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1987 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Family Man" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from their 1987 studio album Tango in the Night. The song was written by Lindsey Buckingham and producer Richard Dashut.

In the UK, "Family Man" was released as the fourth single following "Little Lies", where it debuted at No. 91 on 19 December 1987. It later went on to peak at No. 54 on 19 January 1988. In the US, the song was released as the fifth single from the album as the follow-up to "Everywhere" in March 1988, and reached No. 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Background

Similar to "Big Love", "Family Man" was originally slated to appear on Buckingham`s third solo album, although the project later morphed into Fleetwood Mac`s Tango in the Night. "Family Man" was nearly complete when Buckingham first presented the song to Fleetwood Mac, although the band "sweetened up" the mix and interspersed some vocal fragments from Stevie Nicks throughout the song`s bridge.[2] The song possesses a stepwise ascending harmony and follows a VII-I chord progression.[3]

"Family Man" was released as a special limited edition box set comprising the 7" single, plus two prints by the artist Susan Young[4] and Christine Tongue. The 12" included several mixes of "Family Man" as well as the album track, "You and I, Part II"

"Family Man" is also included on the 2002 release The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac.[5] While "Family Man" was not included on the physical release of 50 Years - Don`t Stop, it does appear on the streaming service edition of the album, which substituted several songs from the Peter Green era for songs from Kiln House onwards.

Critical reception

Cash Box called it "an engaging dance tune" with "an ethereal vocal and throbbing groove."[6] Writing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis thought that Buckingham`s "unsettled twitchiness" was evident in the "staccato vocals of `Family Man.`"[7] Alex Henderson of AllMusic labeled "Family Man" as one of the best songs ever written by Buckingham.[8]

Music video

Promotion for the single was limited, as Lindsey Buckingham, the song`s composer, had left the group after the album`s release.[9] A video was created mixing previous footage of the band from the "Seven Wonders" video alongside archive footage of American families from the Great-Depression era. The video uses a shorter edit of the album version.

Track listing

UK 7" vinyl single (Warner Bros. Records W 8114)

1. "Family Man" – 4:01
2. "Down Endless Street" – 4:24

UK 12" vinyl single (Warner Bros. Records W 8114 T)

1. "Family Man" (Extended Vocal Remix) – 8:30
2. "Family Party" (Bonus Beats) – 4:56
3. "You and I, Part II" – 2:56

12" US single (Warner Brothers Records 0–20842)

1. "Family Man" (Extended vocal remix) – 8:30
2. "Family Man" (I`m a Jazz Man dub) – 8:52
3. "Family Man" (Extended guitar remix) – 6:26
4. "Family Party" (bonus beats) – 4:36
5. "Down Endless Street" – 4:24

Personnel

• Lindsey Buckingham – lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, Fairlight CMI, drum and percussion programming
• Stevie Nicks – backing vocals
• Mick Fleetwood – percussion

Charts