Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter dies

Christine McVie, a Fleetwood Mac vocalist, songwriter and keyboard player whose contralto helped define such classics as You Make Loving Fun, Everywhere and Don't Stop, has died at age 79.

Her family said she died peacefully in hospital after an illness.

McVie was a steady hand in a band known for frequent lineup changes and volatile personalities - notably fellow singer-songwriters Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Her death is the first among Fleetwood Mac's famous incarnation of McVie, Nicks, Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, Christine's ex-husband.

Born Christine Anne Perfect in Lancashire, McVie's father was a violinist and a grandfather an organist at Westminster Abbey. But she dropped classical training after hearing Fats Domino.

ASSOCIATED PRESS