Critically acclaimed and multi-award winning country group Lonestar have just shared their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s hit, “You Make Loving Fun.” The song will appear on their new covers EP, Iconic, Vol. 1, which is expected to be released later this spring.
The song is paired with a vibrant music video — produced and directed by TapeSlate Productions — and a glowing endorsement from Mick Fleetwood who says, “Always a compliment to hear…our songs! Christine will be smiling!”
It’s never easy covering another band’s song, let alone one as iconic and notable as “You Make Loving Fun.” But for Lonestar, they were able to walk the line between giving fans what they love about the song yet offering just enough of something new to justify the cover in itself.
“We changed the arrangement to make it more of a country song,” vocalist Drew Womack says about Lonestar’s approach to the Fleetwood Mac song, which was written and sung by the late Christine McVie.“It flows really nicely as a country rock song.”
“There were certain parts where we were like, ‘Alright we have to stay true to this section of the song because people will expect that,’” keyboardist Dean Sams admits. “So, there were certain parts that we tried to remain true to the original, but always keeping in mind we’re Lonestar and if we were going to do it exactly like the original artist, would there really be a point in doing it?”
Sams continues,“‘You Make Loving Fun’ is such an iconic song from an iconic band and Christine McVie, she wrote the thing and obviously sang it as well. With her passing, I feel like this put even more pressure on us to make this song great. I just love our version of it! It doesn’t have all that keyboard stuff that’s going on from the original, it’s very Lonestar-ified, if that’s even a word. It sounds really cool, but still sounds modern and like Lonestar.”
Listen for yourself below.
The inspiration for Iconic, Vol. 1 came during a soundcheck for Lonestar when Womack started singing Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” “I’ve always loved that song and the fact that he just pulled it out, we were like ‘Dude, you can sing anything!’ He has no limitations as a vocalist,” guitarist Michael Britt explains. “Then somebody just said ‘Hey, why don’t we do an EP of female artist songs?’ Somebody suggested everybody just pick their favorite and we’d go from there. It was so organic.”
Check out the track-listing below.
“As a band, we are riding high,” Sams concludes. “We’ve had the two biggest touring years of our career. It feels new again and the fans have just given us a rebirth. We are more energized. We are better players and singers. Our show is by far the best show we’ve put out on the road and I’m really excited for the folks that are coming to see us in 2024.” Click here to stay up to date with all of Lonestar’s tour dates and festival appearances.
Track-listing:
- “Rolling in the Deep” (originally by Adele)
- “Try” (originally by Pink)
- “Time After Time” (originally by Cindy Lauper)
- “Here Comes the Rain Again” (originally by Eurythmics)
- “You Make Loving Fun” (originally by Fleetwood Mac)
