Bella Donna (album)

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Bella Donna
Studio album by
Stevie Nicks
ReleasedJuly 27, 1981
RecordedAutumn 1980 – Spring 1981
Genre
Length41:55
Label
Producer
Stevie Nicks chronology
Bella Donna
(1981) 		The Wild Heart
(1983)
Singles from Bella Donna
  1. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"
    Released: July 8, 1981
  2. "Leather and Lace"
    Released: October 6, 1981
  3. "Edge of Seventeen"
    Released: February 5, 1982
  4. "After the Glitter Fades"
    Released: April 30, 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Mojo[2]
Record Collector[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
Smash Hits6/10[6]

Bella Donna is the debut solo studio album by American singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks. Released on July 27, 1981, the album reached number one on the US Billboard 200 in September of that year. Bella Donna was awarded platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 7, 1981, less than three months after its release, and in 1990 was certified quadruple-platinum for four million copies shipped.[7] Bella Donna spent nearly three years on the Billboard 200, from July 1981 to June 1984.[8]

The album spawned four hit singles during 1981 and 1982: the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers-penned duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (#3), the Don Henley duet "Leather and Lace" (#6), along with "Edge of Seventeen" (#11) and the country-tinged "After the Glitter Fades" (#32).[9]

Bella Donna would mark the beginning of Nicks' trend of calling upon her many musician friends and connections to fully realize her sparse demo recordings. Along with friends Tom Petty and Don Henley, Nicks brought in session musician Waddy Wachtel, Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band pianist Roy Bittan, and Stax session man Donald "Duck" Dunn of Booker T. & the MGs. The album marked the first recording featuring Nicks' backing vocalists, Sharon Celani and Lori Perry, who still record and tour with Nicks today.[10][11]

The album was also included in the "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums" chart.[12]

History[edit]

Nicks began work on Bella Donna in 1979, in between sessions for Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album, released in October that year. Nicks recorded various demo versions of songs in early and mid-1980 but these recordings were not used on the album. Following the end of the Tusk tour on September 1, 1980, work with a full band of other musicians commenced under producer Jimmy Iovine.[13][14]

Nicks recalled that the album was recorded piecemeal since several of the musicians she worked with, such as Waddy Watchel and Russ Kunkel, were operating under a tight schedule. "We didn't put on 50,000 guitars because we didn't have Waddy around long enough to do 50,000 guitar overdubs. We were lucky to get him to do one guitar part." The Bella Donna recording sessions also presented Nicks with an opportunity to work on arrangements without Lindsey Buckingham, who extensively assisted with arrangements on her Fleetwood Mac material. For Bella Donna, Nicks instead presented demos to the session musicians and allowed them to come up with their own ideas for the instrumentation.[15]

Recording sessions continued until the spring of 1981 when the final songs for the album were completed: "Edge of Seventeen" and "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around". The 10-song, 42-minute album Bella Donna was released in the summer of 1981. Nicks wrote "Think About It" for her friend and Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie during the Rumours recording sessions, but the song was never completed until Bella Donna.[16] After the Glitter Fades was Nicks' oldest song on the record, having been written in 1972, while "Think About It", "Leather and Lace", and "Highway Man" were written in 1975.[15]

A number of finished songs did not make it on the album, including "Blue Lamp", which was released instead on Heavy Metal soundtrack later in 1981, and "Sleeping Angel", released on the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack in 1982. These two songs were included on Nicks' Enchanted boxed set in 1998, along with another unused Bella Donna session song, "Gold and Braid". Three more songs from these sessions, "If You Were My Love", "Belle Fleur" and "The Dealer", were finally released on Nicks' album 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault (2014). In total, Nicks recorded 16 songs for the album, of which ten were selected for Bella Donna.[15]

On her Enchanted boxed set release in 1998, remastered versions of some Bella Donna tracks ran noticeably longer in some instances, notably "Leather and Lace". Video footage of the album sessions can be found on the DVD portion of Nicks' retrospective release Crystal Visions – The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (2007).

Rhino released an expanded, three-disc version of Bella Donna on November 4, 2016. The first disc is the remastered original album. The second disc includes outtakes, alternative versions, demos, and material released on soundtracks. The third disc consists of live tracks from Nicks' "White Wing Dove" tour 1981, recorded at the Fox Wilshire Theatre in Los Angeles, California on December 13, 1981.[17]

Track listing[edit]

All lyrics are written by Stevie Nicks, except "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", by Tom Petty; all music is composed by Nicks, except where noted

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Bella Donna" 5:21
2."Kind of Woman"
3:12
3."Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)Mike Campbell4:04
4."Think About It"
3:35
5."After the Glitter Fades" 3:31
6."Edge of Seventeen" 5:28
7."How Still My Love" 3:54
8."Leather and Lace" (with Don Henley) 3:44
9."Outside the Rain" 4:19
10."The Highwayman" 4:49
Bella Donna: Deluxe Edition (Rhino, 2016)
Disc One: Original Album Remastered
No.TitleLength
1."Bella Donna" 
2."Kind of Woman" 
3."Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" 
4."Think About It" 
5."After the Glitter Fades" 
6."Edge of Seventeen" 
7."How Still My Love" 
8."Leather and Lace" 
9."Outside the Rain" 
10."The Highwayman" 
Disc Two: Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
1."Edge of Seventeen" (Early Take*)6:40
2."Think About It" (Alternate Version*)4:47
3."How Still My Love" (Alternate Version*)4:52
4."Leather and Lace" (Alternate Version*)4:18
5."Bella Donna" (Demo*)3:32
6."Gold and Braid" (Unreleased Version*)4:16
7."Sleeping Angel" (Alternate Version*)4:44
8."If You Were My Love" (Unreleased Version*)4:56
9."The Dealer" (Unreleased Version*)4:19
10."Blue Lamp" (from Heavy Metal Soundtrack (Asylum/Full Moon 90004, 1981))3:50
11."Sleeping Angel" (from Fast Times at Ridgemont High Soundtrack (Asylum/Full Moon 60158, 1982))4:40

(*) denotes previously unreleased

Disc Three: Live 1981
No.TitleLength
1."Gold Dust Woman"6:40
2."Gold and Braid"5:12
3."I Need to Know"2:20
4."Outside the Rain"3:59
5."Dreams"5:10
6."Angel"4:46
7."After the Glitter Fades"4:05
8."Leather and Lace"4:23
9."Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"4:43
10."Bella Donna"5:56
11."Sara"7:50
12."How Still My Love"5:12
13."Edge of Seventeen"9:07
14."Rhiannon (includes slow piano intro)"8:44

Personnel[edit]

Band

Additional musicians

Tour Band (2016 Deluxe Edition Disc 3)

  • Stevie Nicks
  • Roy Bittan – piano
  • Sharon Celani – backing vocals
  • Bob Glaub – bass
  • Bobbye Hall – percussion
  • Russ Kunkel – drums
  • Lori Perry – backing vocals
  • Benmont Tench – keyboards & synthesizer
  • Waddy Wachtel – lead guitar

Photography

Production

Tour and HBO television special[edit]

Nicks underwent a short national tour in support of the album, starting on November 28, 1981, and finishing on December 13, 1981. The final night at The Wilshire Fox Theatre in Beverly Hills was recorded by HBO for a television special and later released on VHS and LaserDisc video in many territories by CBS/Fox in 1982 as White Wing Dove – Stevie Nicks in Concert. The whole show was recorded, but only 9 tracks ("Gold Dust Woman", "Gold And Braid", "I Need to Know", an edited "Outside the Rain", "Dreams", "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", "Sara", "Edge of Seventeen" and "Rhiannon") were shown on the TV special and released to video.

However, the live performance of "Leather and Lace" was used as a video promo for the single release (even though it was a solo version and did not feature Don Henley), and did surface on the 1986 VHS collection I Can't Wait, which featured six of Nicks' promo-clips between 1981 and 1985. These six promos were released on DVD as a special feature to the Australian issue of Fleetwood Mac – Mirage Tour in 2007.

On the 2016 Bella Donna Deluxe Edition, 14 tracks from the show - the ten aforementioned songs as well as "Angel", "After the Glitter Fades", "Bella Donna" and "How Still My Love" - were remastered and released (Disc 3), with "Outside the Rain" being restored to its full version. Previously, only two tracks ("Edge of Seventeen" and "Gold and Braid") were found on the boxset The Enchanted Works of Stevie Nicks (1998). "Blue Lamp" and "Think About It" were recorded and received audio broadcast on radio but were not televised, and as such have never been officially released.

Nicks' retrospective Crystal Visions – The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (2007) included the full live 1981 clip of "Edge of Seventeen" on the DVD supplement, with optional commentary from Nicks. She admits that her tears at the end of the song were due to her thoughts of having to join Fleetwood Mac in France the following day to begin recording the album Mirage, one of the key reasons why the 1981 tour was so short.

The White Wing Dove performance remains unreleased in its entirety, although it has been circulating for many years amongst fans as a bootleg.

Tour set list

  1. "Gold Dust Woman"
  2. "Think About It"
  3. "Outside the Rain"
  4. "Dreams"
  5. "Angel"
  6. "After the Glitter Fades"
  7. "Gold and Braid"
  8. "I Need to Know" (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
  9. "Sara"
  10. "Bella Donna"
  11. "Blue Lamp"
  12. "Leather and Lace"
  13. "How Still My Love"
  14. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"
  15. "Edge of Seventeen"
  16. "Rhiannon" (encore)

Tour dates

  • November 28 – Houston, Texas, The Summit Arena
  • November 29 – Dallas, Texas, Reunion Arena
  • December 1 - Boulder, Colorado, Colorado University Events Center
  • December 3 – Oakland, California, Oakland Coliseum
  • December 5 – Tempe, Arizona, Compton Terrace
  • December 6 – Los Angeles, California, Wilshire Fox Theater
  • December 7 – Los Angeles, California, Wilshire Fox Theater
  • December 8 – Los Angeles, California, Wilshire Fox Theater
  • December 12 – Los Angeles, California, Wilshire Fox Theater
  • December 13 – Los Angeles, California, Wilshire Fox Theater

Charts[edit]

Certifications and sales[edit]

Certifications and sales for Bella Donna
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia — 100,000[35]
Canada (Music Canada)[36] 2× Platinum 200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[37] Gold 7,500^
United States (RIAA)[38] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Henderson, Alex. "Bella Donna – Stevie Nicks". AllMusic. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  2. ^ Bulley, Jenny (March 2017). "Stevie Nicks: Bella Donna". Mojo. No. 280. p. 109.
  3. ^ Goldsmith, Mike (Christmas 2016). "Stevie Nicks – Bella Donna: Deluxe Edition, The Wild Heart: Deluxe Edition". Record Collector. No. 461. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  4. ^ Holden, Stephen (September 17, 1981). "Stevie Nicks: Bella Donna". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  5. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Stevie Nicks". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 585. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  6. ^ Katz, Robin (6–19 August 1981). "Stevie Nicks: Bella Donna" (PDF). Smash Hits. Vol. 3, no. 15. Peterborough: EMAP National Publications, Ltd. p. 27. ISSN 0260-3004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022 – via World Radio History.
  7. ^ "American album certifications – Stevie Nicks – Bella Donna". Recording Industry Association of America.
  8. ^ "Stevie Nicks – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2015-06-06. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  9. ^ "Stevie Nicks – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
  10. ^ Heti, Sheila (6 October 2014). "Sisters of the Moon: Stevie Nicks and Haim". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-08-06. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
  11. ^ "Hear Stevie Nicks' "Bella Donna" When It Was Just A Diamond In The Rough". societyofrock.com. 14 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
  12. ^ "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums : Page 1". billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-01. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  13. ^ Howe, Zoë. Stevie Nicks: Visions Dreams & Rumours, page 206.
  14. ^ Greene, Andy (December 20, 2018). "Flashback: Stevie Nicks Launches Solo Career With 'Edge of Seventeen'".
  15. ^ a b c Jackson, Blair (11 September 1981). "BAM Magazine". rockalittle.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Ken Caillat Q&A Session Section 1, November 1999". The Penguin. Archived from the original on November 27, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  17. ^ "Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna Rhino". www.rhino.com. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  18. ^ "Music photographer Herbert Worthington remembered on new tribute page – Stevie Nicks". 15 November 2013.
  19. ^ Herbert W. Worthington
  20. ^ Kent 1993, p. 217–218.
  21. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4681". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Stevie Nicks – Bella Donna" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  23. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 29, 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Stevie Nicks" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  24. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  25. ^ "Charts.nz – Stevie Nicks – Bella Donna". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  26. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Stevie Nicks – Bella Donna". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  28. ^ "Stevie Nicks Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  29. ^ "Rock Albums". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 33. August 22, 1981. p. 30. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  30. ^ Kent 1993, p. 433.
  31. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 1981". RPM. Vol. 35, no. 22. December 26, 1981. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Albums 82". RPM. Vol. 37, no. 19. December 25, 1982. p. 19. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  33. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1982". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  34. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1983". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  35. ^ "Majors Fight Economics with Quirky Rock Originals". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 23. June 12, 1982. p. A/NZ-8. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  36. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Stevie Nicks – Bella Donna". Music Canada.
  37. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Stevie Nicks – Bella Donna". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  38. ^ "American album certifications – Stevie Nicks – Bella Donna". Recording Industry Association of America.

Bibliography[edit]

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