Fleetwood Mac co-founder blues guitarist Peter Green dies at 73

Peter Green was known for composing hits such as "Albatross" and "Black Magic Woman".
Peter Green was known for composing hits such as "Albatross" and "Black Magic Woman". Copyright Mark Lennihan/AP2001
By Euronews & AP
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B.B. King once said Green “has the sweetest tone I ever heard. He was the only one who gave me the cold sweats.”

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Peter Green, the legendary British blues guitarist who was a founding member of Fleetwood Mac has died at the age of 73.

A law firm representing his family announced the death in a statement Saturday. It said: "It is with great sadness that the family of Peter Green announce his death this weekend, peacefully in his sleep.

"A further statement will be provided in the coming days."

 Green was known as a blues guitarist of the 1960s and made his mark as a composer with the hits "Albatross", "Oh Well" and "Black Magic Woman".

B.B. King once said Green “has the sweetest tone I ever heard. He was the only one who gave me the cold sweats.”

Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1971. 

ADAM NADEL/AP1998
In 1998 Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other past and present members of Fleetwood Mac.ADAM NADEL/AP1998

Peter Allen Greenbaum was born on Oct. 29, 1946, in London. 

He got his big break as a teenager in 1966, when he replaced Eric Clapton for a brief stint in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Clapton quit for good soon after and Green was in.

In the Bluesbreakers he was reunited with Mick Fleetwood, a former colleague in Peter B’s Looners. Mayall added bass player McVie soon after.

The three departed the next year, forming the core of the band initially called “Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac featuring (guitarist) Jeremy Spencer.”

Green left the band in 1971 as he struggled with his mental health. He was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent time in hospital from 1977.

In his absence, the band’s new line-up, including Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, became immensely successful with a more pop-music sound. 

Green was released later in the year, and married Jane Samuels, a Canadian, in 1978. They had a daughter and divorced the following year. Green also has a son.

Green returned to performing in the 1990s with the Peter Green Splinter Group.

In 1998, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other past and present members of Fleetwood Mac.

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