Bob Welch Exhibit At Musicians Hall Of Fame
 

Really cool.
I still cant believe that 20 years ago, you could email Bob and he would respond, sign something and sell you something. He would even have email chats with friends online. WHY WHY WHY did I not partake in this.
His contributions to Fleetwood Mac are so substantial.

He said something in a Q&A about how it looked like Peter was someone’s puppet during the Splinter Group years. I sent him an email with who I thought it was. He replied cheers and a wink.

I am so jealous. I was new to the internet in 1999 and got my first computer. I look back and regret not having any interaction and buying stuff from him. I have not went to his site lately but it used to still be up. Some incredible stories he told. I wish someone would ask Lindsey about the story Bob told about running into Lindsey shortly after Bob left and Lindsey asked Bob "How the hell could you stand these people?"
Its too good not to ask Lindsey :)

He was so amazing and down to Earth. He answered several of my questions over the years, and I always WANTED to ask Bob and Wendy out to dinner, but was always too afraid of being rejected(I guess).

He committed suicide on a morning that I was leaving Nashville(that's where they lived). Read about it the minute I got to my other house in Indiana. Made me sick to think about.

It's surreal to think about Wendy getting banned from the Ledge, a few years after his death. She was Bob's protector and champion, but she was so bitter about Bob being kept out of the Hall of Fame. She couldn't let it go. She's the one who said it was Christine that insisted to Mick that Bob not be included.

There was the lawsuit. But I believe there was a beef between Chris and Bob that few know about. I dont see her caring about Bob's royalties from early Mac albums. The lawsuit came at the worst time for the band since Time tanked and they really were not working and everyone's solo career was not making money either. So I think Mick wanted to save every cent to not hand over to Bob. Sadly, Mick and the band probably spent more on legal fees that paying Bob outright.
It just was not the RRHOF. When the Dance came out during the RRHOF, MTV had those "Behind the Music" segments of all the bands. The show went through all the members and the history of Fleetwood Mac. Bob is never mentioned. Its like he never existed. Even worse, they showed the back of the Hereos Are Hard To Find album cover and Bob was edited out. Now.......someone had to direct the creators to do such things. Talk about bitter people. Its just like when the Van Halen brothers edited Michael Anthony off their website and all their albums.
Its so Jr High
All of the early Mac albums sold much more post Dance (like all Mac albums did). Some were certified Gold in the late 90s. When Bob was asking for royalties in the early 90s, it could not have been that much money. But if this was the only beef between them, Mick is much more of a money grubber than I thought. Kudos to Stevie for always staying close to Bob. I know she visited him in Nashville during the Enchanted Tour.
I remember going to Bob's website around 2000 and thought it was cool and was always going to ask a question but never actually did. Its sad his wife was banned here.

I don't think Mick has ever known how to live within his means. He wants to live like $tevie, when he only makes 10% as much money.

They are bitter and childish. Bob carried them through FIVE albums. I doubt they could have survived until the "golden era" if it weren't for him. Mick wrote "Bob Welch SAVED Fleetwood Mac" in his book. So much for that salvation, you ungrateful DICK.

$tevie does seem to be less about money than the others. HOWEVER, $he also HAS more money than the others, so maybe $he can afford to not worry....

Wendy said that Christine told Mick she wouldn't attend the R&RHOF if Bob was included. These are bitter, hateful people.

Chris has a dark side that I am curious about. I love her and her songs but falling in love with Dennis Wilson? He was roommates with Charles Manson, drug addict, alcoholic, and just crazy man..

Another part of Bob's chats that fascinated me that I would love to ask Chris but she may not tell the truth is about Bob's talking on stage in the songs. He wrote that Chris would stare him down with evil on stage when he would do this during Bermuda Triangle :eek:
How can you say Stevie is less about money when her manager demands 40% of the profits of a 5 person band. I think you have been drinking the water at bwboy's place :lol:

Even though Chris was ALWAYS my favorite, clearly she makes bad love decisions. She likes losers. I'm not saying that John's a loser now, but yeah, to marry such a severe alcoholic....what was she thinking? And Dennis, well, he was an off the charts loser. Maybe I'm related to Chris, because that's what all the women in my family do....date the bad boy losers. My cousin Mandy used to tell me, "I don't want no church boy....that's not exciting!"

Now I could relate to the Bob talking bit. It's very much like the Old Goat blathering on and on. STFU AND PLAY THE NEXT SONG!!!

$tevie holds all the cards now, and $he knows it, and $he has $atan as her manager.

I guarantee you that I've swallowed nothing at his place!!!:lol:

I never understood that rivalry between Bob and Chris...In a thing about "egos"?, one part banned the other from the story of a band where the banned part was very well known...and some years later, it continued without reasons!
Bob was an amazing musician. His solo career was short and forgotten, he couldn't manage it well to become a more famous artist. Even today, one of his most famous songs is Sentimental Lady, one which he recorded with FM before, so it's a solo song, but originally not a so-solo song...:shrug:
I didn't know Wendy. When I entered here, there was a strong discussion about Bob and the R&RHOF, and Wendy was telling that Chris was the problem, that was unfair what happened with Bob, the rojalties, and stuff...When I returned here, maybe two years ago, I noticed that Wendy passed away too, banned from the forum and with no answer about her husband's situation in the Hall of Fame and on the FM history...
I remember Bob at the Rock Family Trees documentary -at my point of view, the best documentary of FM ever made-. Of course it was 1995, nothing about R&RHOF or stuff was mentioned, but at least he was also a main part of the film. Anyway, he didn't talk so much about his departure, and of course, the reasons why.

Something happened between him and Chris. I find it hard to believe royalties on old albums made Chris block him from the RRHOF. It may be the case though. Clearly they were all close into the early 80s. Something happened and we may never know what. Mick is a liar and instead of telling the truth in his book, he lies. Would it not have been nice to admit it was wrong. Bob is dead so the lawsuit no longer matters.
Maybe there was a settlement where Mick and Chris had to fork over money in the dark days post Time pre Dance and they got scared about money. This is why I nearly threw up knowing the Mac performed Hypnotized on the 2018 tour. Clearly they have no shame.

Yes. That’s what Wendy said that Mick said. Which was easy to do considering Christine was retired with no signs of coming back in 2010.

Would he have said that if Christine was still active in 2010?

Actually, she was the bigger drunk when they married. His drinking wasn’t a problem in their relationship until after Peter left, and maybe more like after Jeremy disappeared.

But, initially, he’s the one who had to tell her to calm down with the drinking.

Still, I’d love nothing more than the current lineup, sans Stevie, do a Bare Trees 50th Anniversary Tour.

Bob was in a lawsuit with Fleetwood Mac over royalties when they were inducted. Of course he was going to get cut. Mick might have been able to look the other way, but he’s the only one of the three that could.

Christine was retired with absolutely zero signs of returning when Bob died. It was easy to throw her under the bus. However, in 1998, I doubt she was alone in that sentiment.

As for Wendy’s ban, she was making a lot of disparaging comments about Jeremy, which may or may not be connected to a legal case. I kept trying to tell her that her focus needed to be with getting Bob’s era connected to streaming services. That’s what keeps his legacy alive.

Well, Mick's a f*cking LIAR, and always has been, so the jury is terminally out on this one.

Well, she managed to get it under control. John went off the deep end.


THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. That album, NEVER HAPPENED.
#revisionistFMhistory

Bob and Wendy's grave, for anyone who's interested or not seen it..

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/...08/wendy-welch


I can't find much about the final resting places of Bob Weston, Bob Brunning, Danny Kirwan and Peter Green

The relevant question as I see it is what music caused the induction to occur in the first place.

In the case of FM they inducted the Then Play On and Rumours lineups. All else aside, it is the music of those lineups that caused the Hall to induct the group.

Without the original lineup of Jefferson Airplane, there would have been no Surrealistic Pillow lineup. But it is the latter lineup whose music motivated the Hall to honor the group, and ergot the only lineup it inducted.

The flip side, though, is that the Hall used to have a list of essential songs by the artist and “Sentimental Lady” and “Hypnotized” were mentioned. Also, Welch is discussed in the Hall’s essay on the band.

I think Bob Welch, Billy Burnette, and Rick Vito should have been inducted, too (Welch more so). They all had top 40 albums during their time in the band.

That said, they had the six most important members on stage.

I don't disagree with what you said. However Bob was one of the most pivotal members and first American. He definitely put his stamp on the band that made it easier to transition to the Buck/Nicks era. Wasn't Heroes the first Mac album to make it in the top 40 albums in the States. Nothing against Rick and Billy but they stepped into an established supergroup to keep it afloat.

IMHO. The most important Mac members:
1. Peter Green
2 Mick Fleetwood
3. John McVie
4. Christine McVie
5. Lindsey Buckingham
6. Bob Welch
7. Jeremy, Bob Weston, Danny Kirwin

Thing is, I kind of feel the same way about Jeremy and Danny. While Danny was arguably the most pivotal guitarist in the band’s history, Peter was the star of Fleetwood Mac, and Danny and Jeremy were mostly side show.

I notice you have one glaring omission :laugh:

My list:
1. Mick Fleetwood
2. John McVie
3. Christine McVie
4. Stevie Nicks
5. Lindsey Buckingham
6. Peter Green
7. Bob Welch
8. Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan, Billy Burnette
9. Bob Weston, Rick Vito

My list was created based on impact on sound of the band. While Ms Nicks is a fantastic song writer with incredible star power, she did not impact the band with sound musically. She does not play an instrument and is not a producer. Her voice is unique and does have a sound though. The band changed over the years since 1967. 3 HUGE sound changes. 1 Christine joins 2 Bob Welch joins 3 Lindsey and Stevie join

If my list was with songwriters, she would be near the top. Even though Nicks had some huge hits with the Mac, the band would have still been successful without her if only Lindsey joined.

I should have described "important" when I made the list.

I wish I would have asked Bob if Danny Kirwan played on “Sentimental Lady”.

The solo through the Leslie was Danny.

That’s what I always thought too. Is that written/quoted somewhere or just an educated guess?

Wasn’t Bob’s absence in the induction directly connected to the foundation’s executive board? That board gets final say, although apparently it isn’t very consistent with its decisions. The most Mick and Chris could have done was issue a “recommendation.” The board used to include Jan Wenner and thirteen other people, including Robert Hilburn, who is still part of it. Those fourteen people in 1998 decided that Welch and his Fleetwood Mac work weren’t Hall caliber, according to clippings at the time. I can easily see (and understand) how critics like Hilburn would scoff at the idea of inducting Welch for 1971–74, regardless of the esteem in which some of us fans hold those years. It really all makes a certain amount of sense in Fleetwood Mac’s case (though not in other cases, like the Crickets and the Miracles).

That could be true. But other bands have included everyone. The band does have a say though. Didn't the original and long time Blondie drummer show up at the RRHOF when Blondie was inducted and for whatever reason, Deborah Harry did not allow him to be inducted or even play. I seem to remember clip of him running on stage and begging Deborah to let him play with the band.
I also would believe Bob and Bob's wife for what they said. But even more profound was how Bob was magically erased from the band's history on the 1997 segment: Behind The Music. All other band members were featured and discussed their contributions and reasons for leaving. Bob is not mentioned at all. His leaving was the vacuum that led to Stevie and Lindsey joining. Even worse, when the album Heroes Are Hard To Find is discussed, Bob is purposely cut off the back cover. They went to great lengths to not only not mention his name, but not show his photo on an album. Someone with the band (Mick) had to have creative control over this to do such things. So if the band would not let him be part of the legacy on Behind The Music, it would make sense for them to block Bob from the hall.
It just sickens me how much praise Mick writes and talks of Bob today. Some people have no shame.

They are horrible, petty, bitter people, with zero honor.

Very weird that Bob was omitted from the Hall of Fame, but I personally don't care who's in the H of F. I have my own H of F which includes a lot of musicians who are totally under the radar as far as general popularity goes.

If you asked me what my favorite Fleetwood Mac era is, I'd answer the Bob Welch years, without a moment's hesitation. I would throw Rumours in the dustbin happily as long as I could keep my copy of Mystery To Me.

They were in a bitter lawsuit in 1997. After the lawsuit was settled, Bob reconciled with Mick and was on friendly terms with him for the rest of his life.

I got the impression Bob never really reconciled with the McVies, though. I wonder if he and Christine could have patched things up if she hadn’t retired?

Mick was the only one from the SYW lineup who agreed to play a benefit Bob was trying to organize for Wendy. Bob sang Mick’s praises and was livid with Stevie and Lindsey for declining on this message board.

Wasn't the lawsuit filed before 1997? I think it was in the heat of things and near settlement by 1997? I could be wrong but my memory is the suit was filed far before The Dance rebounded the band. I seem to remember Bob was not trolling them for their new success. Am I wrong? Did Bob jump at the Dance success? Someone can correct me if I am wrong but I seem to remember the lawsuit came at the worst time for the band when the band was sort of over and even solo careers had dried up. How much could Bob have really been asking for? Prior to 1997 (when all Mac albums started selling again), there were few Gold albums if any with the Mac in his era. Now they are pretty much all Gold. It would have cost the band more money to defend in court than pay what he was asking for. Maybe the band was right and that is why they fought Bob so much? In any event, no reason he should have been on stage with them.

Btw
Check this out at 5:20. Bob is cut off the photo of the album. The announcer states the Mac was looking for a front man and found Lindsey. No mention how Bob was a front man and left. Earlier in the segment, it mentions the other members. Its laughable how this segment was put together. Lindsey and Stevie magically appear in the band. This segment says there was no Bob Welch and the band came to America and hired Stevie and Lindsey. Seriously man, this is what the petty Van Halen brothers did to Michael Anthony. They tried to erase him from the band's history on their website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESVnX0BtYOQ

Didn't Bob have a story on his website where he ran into Lindsey at a bar or restaurant shortly after he left and they were recording the White Album and Lindsey asked him "How the hell did you stand to be around these people"

Yes. I've heard that story before. Something about Christine was a lot to take.

The lawsuit was filed before 1997, but it was still going in 1998, during Bob’s first Q&A.

1997 was really the beginning of a grand revision of the band’s history. Bob and Billy were continually glossed over. It’s also when the “Lindsey said he wouldn’t join without Stevie” story started to become embellished. It was very frustrating for longtime fans.

Which shows (in my book) that Bob was not trolling the band for the insane success of The Dance. He wanted royalties of albums that were not overly successful. Good grief what's the most he could have asked for? 500k? And probably would have settled for $300k

You are correct. Good memory, the reunion of 1997 the Stevie story was embellished. I forgot about that.

This story breaks my heart in so many ways.

Welch is Fleetwood Mac to me as much as anyone, I love what I have been calling the Fleetwood Mac Yacht Rock era of late. I find the combo of Welch and Chris tracks irresistible.

I’ve been listening to Bob Welch and Friends Live from the Roxy, which has Chris, Mick and John. It’s such a bummer to think about the relationship deteriorating after that point.

If I’m gonna do that with Rumours, it would have to be Heroes Are Hard to Find for me.

For me, Bare Trees is the ultimate Fleetwood Mac album. It has the boogie of the Peter Green days and the bubblegum of the California years.

I wish they would have played "Sentimental Lady" over "Hypnotized" in 2018-19 since everyone knows it, even if they don't know who did it or who originally did it.

Hypnotized is a much cooler song. That drum beat is one of a kind!

They only played Hypnotized a few times before dropping it. They may have also dropped Sentimental Lady. As much as I love the songs, I dont think I would appreciate the rage that would come over me after what they put Bob through to perform his songs. It was bad enough they were doing Lindsey songs :eek:

On another note, the original Sentimental Lady is very similar to the one recorded later with Lindsey producing it. Imagine if the original song charted half as good as the second try. That could have really changed the Fleetwood Mac formula. As Lindsey said: OMG, Fleetwood Mac with hits! Would have Bob stayed? Would he still left? It would have been a big deal for the band to have a hit song in the States.