Singer, songwriter, and guitarist
Bob Welch enjoyed a brief streak of mainstream success in the late '70s after a four-year, pre-phenomenon stint in
Fleetwood Mac. In 1971,
Welch replaced
Jeremy Spencer and stayed for the albums
Future Games (1971),
Bare Trees (1972),
Penguin (1973),
Mystery to Me (1973), and
Heroes Are Hard to Find (1974).
Welch's finest
Fleetwood Mac moment was the dreamily jazzy "Hypnotized" on
Mystery to Me.
Welch was asked to stay despite the addition of
Lindsey Buckingham and
Stevie Nicks, but he departed and formed a hard rock trio called Paris. The band -- which included former
Jethro Tull bass guitarist
Glenn Cornick, former
Nazz drummer Thom Mooney, and then future
Tin Machine drummer
Hunt Sales -- released two poorly received albums in 1976.
Welch then decided to craft blatantly commercial pop music, and he succeeded with 1977's
French Kiss, which went platinum and featured the hit singles "Sentimental Lady" (a re-recording of the
Bare Trees cut) and "Ebony Eyes."
Released in 1979,
Three Hearts largely repeated the formula, but it only went gold; the single "Precious Love" hit the Top 40. Both albums featured guest appearances by
Fleetwood Mac members.
Welch released four more albums through 1983, but sales steadily declined.
By 1987,
Welch had moved to Phoenix, Arizona and formed Avenue M. In the late '90s, he pursued a songwriting career in Nashville, Tennessee.
Welch also publicly clashed with his former
Fleetwood Mac bandmates. In 1994, he filed a lawsuit claiming he was underpaid royalties during his tenure. The case was settled out of court, but
Welch says
Fleetwood Mac retaliated by having him excluded from the band's 1998 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Welch was the only early member not honored. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Nashville on June 7, 2012;
Bob Welch was 65 years old. ~ Bret Adams