Showbiz411

What a shame: Bob Welch, who played with the original Fleetwood Mac, died yesterday at age 66. Reports say he committed suicide. Welch was part of the original band, before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the group, and before the career changing “Fleetwood Mac” and “Rumours” albums. He managed to circle around and get two hits off the later Mac’s success, re-recording “Sentimental Lady” and adding a new hit, “Ebony Eyes.” Welch also wrote “Hypnotized,” from the 1973 album “Mystery to Me” that was real Fleetwood Mac for the band’s original fans. He also played lead guitar and sang lead vocals during their “Heroes are Hard to Find” and “Bare Trees” periods. But because he wasn’t an “original” member of the group, he was denied induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame. Reports say he had health issues. He will be sorely missed.

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Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.