The Unusual Pipeline From Fleetwood Mac to the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead

We’ve all probably heard the phrase “everything’s already been done,” especially when it comes to music. There’s an almost infinite number of songs, with more being made every day, and in a sense, everything that can be done has already been attempted. The key, however, is to take everything that’s been done and do it differently. This is where inspiration comes in.

Music is constantly inspired by other music—lyrically, sonically, rhythmically. One particular example is from Fleetwood Mac, whose 1968 track “Albatross” inspired the Beatles tune “Sun King.”

“Albatross” is a guitar-forward instrumental track featured on the compilation albums The Pious Bird of Good Omen and English Rose. Peter Green, the original founder of the band, composed the song, and it featured Mick Fleetwood on drums, John McVie on bass, and Danny Kirwan and Green on guitar. It’s a slow-rolling bluesy composition with a steady backing beat, perfect for slow-dancing.

The 1969 track “Sun King” from Abbey Road, in comparison, is extremely similar. It meanders through its guitar phrasing, backed by a groovy bass lick and tasteful high hat. The Beatles chose to include lyrics, but the inspiration is clear in the composition. Additionally, for a more modern take, The Last Shadow Puppets’ 2008 track “Time Has Come Again” seems to heavily reference “Sun King” and therefore “Albatross,” although in a more structured sense.

In 1987, George Harrison explicitly stated the inspiration for “Sun King.” He said, “At the time, ‘Albatross’ [by Fleetwood Mac] was out, with all the reverb on guitar. So we said, ‘Let’s be Fleetwood Mac doing Albatross, just to get going.’ It never really sounded like Fleetwood Mac… but that was the point of origin.”

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The Pipeline from Fleetwood Mac to The Beatles to Led Zeppelin to the Grateful Dead and So On

Early Fleetwood Mac also inspired Led Zeppelin. In 1969, Fleetwood Mac put out “Oh Well,” a two-part track with a call and response element created by stopping and starting at intervals. According to Jimmy Page, as referenced in the book Led Zeppelin, All the Songs, he was inspired by this element for Zeppelin’s 1971 track “Black Dog.”

Additionally, there’s a bit of overlap with Fleetwood Mac and the Grateful Dead as well. While the Dead were working on Terrapin Station, released in 1977, they worked with Keith Olsen, who worked with Fleetwood Mac on their self-titled comeback. Bassist Phil Lesh was inspired by the track “Station Man” from the 1970 album Kiln House, and composed the song “Passenger” with that in mind.

Lesh once admitted, “What’s weird about [‘Passenger’] is I sort of did it as a joke. It’s a take on a Fleetwood Mac tune called ‘Station Man.’ I just sort of sped it up and put some different chord changes in there…”

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