Bob Welch obit

Police: Musician Bob Welch kills self

 

He was not on the list.

Bob Welch, a guitarist who played with Fleetwood Mac before launching a solo career, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest, Nashville, Tennessee, police said Thursday. He was 66.

Welch’s wife found his body in their Nashville home about 12:15 p.m., Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said.

“All indications are that it was a suicide,” Aaron said. A suicide note was found, he said.

Welch played guitar with Fleetwood Mac starting in 1971. He left the group in late 1974, just before Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the group.

Nicks said in a statement that Welch’s death was “devastating.”

“I had many great times with him after Lindsey and I joined Fleetwood Mac,” singer Nicks said. “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,” Nicks said.

Welch’s biggest hits, “Sentimental Lady” and “Ebony Eyes” came from his debut solo album “French Kiss,” released in November 1977.

During the mid-1980s (following the release of Eye Contact), Welch took to partying with Guns N' Roses, who were rehearsing in his garage. He became addicted to cocaine and heroin, and was hospitalized for detox in spring of 1985. Welch reflected on that era as "being a very bad boy, very decadent, very cynical, VERY stoned. It was not a good time."

The day he was released from detox, he was introduced to Wendy Armistead by Taryn Power (Tyrone Power's daughter) and Tony Sales at The Central (now The Viper Room). Welch and Armistead were married in December 1985 and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to maintain Welch's sobriety. Welch abstained from all illegal drugs for the rest of his life.

While in Phoenix, they formed a short-lived group called Avenue M. The group went on tour and recorded one song for a greatest hits compilation. They later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and remained married until his death.

Welch had undergone spinal surgery three months prior to his death. Despite the surgery, doctors told him his prognosis for recovery was poor, and he would eventually become an invalid. He was still in considerable pain, despite taking the medication pregabalin (Lyrica) for six weeks.

On June 7, 2012, around 6:00 a.m., Welch died by suicide, shooting himself in his Nashville home where his wife Wendy discovered his body. He left a nine-page suicide note and love letter for Wendy. He was 66 years old.

Bob and Wendy Welch are buried beside each other in Memphis, Tennessee.

An exhibit chronicling Bob Welch's career opened at The Musicians Hall of Fame at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee on August 27, 2018. Despite the lawsuit over a decade earlier, Fleetwood wrote a tribute for the exhibit. Bob and Wendy Welch's estate has endowed a scholarship to support Belmont School of Music students.