'70s Rock Icon Died 14 Years Ago This Week in a Tragic Loss

14 years ago, on June 7, legendary Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Known for both his songs with Fleetwood Mac and his solo tracks "Sentimental Lady" and "Ebony Eyes," the artist would've been turning 81 this August.

According to The Tennessean, three months before his death, Welch had undergone spinal surgery, and it appeared he wouldn't recover. In an article from The Hollywood Reporter in 2012, Welch's friend Bart Herbison said that this diagnosis troubled Welch, and he was afraid he would become a burden to his wife. Police discovered Welch's body in his Nashville home along with a lengthy suicide note.

"It had become apparent to Bob that he was not going to recover, that he was going to become [disabled]," Herbison said. "He had seen his father become [disabled] and watched his mother care for him for many years. In the letter he left, he told [his wife] Wendy, ‘I'm not going to do this to you.'"

Welch had a rocky relationship with the members of Fleetwood Mac, and in 1998 when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Welch wasn't included.

"It basically comes down to the fact that they don't like me anymore," Welch said in an interview with The Plain Dealer newspaper at the time. "I guess they can do what they want. I could understand it if I had been a sideman for a year. But I was an integral part of that band ... I put more of myself into that band than anything else I've ever done."

Despite his challenging relationship with the band, Stevie Nicks called Welch an "amazing guitar player" after his death.

"I had many great times with him after Lindsey and I joined Fleetwood Mac," Nicks said to the Associated Press. "He was funny, sweet - and he was smart."

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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 2:37 PM.