Thursday, December 5, 2024

Peter Green, Heart of the Original Fleetwood Mac, Dies at 73, Wrote Santana Hit “Black Magic Woman”

Share

Not to knock the second iteration of Fleetwood Mac with Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks but the original group featured Peter Green and Danny Kirwan. Green died today at age 73. He left the group in the early 70s and suffered from schizophrenia. Reports say he passed peacefully in his sleep.

Peter Green wrote “Black Magic Woman” for Fleetwood Mac, and and then Carlos Santana covered it on “Abraxas” and became an enormous classic hit forever. Green also wrote other early Mac classics like “Oh Well” and “Albatross.”

This was all before Fleetwood Mac became a soap opera in which all the members slept with each other and fought in public. These songs, and “Hypnotized,” “Bare Trees,” even “Heroes Are Hard to Find” plus all the bluesy deep album tracks were what made the group. That was my Fleetwood Mac. RIP Peter. Peace, at last.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

Read more

In Other News