From Miley Cyrus to Lana Del Rey: The five best Stevie Nicks duets

Stevie Nicks is most well-known as the formidable frontwoman of Fleetwood Mac. Her stint with the soft rock outfit spawned countless classics of the genre, from the suitably titled ‘Dreams’ to the sprawling ‘The Chain’. Between her songwriting contributions and her wonderfully witchy dress sense, she became a rock and roll icon, paving the way for women in the genre.

But Nicks’ work didn’t stop there. She embarked upon a solo career in the late 1980s, bringing her distinctive lyricism and soft rock stylings into their own. The driving ‘Edge of Seventeen’ would become her signature track, but she also became well-known for her love of duets. They had predated her solo work and would continue to define her career to this day. 

Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Nicks has linked up with some particularly impressive names to combine their talents and create musical magic. From Don Henley and Tom Petty to more recent additions like Miley Cyrus and Maroon 5, Nicks has always loved a collaborative endeavour.

There are several diamonds of duets to discover from throughout her career, so below, we’ve collated five of our favourites. From an iconic track with Heartbreakers leader Petty to more modern partnerships with popstars and even a former Britpop icon, find our top five Stevie Nicks duets below. 

Five best Stevie Nicks duets Kenny Loggins – ‘Whenever I Call You “Friend”’

Just one year after the release of Fleetwood Mac’s fabled and aptly titled magnum opus, Rumours, Nicks leant her voice to a slightly gentler take on the love song. The frontwoman linked up with Kenny Loggins in the late 1970s to concoct a one-off soft rock song about “sweet love,” titled ‘Whenever I Call You “Friend”’.

Over Beach Boys-esque backing vocals and sparse percussion, Loggins and Nicks sing of always and forever in perfect harmony. A stark contrast to the turbulence of Rumours, the lyrics compare their lover to home and heaven, depicting a stable, transcendent kind of love. “Everything I do takes me back to you,” they conclude, “Whenever I call you friend.” It’s a gorgeous collaboration and a welcome change from Nicks’ more chaotic sonic romances.

Tom Petty – ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’

Nicks’ most famous duet came just a couple of years later in 1981, when she hopped on a track penned by the leader of the Heartbreakers himself, Tom Petty. After the release of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk in the late 1970s, Nicks took her first steps into solo stardom with the dawn of the new decade, beginning with ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’.

Ahead of the release of her debut album, Bella Donna, Nicks put out her duet with Petty as the lead single. Over foreboding organs and subtle “ooh”s, the pair share the stage to tackle independence within a relationship, taking turns with their verses as if singing a real conversation. “This doesn’t have to be anything at all,” Nicks asserts. “I know you really want to tell me goodbye, I know you really want to be your own girl,” Petty responds. The song still remains one of her signature tracks.

Lana Del Rey – ‘Beautiful People Beautiful Problems’

Fast forward a couple of decades, and Nicks still can’t keep herself away from a duet. In 2017, the frontwoman made an appearance on coquette queen Lana Del Rey’s fifth record, Lust for Life. Del Rey’s weighty, wonder-inducing voice takes on the first verse of the song, with Nicks only making her entry as the song delves into its gorgeous chorus. 

“But we’re just beautiful people with beautiful problems,” the pair sing together, “Beautiful problems, God knows we’ve got them.” There’s a similar gravitas to their voices and it feels as if a torch is being passed. While Nicks paved the way for women in rock and roll and honed a distinctive, witchy aesthetic of her own, while Del Rey has had her own mammoth impact on the industry in the 21st century, bringing sadness and sensuality to the airwaves.

Miley Cyrus – ‘Edge of Midnight’

Del Rey isn’t the only modern pop artist Nicks has worked with on a duet. In 2020, the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman featured on a track by Disney star turned rockstar Miley Cyrus as part of her hot pink seventh record, Plastic Hearts. The opening twangs to the track may sound familiar to fans of Nicks, as they take from the opening moments of her signature single, ‘Edge of Seventeen’.

The remix delves from that recognisable riff into Cyrus’ track ‘Midnight Sky’. The pair come together to sing the chorus, which includes some iconic lines from the Nicks track. “Just like the white winged dove sings a song sounds like she’s singing,” Nicks sings just as confidently as she did four decades earlier. It’s an electric melding of tracks and artists.

Gorillaz – ‘Oil’

The final duet to make the list is also the most recent and, perhaps, one of Nicks’ most off-kilter collaborations. In 2023, Damon Albarn recruited a huge roster of collaborators to work on Gorillaz’ eighth album, Cracker Island. Amidst slightly more predictable features from the likes of Tame Impala and Thundercat, the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman made an appearance.

On ‘Oil’, Albarn takes the lead vocal, singing of faulty dreams and fairy-like companions over bright, bouncy instrumentation. Nicks leads the third verse, bringing a new lightness to Albarn’s musings, urging us to “Close the wells of poison” and “Fill them up with love.” It’s a strange and unexpected collaboration, but it’s all the more interesting for it.

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