Magnet and Steel by Walter Egan and Stevie Nicks

Magnet and Steel

1978

Walter Egan and Stevie Nicks

It's kind of amazing that Walter Egan only had one song crack the Hot 100...he really is that good. And if you were around in the late summer of 1978 and heard that guitar start up, leading into Stevie Nicks' velvety smooth vocal intro, ya knew you were getting ready to hear Walter Egan's lone Hot 100 chart entry, Magnet and Steel. And he wrote it for...none other than Stevie Nicks, who he had a serious thing for at the time. (And who can blame him?).

Stevie performed the backing vocals on a couple of Walter Egan's songs, and his feelings for her really took hold when she was doing the backing tracks for one of his songs called 'Tunnel of Love'...he didn't tell her about them, and headed for home at Oh Dark Hundred after the long studio session ended. He was following a custom Continental with the vanity plates 'Not Shy'...and the lyrics to 'Magnet And Steel' began to take root. I don't know if Walter ever actually told Stevie Nicks about his feelings fr her, but those feelings sure made for a classic love song.

A lot of people hear Magnet and Steel and get a definite '50s vibe from the song, and when you listen to it, you can definitely feel that same vibe...the rhythms and backing vocals seem to be straight out of 1958 rather than 1978...a very smooth, pleasant, soulful melody that's become timeless. And, I might add, a very pleasant change from the Disco craze that was sweeping the music world in the late '70s.

Magnet and Steel was used in the movie Boogie Nights...and an interesting little factoid abut Walter Egan, In 1986 he appeared as a contestant on a game show called 'Scrabble'. He introduces himself as a singer/songwriter, and the host asked if the audience would know any of his songs. So he sang 'em the main hook from Magnet and Steel. I think the answer to that question was a resounding 'Yes.

Magnet and Steel hit #8 on the Hot 100 in August 1978, and was all over Top 40 radio in the Summer and Fall of that same year and I still hear it regularly on 107.3, Richmond Va's Oldies station.

Bet ya sing along with it...and sway to it a little too!

So enjoy! Magnet and Steel by Walter Egan and Stevie Nicks

And as a bonus, a live performance of Magnet and Steel...unknown year and venue, but it sure sounds awesome! Walter Egan's still recording BTW. His latest album was released on Spectra Records in 2011