Former member of Fleetwood Mac Bob Welch found dead

Bob Welch Greatest Hits record

/ CURB

Updated 9:25 PM ET

(AP) Bob Welch, a former member of Fleetwood Mac who also had a solo career, has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Nashville police say. He was 65.

Police spokesman Don Aaron said Welch was found dead with a chest wound by his wife at their Nashville home around 12:15 p.m. Thursday.

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 2002 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.

When Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, Welch was not included in the group.

"It basically comes down to the fact that they don't like me anymore," he told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland at the time. "I guess they can do what they want. I could understand it if I had been a sideman for a year. But I was an integral part of that band ... I put more of myself into that band than anything else I've ever done."

Longtime Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks told The Associated Press that Welch's death hit her hard.

"The death of Bob Welch is devastating ... I had many great times with him after Lindsey and I joined Fleetwood Mac. He was an amazing guitar player — he was funny, sweet — and he was smart. I am so very sorry for his family and for the family of Fleetwood Mac — so, so sad ..."

Founding member Mick Fleetwood did not immediately respond to e-mails for comment Thursday.

Fleetwood Mac, started in 1967 by two former members of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, became an enormously popular pop-oriented group in the late 1970s. Nicks' haunting vocals and Buckingham's distinctive guitar work helped propel the band's 1976 album "Rumours" to multiplatinum status.

Problems with alcohol and drugs, as well as well-publicized fights between band members, led to their breakup. Money and nostalgia helped bring the band back together, leading to successful reunion tours.

As a songwriter, Welch had his songs recorded by Kenny Rogers, Sammy Hagar, the Pointer Sisters and others.

In 1999 he released a CD, "Bob Welch Looks at Bop," a salute to bebop music in the 1940s.

In an interview with The Tennessean in 2003, Welch said he never dreamed he'd be remembered for much.

"I just wanted to play guitar in a good band," he said. "I wanted to make the music I love. I wanted to travel the world and have adventures."

Welch also said "music is disposable now. It doesn't have the emotional impact anymore. That's sad."

He had lived in Nashville since the 1990s.

Bart Herbison, executive director of the Nashville Songwriters Association, quoted his wife Wendy as saying Welch had spinal surgery three months ago and doctors told him he would not get better, and he did not want her to have to care for an invalid.

The couple had no children. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.

[stevex47]

Rest in Peace Bob. Thank you so much for your great music.

[jnostromo]

Another loss for the music world. He was a great songwriter and guitar player. His albums remain among the favorites in my collection. My deepest sympathies go out to his wife.

[Dnyc51]

FBI, CIA hit, ask Biden why they kill innocent people, and refer to your eBay account to do so.

[gargantuan92]

Maybe not so far-fetched. I'm sure that the CIA would try to protray anyone that even mentions them to be mentally unstable. Bob's violent suicide is a little suspicious. He was a(great) performer, he knew how to communicate. I think he was sending a message - a clue, maybe. Was he involved in something - unknowingly, maybe - that he regretted later? I wonder if he knew something the CIA or the power elites didn't want public. Or maybe it was a simpler message about his medical condition...? Fleetwood Mac publicly supported Bill Clinton for president, which was one of the most pro-corporate administrations. I don't know Bob Welch's politics. The CIA and liberal foundations, which not much is known about, are associated with the non-Communist, Democratic Left. A lot of artists and intellectuals have been co-opted by the CIA in the Cultural Cold War...Anyways gives a chance to soapbox about liberal foundations, their immense power, and CIA. Thanks for the great music, Bob & Co.!!!!!!

[blotto_max]

God's speed Bob...Loved the music!

[nohater]

spinal surgery just three months ago left him with the fear of having to live his life as an invalid after doctors told him he would not get better. wonder what was wrong with his spine. it must have been something horrible to drive him to suicide.

[tmn]

Terribly sad. He was an excellent, memorable musician.

[Henri_Rochard]

I saw Bob Welch play with Fleetwood Mac twice. Once in the Dave Walker and Bob Weston era -- concert wasn't too good. The second time it Welch, the McVies, Fleetwood and I seem to remember they had one or two session people in the lineup. (Then I saw 'em once more with Nicks and Buckingham.)
I picked up a copy of Future Games earlier this week. Not as good as Bare Trees or Rumours. But they had a very distinctive sound.
Too bad. Suicide is so pointless -- I can't imagine ever being in such a hopeless state.

[Transatlantique]

This is why America needs to legalise voluntary euthanasia. If someone wants to die, it shouldn't have to happen at the end of a scary gun. Why not hook him up to a machine and let him flip the suicide switch for a peaceful, painless death? America has a vested interest in generating big business cash from people who are kept alive by laws, false morality, and made to suffer.

[mari1963]

I love the song Sentimental Lady. He's right that music now is disposable and has no emotion. I Thank you Bob for your lovely music. I will miss you.

[Henri_Rochard]

Sentimental Lady is on my current set list.

[Valhalla0907]

God rest him. The cocaine rocket that was Fleetwood Mac stole his talent, then left him behind. I'm a rocker, never considered Mac a significant band. But I do know the lyrics to "Ebony Eyes".