What if I told you that classic rock superstars of the 1970s like Stevie Nicks, Phil Collins and James Taylor played with the same band? No, I’m not referring to some sort of supergroup, I’m talking about what has now become known as The Immediate Family, a crew of session musicians who recorded with just about every relevant rock musician of the era. The new documentary Immediate Family chronicles their time running amok in the industry and helping to write some of the world’s biggest singles of all time while, for the most part, flying under the radar. The documentary touches on the time they spent recording with Nicks in particular, and it’s no surprise that its members reflect on the past with the same nostalgic romanticization that the singer/songwriter did when she was watching Daisy Jones & the Six.
Recently, Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac fame gushed about Daisy Jones & the Six, the Amazon Original show that uses Nicks’ career as inspiration for the titular character. Producer Reese Witherspoon, star Riley Keough and more were over the moon to hear that Nicks not only loved the show, but became emotional, feeling like a “ghost watching my own story.” When I brought this up to Immediate Family guitarist Waddy Wachtel, he reflected on his own experience with musician Willie Nile, calling both stories an example of their collective “musical heart”:
He's got a song called “Forever Wild” and I had heard of Willie Nile, but I really didn't know much about him. And I heard this song on the radio and I came home with this huge grin on my face. I was just so happy to hear a song that captured all the essence of the rock and roll that I live by and lived through and live with… So to hear, like for Stevie to go on and on about Daisy is like me going on about Willie. To hear something that strikes you in the musical heart you have, that is a wonderful thing. Doesn't happen often enough really.
Waddy Wachtel finding parallels here makes more sense when you hear the lyrics to Willie Nile’s “Forever Wild,” a classically-driven banger of a modern rock track that reflects on being “sixteen and crazy” and “rugged and free.” We see a big chunk of Daisy Jones’ life in both the book and the new show (although there are a slew of differences between the two), but when we first see Riley Keough as Daisy, she’s a misunderstood 17 year old. These two classic rock experiences made the musicians reflect on their absolutely wild life in the music industry and hit them in their musical hearts.
Tapping into this real-life emotion may be the secret sauce in Daisy Jones’ success, as the show scored nine Emmy nominations this year. Then again, they had a lot going for them, having included a slew of great original songs. Not to mention there's a cast you’ve definitely seen before that includes Hunger Games heartthrob Sam Claflin. Daisy Jones had a definitive, rather satisfying closure, but with all of this recent chatter, maybe the sow will come back for Season 2 after all.
As for Immediate Family, you can rent it everywhere starting tomorrow, December 15! This includes with a Prime Video subscription, so why not check out Daisy Jones & the Six on the same platform?
