The death of Fleetwood Mac former member, Bob Welch, has come as a shock to many people who have been close to him. On June 7, Welch died of an apparent suicide – he shot himself in the chest – and Mick Fleetwood declared via Reuters that he thought this act was ‘incredibly out of character’, this is exactly what he said:
‘He was a very, very profoundly intelligent human being and always in good humor, which is why this is so unbelievably shocking.’
‘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… If you look into our musical history, you'll see a huge period that was completely ensconced in Bob's work’.
Stevie Nicks also had only good things to say about him, pointing out that he was funny, sweet and smart.
Err, isn’t it ironic how death has the power to erase everything? Let’s not forget that he sued the band in the 90s, and that Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame in 1998, but Welch was snubbed by the Hall of Fame, still estranged from several members of the band.
His body was found by his wife Wendy at their Nashville home, and according to the LA Times, his wife said that he had been suffering with health issues.
There also was a suicide note found in the home, and People magazine had a little more about this: Welch had undergone spinal surgery 3 months ago, and he was afraid the surgery would leave him an invalid who would need constant care. According to a friend, he wrote to his wife ‘I’m not going to do this to you’ in the suicide note, fearing to burden her as it had been the case with his invalid father, who had been taken care of by his mother.
When you think about it, this seems like a noble act, but if you truly love someone, isn’t death the worst thing that could happen to your love one?
Bob Welch was only 66.
Heavily, heavily underrated guy. Future Games (the song) is easily one of the most drop dead gorgeous things I’ve ever heard. “Bare Trees” is also loaded with great Welch compositions including his signature tune, the amazing “Sentimental Lady”. “Emerald Eyes” off the “Mystery To Me” record, the list of great tunes penned by Welch just goes on and on. Very sad news.