Riley Keough and Sam Claflin’s dueling frontman antics on “Daisy Jones and the Six” have led to theories from many viewers that real-life, classic rock figures from the ’70s actually inspired these characters. Many fans have pointed to the similarity between former bandmates Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, which begs the question, was “Daisy Jones & the Six” inspired by Fleetwood Mac or another real band?
Author Taylor Jenkins Reed, whose book introduced the world to Daisy Jones, has previously detailed the many sources of inspiration in her writing, including rock, disco, and the whole Laurel Canyon scene. But Fleetwood Mac was always front and center in Reid’s mind. “I started with the germ of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac,” the author said in a previous interview conducted by her publisher. But as he researched and drew creative inspiration from the stars of the ’70s – Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Tom Petty and Crosby, Stills & Nash with Fleetwood Mac Credited. ,
Reid admits that she began her “Daisy Jones & the Six” writing and research process by listening to the band’s landmark album, “Rumors”, and watching “tons” of Fleetwood Mac’s archived interviews. “It was the start of it for me because it is an album, but … it is also a soap opera,” Reed said. “Stories going on between Stevie and Lindsey. And the things that were going on between Christine McVie and John McVie were really fascinating, and they show in the musical. So I started there.
For the performance, Fleetwood Mac’s 1997 reunion on MTV’s “The Dance” also provided much inspiration. as was Stevie Nicks’ “warm and intimate, but cryptic” rendition of “Landslide”, with former bandmate and lover, Lindsay Buckingham, whom she recalls seeing for the first time as a young teenager. “He was clearly madly in love with her. And the way she smiled at him, the way she seemed so comfortable in his gaze, he must be in love with her too,” Reid wrote for the Hello Sunshine website Imagine my surprise when my mother later explained that, although they had dated once, they were no longer together. This completely debunked the argument for me. But they love each other! I saw it with my own eyes!”
The Buckingham and Springsteen co-stars were a source of inspiration for Claflin. The actor told Variety that he had difficulty with Billy’s voice recognition at first and actually found the audition singing Elton John’s “Your Song” “terrible.” But as production continued, Claflin was able to pull from contemporary musicians including James Petrali from White Denim, “I don’t have a great impression of him. But he was like my guide. And then I became more confident with it and started playing with my style,” Claflin said.
While the story was at first inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the cast and crew included rock singers who were in the band’s orbit during the 1970s, with more help and inspiration from contemporaries than fans.