There’s sometimes a misconception that Bob was ousted and replaced by Buckingham but this wasn’t the case. He stayed with them through four more albums in as many years before leaving on good terms and striking out on his own. Bob was the first American to join the band, and his song “Future Games” became the title track of their 1971 album (his first with the band). As a guitarist and singer-songwriter, Bob basically led the band during the first half of the ’70s - after their stint as a blues-rock combo fronted by Peter Green but before they became one of the biggest bands of all time with the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. He was best known, of course, for his tenure with Fleetwood Mac. BLURT published an obituary at the time, but it didn’t seem like many other music outlets took notice. Though he wasn’t a household name, Bob was far from obscure. Frankly, I’ve been appalled at the coverage - or, more accurately, the lack of coverage - of his death.
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It’s been a recurring theme in his career. I challenged her but she was the boss and she won the piece never ran and we never gave Bob the attention he deserved. After the interview, my boss decided she didn’t want to run a piece on him after all. The first time was when I was writing a daily oldies music service for a well-known radio network. Second, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bob more than once.
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First, June 7th happens to be my birthday. When I heard about Bob Welch’s death on June 7th - allegedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound - I was both sad and shocked. With the fifth anniversary of his death arriving this week, we pay tribute to the underrated guitarist.