Former Fleetwood Mac member Bob Welch dead

**jobeterob** · 06-07-2012, 06:07 PM

Former Fleetwood Mac member Bob Welch dead

The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Bob Welch, a former member of Fleetwood Mac who also had a solo career, died Thursday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. He was 65.

Police spokesman Don Aaron said Welch's wife found him with a chest wound at their south Nashville home around 12:15 p.m.

Welch was a guitarist and vocalist for Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974. He formed the British rock group Paris in 1976, and had hits including "Sentimental Lady" in 1977 and "Ebony Eyes" in 1978. Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham did backing vocals on "Sentimental Lady."

Aaron said Welch apparently had had health issues recently. He said a suicide note was left.

Fleetwood Mac's career took off in the mid-1970s after Welch left the band. "Dreams" was a No. 1 hit in 1977 and "Don't Stop" the same year. It later became the anthem for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. "Hold Me" was a hit in 1982 and "Little Lies" in 1987.

Welch, a native of Los Angeles, scored his biggest hit with "Sentimental Lady," which reached No. 8 on the Billboard chart. His other singles included "Precious Love" in 1979 and "Hot Love, Cold World" in 1978.

**rta5225** · 06-07-2012, 07:04 PM

I tell ya, this year is like a musician and actors obituary. Everytime you look up some entertainer is dying. So sad. RIP Bob Welch.http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1686910/fleetwood-mac-bob-welch-suicide.jhtml

**soulster** · 06-07-2012, 10:34 PM

I love the song "Ebony Eyes"! R.I.P., Bob!

**gary_james** · 06-07-2012, 11:06 PM

R.I.P.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3SqY...eature=related

**soulster** · 06-08-2012, 10:23 PM

**soulster** · 06-08-2012, 10:24 PM

**soulster** · 06-08-2012, 10:26 PM

**glencro** · 06-09-2012, 08:40 AM

Here's a pretty detailed article regarding his FM and solo career's ups and downs http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/stop-th...174404800.html

**soulster** · 06-09-2012, 09:53 AM

Great, in-depth article, Glencro! There were things in there I didn't know.

**splanky** · 06-09-2012, 10:26 AM

Another example for me of how getting older can suck; I had completely forgotten about the musical career of Bob Welch and how much I used to love Sentimental Lady especially Christine's vocals in the chorus! Dang! Now I'm gonna have to read that article myself. RIP, Bob, sorry you had to go like this..

**splanky** · 06-09-2012, 10:43 AM

Well! Have to say I enjoyed the article too and now I want to read Mick Fleetwood's book. I'm just finishing Carole King's
and I have to say: Whoa! What a life...

**stephanie** · 06-09-2012, 05:14 PM

Splanky
I got Carole Kings book last week and I am not finished but its great! I wished she had talked more about studio time but its a good story. I wished more people knew about Bob Welch when he was with Fleetwood Mac ..Hynotized is one of the best songs they put out and got them commercial airplay. I liked the Mack with Buckingham and Nicks but for those who are interested check them out during the Peter Green and Bob Welch years they were more of a musicians band and they were very good and more interesting to listen to. No disrespect to the Buckingham Nicks years but I can only take so much of those hits they have been played so much Im tired of them.
Steph

**Doug-Morgan** · 06-09-2012, 07:33 PM

I assume you're talking about Mick's 1991 autobiography "Fleetwood: My Life And Adventures In Fleetwood Mac". It's a very good [[and resonably fair) book that is definately worth getting a hold of.

People forget about Welsh's role in the band as it transitioned from a blues band into the pop monster it is today. Bob and Christie McVie are given a lot of credit in moving them into a more "pop-ish" sound, all of this while the "Faux-wood Mac" episode was going on. My favorite FM song from that era was an FM radio hit.

**soulster** · 06-10-2012, 02:10 AM

I am largely unfamiliar with pre-Buckingham/Nicks era Fleetwood Mac, although I have a couple of their earlier albums, one with Welch on it. BTW, it was mostly B/N who were credited for changing the band's sound.

I think most people are more familiar with Welch's three hit singles, the ones I linked above. They aren't great songs, but they are very popular. I had no idea he was that closely related to the band in the late 70s. All I remember is that he sued them.

**Doug-Morgan** · 06-10-2012, 08:23 PM

We'll have to agree to disagree. When Jeremy Spencer left Fleetwood Mac, Christie McVie and Danny Kerwan had begun to move the band more mainstream and away from the blues.......suprising because McVie came out of Chicken Shack......but Welsh's hand is all over lps like Bare Trees, Penguin, Mystery To Me and Heros Are Hard To Find. "Sentimental Lady", one of Welsh's solo singles, was originally on Mac's 1972 LP Bare Trees.

**soulster** · 06-11-2012, 02:51 PM

There are certainly lots of conflicting stories, but the one I got was that Welch influenced their transition and suggested B/N to join. Mick Fleetwood deliberately got B/N to change their sound because he was impressed by their album.

**tamla617** · 06-11-2012, 04:18 PM

mick fleetwood credited welch with saving the group,a sane and good humoured presence who kept spirits up through the dark years after i assume from some member's mental health problems,green,kirwan and spencer going awol,who joined some children of god type cult never to return.

**splanky** · 06-11-2012, 05:10 PM

Lindsey and Stevie certainly got The Mac hits but their sound changed before over time. I found out my library doesn't
have Mick's memoirs so I'll have to settle for now on a book titled the Definitive History though I know several people
associated with the group say there are more lies told about Fleetwood Mac than almost any other group. Much of what I know about their earlier career is from retroactive research, I came into their fan base with Rumours if I'm remember
correctly. Stevie had me with her vocals on Landside and Lindsey on Crystal...

**soulster** · 06-11-2012, 06:08 PM

Originally Posted by splanky

Lindsey and Stevie certainly got The Mac hits but their sound changed before over time. I found out my library doesn't
have Mick's memoirs so I'll have to settle for now on a book titled the Definitive History though I know several people
associated with the group say there are more lies told about Fleetwood Mac than almost any other group. Much of what I know about their earlier career is from retroactive research, I came into their fan base with Rumours if I'm remember
correctly. Stevie had me with her vocals on Landside and Lindsey on Crystal...

I became a Fleetwood Mac fan when they came out with their 1975 self-titled album, and the song "Rhiannon". It was the first album with Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. About twelve years ago, I was introduced to Buckingham-Nicks 1973 album. It's one of the few classic albums that have never appeared in digital form, at least legally. I have since heard this album so many ways it makes my head spin! I first got a needledrop from a guy in Alaska, then I did my own needle drop, then I got one from supposedly a DAT copy of the master, then I got some other needle drops off the internet, a couple of more CD-Rs sent from people...and now I have single mixes of "Crying In the Night", and outtakes. Whew!

BTW, to clear up a lot of those lies, get the new book "Making Rumours" by Ken Chalet, their engineer. It give the finer details on how the album was created from start to finish, every coked-up mix, tape-shedding detail. A great read! You know they would take hits of coke before they mixed?

**Doug-Morgan** · 06-12-2012, 07:19 AM

To see where the band came from, find a copy of 1968's "Fleetwood Mac" or "Mr. Wonderful". They're both very solid "British blues" style lps.

**soulster** · 06-12-2012, 08:36 AM

Oh, I know their history. I have a few of the early albums from the 60s.

**splanky** · 06-12-2012, 11:17 AM

I know many of their early fans who came in with their early blues based material and Peter Green's work hated when Lindsey and Stevie became the primary focal point and abandoned them altogether. As late as the 80's I remember
people talking about how screwed up Fleetwood Mac had become....