Bob came in to this world the son of Robert Welch, a noted Hollywood producer and screenwriter and his actress mother, Templeton Fox. Having developed an interest in music starting with the clarinet and then moving to guitar, he moved to France to study but dropped out and returned to California. He joined the group Seven Souls, who campaigned for a spot on the Epic Records roster but lost out to Sly & The Family Stone. Not finding much success until 1971, he was approached by then blues group, Fleetwood Mac who had just lost guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. Christine McVie had just joined the band and then Bob followed to become the newest member. Existing member Danny Kirwan and Welch experienced quite a bit of professional static, with Kirwan throwing a hissy fit in the middle of a concert leaving his bandmates to pick up the slack. Kirwan was dismissed from the group leaving Christine and Bob to explore their creativity and expand the pop appeal of Fleetwood Mac. Welch's contributions "Sentimental Lady" and "Hypnotized" became concert staples and put the band firmly in commercial territory, opening the way to the addition of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham after he left the band in 1974. 1977 was his year with the smash hit LP "French Kiss" and the singles "Ebony Eyes", "Hot Love, Cold World" and a newly recorded version of "Sentimental Lady" powering it to platinum status. The follow up "Three Hearts" was a rock disco fusion attempt that resulted in the #19 showing of the single "Precious Love" in the summer of 1979. I saw the extended disco version in a store front that summer, but did not get it and man, did I regret that...I never found another copy until last year, when I finally heard the promo version. I like my version better, with its longer intro and and extended break. Bob committed suicide on June 7, 2012. Apparently, he suffered from depression from a failed operation to repair his spine that was causing him to experience constant pain. The prognosis was not good, doctors confirming that the pain would never go away and the despair drove him to his untimely end. He did leave us with a music book full of his special brand of rock music, and his shining disco moment on the dance floor.

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