Bob Welch(1945-2012)

Bob Welch, a native of Los Angeles, California, was a guitarist and vocalist for Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974. He formed the British rock group Paris in 1976 and scored his biggest hit with "Sentimental Lady", which reached No. 8 on the Billboard chart in 1977 and his second biggest was "Ebony Eyes" in 1978. 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. 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. He had lived in Nashville, Tennessee 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. He did not want her to have to care for an invalid. He was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest; a suicide note was found.