed the bottom. "Don't forget me."

In an interview with The Guardian in 2013, Nicks described her friendship with McVie as "a force of nature."

"We made a pact, probably in our first rehearsal, that we would never accept being treated as second-class citizens in the music business. That when we walked into a room we would be so fantastic and so strong and so smart that none of the uber-rock-star group of men would look through us. And they never did," Nicks said.

Nicks also shared that she never would have even joined Fleetwood Mac if it weren't for McVie. The band's founding member, Mick Fleetwood, struggled to get Lindsay Buckingham on board—Buckingham said he would only join if his musical partner and girlfriend at the time, Nicks, could join too—and the final decision was ultimately up to McVie.

McVie told The Guardian, "It was critical that I got on with her [Nicks] because I'd never played with another girl. But I liked her instantly. She was funny and nice but also there was no competition. We were completely different on the stage to each other and we wrote differently too."

She added that later on, "We shared rooms, did each other's makeup and lived on Dunkin' Donuts."

Fleetwood also wrote a tribute to McVie on Instagram Wednesday: "This is a day where my dear sweet friend Christine McVie has taken to flight.. and left us earthbound folks to listen with bated breath to the sounds of that 'song bird'... reminding one and all that love is all around us to reach for and touch in this precious life that is gifted to us. Part of my heart has flown away today..
I will miss everything about you
Christine McVie
Memories abound.. they fly to me."

Update 11/30/22, 6:10 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.