Stevie Nicks’ younger brother, Christopher Aaron Nicks, has died aged 72 after a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. His daughter, Nixi Parkinson Nicks, announced his death on Instagram on Friday4 September, saying he died earlier that morning surrounded by family.
Nixi shared a photograph of herself holding her father’s hand alongside the message:
“second star to the right, and straight on till morning. i love you, daddy. rest easy.”
She later posted a longer tribute explaining that Christopher had kept his illness private because he did not want people to worry about him.
“It is with a broken heart that I announce the passing of my father, Christopher Aaron Nicks, early this morning, surrounded by family.”
She continued:
“Some of you may know that he has spent the last 2.5 years battling a cancer diagnosis, and to some this may come as a shock. If this is news to you, please know it was because he never wanted people to worry about him that he kept this to himself.”
Stevie Nicks has not publicly commented
Stevie Nicks had not issued a public statement about her brother’s death at the time of writing.
Christopher was five years younger than the Fleetwood Mac singer, and the siblings became particularly close as adults. He was married to Lori Perry-Nicks, who previously worked as one of Stevie’s backing singers, and they had a daughter, Nixi.
Nixi also reflected on her father’s relationships and the people who were important to him.
“I know that he has left his mark on so many people, and this will leave many more than his immediate family with a piece of them missing. I know I speak for my dad when I say that his friends, his lost boys, meant the world to him.”
She ended the tribute by writing:
“Rest easy, Coach. We will see you in Neverland.”
Stevie Nicks previously spoke about her brother
Despite joking that she struggled to adjust when Christopher was born, Stevie later described her family as one of the most important parts of her life.
In a 2003 interview with You Magazine, she recalled their childhood relationship and admitted she had not initially welcomed having a younger sibling.
“By the time I was five, I was a little diva. I was out of control, so my parents decided to have another child. I hated Chris, my brother. I would pull his hair and kick him, until one day my father gave him permission to fight back. I’ll be apologizing to him for the rest of my life.”
Their relationship changed as they grew older. Stevie said she would spend time with Christopher, Lori and Nixi at her home in Phoenix when she was not touring.
“My parents live five minutes away. At Christmas I’ll be home for six weeks. That’s when I bond with my family. My mom collects my cuttings; Chris does my merchandizing and Lori is one of my backing singers.”
The singer also spoke about how much she relied on her family in a separate 1986 interview.
“My family is… my family is so important to me that last night in the middle of the night I started to cry because I miss my brother, and I needed to call him, and I didn’t have any phone numbers.”
She added:
“I needed to talk to Christopher because I just needed for somebody to tell me that it’s all OK, and yeah, my family is very, very important to me, and you are important to me, and all the people that come to see me are important to me.”
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