Fleetwood Mac's Bob Welch Dies
The former vocalist/guitarist sadly takes his own life at his home in Nashville
Retuers reports that Welch was discovered by his wife at his Nashville home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. He was 66.
Welch joined Fleetwood Mac in 1971 as a replacement for Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. He would stay with the band from 1971-1974 and he recorded five albums during this time, including 1971's "Future Games," 1972's "Bare Trees" and 1973's "Mystery to Me."
He went on to have solo success with the platinum album, French Kiss in 1977, which produced the hits "Sentimental Lady," "Ebony Eyes" and "Hot Love, Cold World."
Despite a lawsuit against Fleetwood Mac in 1994 over unpaid royalties, Welch remained close to Mick Fleetwood, and Fleetwood has described the manner of his death as "incredibly out of character."
"He was a very, very profoundly intelligent human being and always in good humor, which is why this is so unbelievably shocking," he continued.
"He was a huge part of our history which sometimes gets forgotten ... mostly his legacy would be his songwriting abilities that he brought to Fleetwood Mac, which will survive all of us," Fleetwood said.
"If you look into our musical history, you'll see a huge period that was completely ensconced in Bob's work."
Another member of the Fleetwood Mac family, Stevie Nicks (who joined the band when Welch left) also paid tribute to him, saying "He was an amazing guitar player - he was funny, sweet - and he was smart - I'm so very sorry for his family and for the family of Fleetwood Mac - so, so sad."
RIP Bob Welch, 1945-2012