"Rhiannon" is a song written by Stevie Nicks and originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac on their eponymous album in 1975; it was subsequently issued as a single the following year. "Rhiannon" was voted #488 in The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine. Its US chart peak was in June 1976, when it hit #11. It peaked at #46 in the UK singles chart for three weeks after re-release in February 1978. The song is referred to as simply "Rhiannon" on Fleetwood Mac albums, except on the 2003 and 2016 remasters of Fleetwood Mac and the 2018 compilation Don't Stop - 50 Years, on which the title "Rhiannon " is used. The single version also used this title when it was originally released to the European and American markets. Live performances of the song were sometimes prefaced with Nicks saying, "This song's about an old Welsh witch." During 1975–1980, Fleetwood Mac's live performances of "Rhiannon" took on a theatrical intensity not present on the FM-radio single. The song built to a climax in which Nicks' vocals were so impassioned that, as drummer and band co-founder Mick Fleetwood recalled, "her Rhiannon in those days was like an exorcism."
Background
Nicks discovered the Rhiannon character in the early 1970s through a novel called Triad by Mary Bartlet Leader. The novel is about a woman named Branwen who is possessed by another woman named Rhiannon. There is mention of the Welsh legend of Rhiannon in the novel, but the characters in the novel bear little resemblance to their original Welsh namesakes. After writing the song, Nicks learned that Rhiannon originated from a Welsh goddess, and was amazed that the haunting song lyrics applied to the Welsh Rhiannon as well. Nicks researched the Mabinogion story and began work on a Rhiannon project, unsure of whether it would become a movie, a musical, a cartoon or a ballet. There were several Rhiannon-centered songs from this unfinished project, including "Stay Away" and "Maker of Birds." Nicks wrote the Fleetwood Mac song "Angel" based on the Rhiannon story.
Reception
Billboard described "Rhiannon" as a "haunting song" with an "infectious melody."
Author Glen Cook stated in an interview that the title for his novel She Is the Darkness was taken from the lyrics of "Rhiannon".
The song made an appearance in the second episode of and was subsequently performed by Nicks herself in a guest appearance in the tenth episode, "The Magical Delights of Stevie Nicks".
