The ‘70s are back in style. Faux fur coats, art deco glasses, flared jeans—almost too many trends from this era are resurfacing half a century later. Coinciding with this resurgence of ‘70s trends was the timely release of the miniseries Daisy Jones & The Six.
Daisy Jones & The Six premiered on March 3 on Prime Video. The show is an adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best selling novel of the same title, which focuses on the meteoric rise and fall of the fictitious rock band Daisy Jones & The Six. The miniseries perfectly captures the phrase “Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll.” The plot focuses on the band's infidelity, romance, drug addictions, and, of course, their rock music. The protagonists, Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne, are partners in both singing and songwriting. However, they yearn for more. They are twin flames drawn to each other, and simultaneously mirror one another—both arrogant, broken, and yet wildly talented and passionate.
The creation of Daisy Jones & The Six was heavily influenced by the iconic ‘70s group Fleetwood Mac. Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne mirror Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, former vocalist and lead guitarist of Fleetwood Mac, respectively. Reid was inspired to write the story after witnessing the longing stares between Buckingham and Nicks during their 1997 performance of “Landslide.” Reid wrote, “[I]t looked so much like two people in love. And yet, we’ll never truly know what lived between them. I wanted to write a story about that, about how the lines between real life and performance can get blurred, about how singing about old wounds might keep them fresh.”
When telling a Fleetwood Mac–esque story, the band’s drug habits must be discussed, and Daisy Jones & The Six didn't shy away from doing so. Alongside Jones and Dunne trying to handle their fiery chemistry onstage and offstage, the two characters also struggle with drug addictions. Unlike most Hollywood productions, the show doesn't glamorize drug use. Dunne’s addiction is difficult to watch, and as his character eventually attempts sobriety early on in the show, the audience is left anxious about whether he will relapse. This anxiety is only exacerbated when Dunne meets Jones, who unapologetically snorts cocaine, drinks alcohol, and takes pills whenever she can—increasingly doing so as the series continues.
Dunne and Jones met for the first time when they recorded their hit single “Look At Us Now (Honeycomb).” In the series, this single quickly topped charts at No. 1 and allowed the group to achieve fame. Soon after the success of “Look At Us Now (Honeycomb),” Daisy Jones & The Six made their well–renowned album AURORA. Many of the best–selling novel's fans longed to hear what the album would sound like, and the creators of the show decided to make their wish come true.
Like the story, the songs on AURORA were also inspired by Fleetwood Mac. One of the songs on the album, “Regret Me,” was influenced by Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs.” Reid confessed, “[The song’s] concept of a woman’s right to be angry is absolutely based on Stevie Nicks singing ‘Silver Springs’ at Lindsey Buckingham during their [1997] reunion show, The Dance.”
Many musicians, such as Blake Mills, Phoebe Bridgers, and Marcus Mumford, helped make the fictional band’s hit album a reality. The album can be listened to on all streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music. The day of its release, Daisy Jones & The Six’s AURORA reached No. 1 on U.S. iTunes. They are the first and the only fictional group to do so. Soon after, they also reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, as well as No. 1 on their Soundtracks chart.
Daisy Jones & The Six were a fictional band before the show, but now they’re real. Their music exists, their fans are multiplying, and their impact is palpable. Watching their story transported us back to the ‘70s, with all the sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Daisy Jones & The Six is a love letter to the golden era of music.
