Bob Welch (musician)

Robert Lawrence Welch Jr. (August 31, 1945 – June 7, 2012) was an American musician who was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974.

Welch Sr. produced the 25th Annual Academy Awards TV special in 1953 and The Thin Man TV series from 1958 to 1959.

Bob's mother, Templeton Fox, was a singer and actress who worked with Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre in Chicago and appeared in TV and movies from 1962 to 1979.

Welch learned clarinet in his childhood, switching to guitar in his early teens.

His interests were jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock music.

He was accepted into Georgetown University, but instead moved to Paris, planning to attend the Sorbonne.

In 1964, Welch joined the Los Angeles-based vocal group The Seven Souls as a guitarist.

The Seven Souls lost a battle of the bands competition, the prize being a contract with Epic Records, to Sly and the Family Stone.

The Seven Souls' 1967 single "I'm No Stranger" made no impact at the time of its release, despite subsequent issue in France and Italy.

Its B-side, "I Still Love You", has since become a Northern Soul anthem, with original copies selling up to £400.

The Seven Souls broke up in 1969.

Welch subsequently returned to Paris and started a trio, Head West, which was not a success.

He later told People that his time in Paris (1969-1971) was "living on rice and beans and sleeping on the floor."

He had a successful solo career in the late 1970s.

His singles included "Hot Love, Cold World", "Ebony Eyes", "Precious Love", "Hypnotized", and his signature song, "Sentimental Lady".

Welch was born in Hollywood, California, into a show business family.

His father, Robert L. Welch Sr., was a producer and screenwriter at Paramount Pictures, producing films starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

In 1971, Welch auditioned for Fleetwood Mac at Benifold, their retreat in England.

The band had recently lost one of its front-line members, guitarist Jeremy Spencer, and were looking for a replacement.

Judy Wong, a friend and part-time secretary for the band, recommended her high school friend Welch.

The band had a few meetings with Welch and decided to hire him, despite not having previously played with him, after listening to some of his songs on tape.

Welch was assigned rhythm guitar, backing up lead guitarist Danny Kirwan.

Welch also lived in the band's communal home, 'Benifold', located in Hampshire.

Using mobile equipment hired from The Rolling Stones, the band recorded material for three albums at Benifold: Bare Trees, Penguin and Mystery to Me.

The band's first album to feature Christine McVie and Welch, Future Games, was recorded at Advision Studios in London.

The next album, Bare Trees, was mostly recorded at De Lane Lea Studios in Wembley, London.

In September 1971 the band released Future Games, with the title song written by Welch.

This album was different from anything the band had done previously.

In 1972, six months after the release of Future Games, the band released Bare Trees, which featured Welch's "Sentimental Lady".

This song was a big hit for Welch five years later when he re-recorded it for his solo album French Kiss. Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham also sang and produced the remake.

Over the next three albums Fleetwood Mac released, they constantly changed line-ups around the core of Mick Fleetwood, the McVies and Welch.

Kirwan was replaced by Savoy Brown lead singer Dave Walker and Bob Weston on lead guitar.

Both Walker and Weston played on Penguin.

Released in January 1973, the album reached No. 49 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart in the United States.

This album contained songs "Bright Fire" and "Revelation" by Welch.

Mystery to Me contained Welch's song "Hypnotized", which earned significant FM radio airplay in the United States.

However, as a result of an aborted tour, Mystery to Me only reached No. 67 in the States.

By late 1973, internal stresses caused by line-up changes, touring, the deterioration of the McVies' marriage and an affair between Weston and Fleetwood's wife, Jenny Boyd, were debilitating to the band.

Welch told People in a 1979 interview that, in Paris, "I mostly smoked hash with bearded guys five years older" and spent most of his time "sitting in the Deux Magots café".

He returned to Southern California, where he briefly studied French at the University of California, Los Angeles but did not complete a degree.